Lettering tattoo ideas

3,720 photos and flash · 59% Lettering, 22% Traditional · Forearm most common

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Traditional colour tattoo of a bottle with orange smoke rising from it and a black banner reading FELIX, on a limb of the body.
Felix banner and bottle tattoo
Black ink flash design of three Chinese characters stacked vertically, labelled in capitals as love, peace and happiness, on a white background.
Love, peace and happiness characters
Two traditional tattoos: a green and yellow face in profile with a pink heart and chain on the upper arm, and a cuffed hand holding a diamond with PRISONER JEWELLERY lettering on the thigh.
Traditional face, heart and chain with cuffed hand
Black fine line tattoo of the word warr;or in handwritten script, with a single arrow below it, shown on skin.
Warr;or script with arrow
Black and grey lettering flash design reading From dust you were made unto dust you shall return, with a stippled skull beside the words.
Lettering flash with skull and dust quote
Black lettering tattoo on the side of the ribs reading We bury the ones we love and burn the rest, with the word burn in a heavy, flame-like style.
Quote lettering on the ribs
Black script lettering of Psalm 23:4 across the side of a person's ribs, with the face not shown.
Psalm 23:4 script on the ribs
Watercolour-style tattoo on the inner forearm with teal and pink splashes and black script reading Sangre, sudor y gloria.
Watercolour splash with script on forearm
Black and grey shaded drawing of a lion cub inside a circle, with the words Remember who you are curved around the lower edge.
Lion cub design with 'Remember who you are'
Close-up of a black script tattoo reading Believe with a small outlined star above it, on the inner forearm near the wrist.
Believe script tattoo with a star
Black and grey realism tattoo of two roses with script lettering and a small cross on the side of the ribs.
Black and grey roses with script on ribs
Black and grey realistic flash design of praying hands wrapped in a rosary beneath a scroll banner reading INRI.
Praying hands with rosary and INRI scroll
Two photographs of legs with black handwritten lettering tattooed on the calf and ankle, reading I'm fine and save me.
Handwritten words on calf and ankle
Black and grey dotwork compass rose with an arrow, feather and ribbon tattooed on the inner forearm.
Compass, arrow and feather on forearm
Black fine line script tattoo reading Good Vibes on the side of a torso, with a knitted jumper pulled across the left of the frame.
Good Vibes script on the side ribs
Tall red and yellow banner design of a sun with a face, a sword, a coiled red snake and hibiscus flowers, with the words Unbowed Unbent Unbroken on a ribbon.
Sun, sword and snake banner design
Close view of fine line black script tattoo reading Ad astra per aspera across skin, in a lettering style.
Ad astra per aspera script on skin
Two forearm tattoos in black and grey, a guillotine on the left arm with the words KEEP YOUR CHIN UP and a noose on a gallows on the right arm with the words HANG IN THERE.
Guillotine and gallows on two forearms
Traditional style forearm tattoo of an eye inside a grey cloud above an umbrella and red raindrops, with the words IS THAT TEARS OR IS IT RAIN.
Eye in a cloud with umbrella and raindrops
Close view of a fine-line black cursive script tattoo with two short crossing bars on the inside of a wrist.
Cursive script and two bars on a wrist
Black and white design of a vintage racing helmet above crossed gloves and crossed bones, with the words God speed on your way beneath it.
God speed helmet and crossed gloves design
Black script lettering arranged in a heart outline with a small red heart at its centre, tattooed on a person's side above the ribs.
Script words forming a heart on the side
Black and grey realistic compass tattoo on a chest, appearing to break through cracked skin that reveals fragments of lettering.
Compass breaking through skin on a chest
Single-colour blue tattoo on a forearm showing a Scottish saltire with a lion-like figure and black Gaelic-style lettering at the wrist.
Blue saltire and lion on a forearm
Four-step photo of a temporary tattoo, a blue watercolour USA outline with lettering reading land that I love, being applied to an upper arm in lettering style.
Temporary USA map tattoo applied to upper arm
Black fine line tattoo of ornate scissors with scrollwork on the inside of a forearm, with a script tattoo visible on the foot.
Scissors tattoo on a forearm
Small black Roman numeral tattoo sitting behind an ear in a side-on photo, set in a simple lettering style.
Roman numerals behind the ear
Hand-drawn French script reading aimez-moi pour qui je suis in dark brown ink with a long flowing line on cream paper, shown as a lettering design.
French script lettering on paper
Collage of fine line script tattoos on an upper arm, forearm, wrist and neck, reading words such as love, smile, soul and live fearless.
Script words on arms, wrist and neck
Five black outline stars in a fine line style run across the side of a woman's torso, just below the ribs and beside the navel, in a photo of a woman wearing a red bikini.
Five outline stars along the side
Black ink drawing of the word enough in flowing script, with two sweeping curved strokes forming a loose heart-like shape, shown as a tattoo design on paper.
Enough script with swooping strokes
Fine line tattoo of a patterned elephant above the words La famille est tout, on the back of a woman's neck.
Elephant and French script on the neck
Traditional colour tattoo on a thigh of a hand shake with a snake biting the wrist, above the words Trust No One.
Snake and handshake with Trust No One lettering
Full sleeve realism tattoo on an arm with horror-style portraits, a skull mask, a silhouetted figure and orange flames, with lettering at the lower wrist.
Horror-themed realism sleeve with fire background
Black ink hand-lettered design reading I won't fall in love with falling, with the final word in flowing, elongated script on a plain off-white background.
Hand-lettered quote about falling
Black Arabic script lettering tattooed along the side of the ribs, with a hand resting over it and a jewelled ring.
Arabic script tattoo on the ribs
Colour traditional-style tattoo of an anchor wrapped in rope, with the words THE LORD IS MY above and Anchor below, on skin.
Anchor with rope and scripted text
Black and grey realism tattoo of orchids and cursive script wrapping over the shoulder and upper arm.
Orchids and script on an upper arm
Close up of a fine line script word tattooed in black ink along the forearm, shown in a warm, vintage-toned photograph.
Fine line script word on a forearm
Sepia photograph of a bare back with a fine line script tattoo running vertically down the spine, with the hair pinned up.
Script line down the spine in sepia
Man crouching against a wall, showing a black and grey realism tattoo of angelic figures, script lettering and roses across his shoulder, upper arm, back and ribs.
Black and grey angel and rose tattoo across back and arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a shaded feather with three flying birds and script lettering on a person's skin.
Feather with flying birds and script
Two photographs: black script reading hakuna matata with small birds on a foot, and a black mermaid silhouette with small fish on a wrist.
Script and birds on a foot, mermaid on a wrist
Colour tattoo of a cartoon character with yellow eyes and horns, coiled around a red tail, with the quote What fun is there in making sense? on the calf.
Cartoon character and quote on a calf
Black and white flash sheet of song lyric lettering designs with small icons such as a heart, planet, wings and arrow, in mixed script and block fonts.
Lyric lettering flash sheet in black
Three stacked photos of a flourished script name tattoo in lettering style on the forearm, from red outline to finished black linework.
Script name lettering on a forearm
Collage of small black and grey tattoos on fingers: a Harry Potter lightning scar, a shaded owl, a golden snitch, Platform 9 3/4, and a knot design on another finger.
Harry Potter finger tattoos and a knot design
Black and grey script tattoo of the words If our love could have saved you, you would have lived forever, framed by shaded angel wings and a halo on the upper back.
Angel wings and script quote on upper back