Back tattoo ideas

5,064 photos and flash · 22% Fine line, 20% Botanical

What will it cost? Try the tattoo cost calculator
Two black tattoos, each an ornate anchor with script lettering: love is patient on a forearm, and love is kind on the lower back.
Matching anchor tattoos with love is patient and love is
Colour Neo-trad style tattoo on a upper back, showing a woman in profile kissing a small purple dragon inside an ornate grey frame, with a red rose above.
Woman profile and dragon in a frame on upper back
Black lettering tattoo of a four-line quote across the upper back, set in a serif typeface on a shoulder blade.
Quote tattoo across a shoulder blade
Colour realism tattoo of California's outline on the upper back, filled with a Milky Way sky, snowy mountains and orange poppies.
California state outline with night sky and poppies
Black ink tattoo on skin of a Deathly Hallows symbol with a wand through it, followed by the word Always in script, a lightning bolt and three stars, placed on the back.
Deathly Hallows symbol with Always script
Colour tattoo of a bouquet of pansies in purple, pink, lilac and yellow with black outlines, placed across the upper back near the shoulder.
Pansy bouquet on upper back
Black script tattoo reading 'May your song always be sung' across the side of a bare back, against a dark red warm-toned room.
Script quote on a bare back
A tiny solid black star tattoo sits on the upper back near the shoulder, with a grey top pulled down beside it and blurred hair above.
Small star on the upper back
Two people seen from behind, each with a fine line star constellation tattoo in blue and purple ink on the lower back.
Matching constellation tattoos on two hips
Soft pink peony tattoo with green leaves across the upper back, shaded in a painterly style.
Pink peony on upper back
Colour tattoo of lotus flowers, chakra symbols and an Om symbol across a person's upper back and shoulder, in purple, blue, yellow and green.
Lotus and chakra symbols across back and shoulder
Colourful neo-traditional tattoo on the upper back showing a cupcake with a skull cherry, a cartoon cat with a pink bow, a lollipop, purple flowers and broken hearts.
Cupcake, cat and broken hearts on upper back
Small fine line butterfly tattoo with black outlined wings and soft pink shading on the lower wings, placed centrally on the upper back.
Small butterfly on upper back
Close photograph of a solid black Leo zodiac symbol tattoo with a small shaded tuft at its tail, on the upper back.
Leo zodiac symbol on the upper back
Black and grey dotwork lotus tattoo with layered petals and a mandala-style centre, placed on the upper back between the shoulder blades.
Lotus mandala on upper back
Full back tattoo in bold colour with the word Boston, a roaring bear, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics motifs and a Patriots figure, shown on a man's back.
Boston sports back piece with bear and team mascots
Black tribal tattoos cover a bare back and both shoulders, with spiral motifs on the upper back and a symmetrical panel across the lower back.
Tribal back and shoulder tattoos
Traditional style tattoo on a person's upper back showing a dagger with a golden hilt, an eye on the blade, red drops of blood and a skull below.
Dagger with eye and skull on upper back
Two black and white magpies in flight tattooed on the upper back of a woman with short auburn hair, one hand resting on her shoulder.
Two magpies in flight on upper back
Black and grey realism tattoo of the Deathly Hallows symbol on a folded cloth, ringed by the words 'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death', on the upper back.
Deathly Hallows on a cloth with circular quote
Black and grey realism tattoo of a wolf's head framed by fine line peonies, poppies and a sunflower, placed across the upper back.
Wolf head with flowers on upper back
Fine line black script lettering reading The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow, tattooed across the lower back above a grey waistband.
Quote tattoo across the lower back
Collage of four photos showing a colourful floral tattoo with black swirling linework and gear motifs across a shoulder and upper back.
Floral swirls and gears across a shoulder and back
Realistic feather tattoo wrapped in black ribbon swirls with a script letter M and small star on the upper back, shaded in grey and muted pink.
Feather with ribbon and letter M on upper back
Black ink ornamental elephant tattoo with dotwork and mandala-style patterns across the upper back of a woman with blonde hair.
Ornate elephant on upper back
Watercolour-style tattoo of a black and pink compass star with black branches and outlined leaves in teal, purple and blue, on a person's upper back.
Watercolour compass and leaves on upper back
Back of a person's neck and upper back showing a fine line fleur-de-lis tattoo with blue watercolour wash, and a thin black line running down the spine to a dot.
Blue fleur-de-lis with a line down the spine
Cartoon cow tattoo with black outline, black spots and a pink muzzle, placed on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Cartoon cow on upper back
Colour realism tattoo of a lion's head across a woman's upper back, framed by black mandala-style ornament and teal shading on the shoulder.
Realistic lion with mandala ornament on upper back
Colour daisy tattoo with grey-shaded white petals, black outline and a yellow centre, placed on the upper back.
Daisy on the upper back
Black and grey tribal ornamental tattoo across a person's lower back and hip, photographed from behind with jeans visible at the waistband.
Tribal ornamental tattoo across lower back
Black linework tattoo of an ornamental mandala with lotus flowers across a person's upper and lower back.
Ornamental mandala and lotus back tattoo
Green and teal peacock tattoo with dotwork shading and fine line feather detail on a woman's upper back near the shoulder blade.
Peacock tattoo on a upper back
Full back tattoo of a red and grey phoenix among plum blossoms, in Japanese style, shown on a person's back.
Red and grey phoenix with blossoms across a back
Solid black silhouette of a seated cat inside a crescent moon with a spiked crown and curled tail, tattooed on the upper back.
Black cat silhouette in a crescent moon
Black and grey lotus flower within a mandala and lace pattern across a woman's upper back, with a paisley motif below and tattooing on her upper arm.
Lotus and mandala across upper back
Black Leo zodiac symbol tattoo on the lower back, with small rainbow-coloured dots following its curves, above a red waistband.
Leo zodiac symbol with rainbow dots on lower back
Black script lettering reading learn to love yourself and never hide the scars, with a small butterfly outline, tattooed across the upper back.
Script quote and butterfly tattoo on the back
Black and grey realism tattoo across a man's back and shoulder showing a hockey mask, a bladed glove, a doll face, chains and a knife, with quotes in the design.
Horror film characters across back and shoulder
Purple cartoon owl with closed eyes perched on a black branch with pink blossoms, tattooed on a person's upper back.
Sleepy purple owl on a branch
Realistic colour tattoo of a striped-sleeved, bladed glove with long claws ripping through torn, bloodied skin on a person's upper back.
Bladed glove tearing through skin on upper back
Colour tattoo of a kestrel perched on a branch with peonies and poppies in a neo-traditional style, across a person's upper back and shoulder.
Kestrel and peonies across a shoulder blade
Colour tattoo on a person's upper back of yellow flowers, grey-blue leaves, a ball of yarn with knitting needles and a chickadee, in a botanical neo-traditional style.
Yellow flowers, yarn and chickadee on a shoulder blade
Close-up of a geometric tattoo of three black-outlined diamonds filled with red and black watercolour-style splatter, placed on the upper back.
Outlined diamonds with red and black splatter
Woman seen from behind with a large black ornamental mandala tattoo across her upper back, a coloured floral sleeve on her right arm and a mandala on her left upper arm.
Mandala back piece and arm tattoos
Woman seen from behind with a large colour back tattoo of flowers, leaves and script, and a dark ornate design, placed across the upper and lower back.
Full back tattoo with script and florals
Small solid black cross tattoo in a clean fine line style, centred on the upper back below wavy blonde hair.
Simple black cross on upper back
Black and grey realism tattoo of a crouched winged angel with large feathered wings and loose feathers across the upper and lower back.
Crouched angel with wings on a back