Scale tattoo ideas

469 photos and flash · 24% Japanese, 15% Realism · Upper arm most common

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Black linework flash of an Eastern-style dragon coiling through clouds, a design suited to a Japanese style back or sleeve tattoo.
Eastern dragon with clouds
Pastel-coloured Japanese-style dragon design winding around peony blossoms and leaves on a cream background, drawn as a flash piece.
Pastel dragon and peonies design
Blue pen sketch of an ornamental design with paisley leaves, a fish with scale detail, an open eye and flowers, shown without any body part.
Paisley, fish and eye design sketch
Green-toned flash design of a large eye whose iris becomes a scaled wave, with a hummingbird, a sailing ship and pale pink blossom on a beige background.
Eye with waves, hummingbird and blossom flash
Black and grey pen drawing of a coiled Japanese-style dragon with a open mouth, horns, whiskers and claws, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement visible.
Coiled Japanese-style dragon design
Pencil sketch of a long-finned fish with flowing fins, a detailed eye and scale shading along the body, drawn as a tattoo design.
Long-finned fish design in pencil
Black line drawing of a mermaid with scaled tail beside a sailing ship and a large sea creature, a tattoo design sketch with no body part shown.
Mermaid and ship sea monster design
Black dotwork tattoo design of a symmetrical fan of overlapping shaped segments, drawn on a white background with no body placement shown.
Symmetrical dotwork fan design
Black ink flash sheet of tattoo designs including a feather, antlers, mushrooms, a cleaver, an ear, an eye, a bird skull, balance scales with a brain, and a severed arm, drawn in dotwork and fine
Flash sheet of antlers, mushrooms and balance scales
Black and grey koi fish drawing in a Japanese style with orange fins and a red gill patch, beside the heading The Meaning Behind Koi Fish Tattoos.
Koi fish tattoo design with heading text
Pencil drawing of a mermaid with long hair seated on a ship's anchor whose top forms a heart, shown as a flash design.
Mermaid and heart anchor design
Two painted traditional flash designs of daggers on cream paper, one with a red rose at the guard and one with a scaled hilt, an eye and a ribbon banner.
Two traditional dagger designs on cream paper
Black ink pen drawing of a dinosaur head with a exposed skeletal skull and spine overgrown with thin tendrils, shaded with fine stippled dots and textured scales.
Dinosaur skull with tendrils pen drawing
Black and grey flash drawing of a Chinese-style dragon coiling on the left and a phoenix with spread wings on the right, with no body placement shown.
Dragon and phoenix tattoo design
Black and grey pencil drawing of a mermaid holding a baby on a shell, with a starry hair, pearl strands and scale detail, shown as a tattoo design.
Mermaid cradling a baby on a shell
Black and white tribal design of a snake with its mouth open, showing fangs and a forked tongue, set against swirling blackwork flame shapes; drawn design with no body placement shown.
Tribal snake design
Traditional-style flash drawing of a green snake coiled around a cream banner that reads Tunnel Snakes Rule, set on a plain green background.
Green snake with Tunnel Snakes Rule banner
Black and grey flash drawing of a front-facing owl with scaled chest, striped feathers and bold eyes, on a plain light background.
Symmetrical owl design
Black and grey pencil drawing of a Japanese-style dragon design with a spiked mane, scaled body and clawed foot, shown as a flash sketch.
Dragon design with spiked mane and claws
A grid of twelve black line drawings of the zodiac signs, in a thin single-weight linework style, with no tattoo placement shown.
Twelve zodiac line drawings in a grid
Black line drawing of a seahorse filled with intricate doodle patterns of dots, scales and swirls, shown on a plain white background with no body placement.
Zentangle seahorse line design
Black ink flash design of a woman's face framed by flowing hair, feathers and an octopus tentacle, drawn in blackwork linework with no placement shown.
Woman with feathers and an octopus tentacle
Pencil sketch of a Japanese-style dragon with claws, whiskers and a scaled body, drawn in blue and red pencil for a tattoo design.
Japanese dragon design in pencil
Black stencil design of two stylised koi fish curving around a circle with three dots between them, in a Japanese style.
Two koi fish in a circle stencil
Black and grey dragon tattoo design drawn on a plain white background, with a coiled serpentine body, lace-like wing detail and a horned head.
Coiled dragon tattoo design
Full-colour Japanese-style dragon design in blue and orange with orange flame-like fins, coiled and clawed, shown on a white background.
Coiled dragon design in blue and orange
Sheet of twelve black tribal-style zodiac designs on white, including a ram, bull, crab, lion, scales and goat, in flowing swirled linework.
Twelve tribal zodiac designs in black
Japanese style flash drawing of a green and red dragon coiling over black and grey waves, with a small cartoon figure in a yellow robe beside it.
Green dragon flash with wave background
Black ink flash design of a symmetrical vertical motif with sweeping feather-like shapes and five circular emblems showing flame, hand, scales, eye and tree.
Symmetrical blackwork design with five circular emblems
Teal fine line drawing of a mermaid with flowing wavy hair and a scaled fish tail curling below, on a white background.
Teal line drawing of a mermaid
Black and grey pencil drawing of a winged dragon with a red eye, shown as a tattoo design without any body placement.
Winged dragon tattoo design
Colour drawing of a silver Japanese-style dragon with orange flame accents, coiling through blue stylised waves, as a tattoo design.
Silver dragon with blue waves and orange flames
Black and grey ink drawing of a mermaid holding a water jug, with an anchor, stars and an AQUARIUS banner, shown as a tattoo design.
Aquarius mermaid with anchor
Red-brown line drawing of a Japanese dragon coiling through wisps of cloud, with cherry blossoms, as a tattoo design sketch.
Japanese dragon with cherry blossoms
Neo-traditional flash design of a red-haired mermaid in a grey shell top, with a green scaled tail, wave pattern, stars and a red flower.
Mermaid with waves and red flower in ornate frame
Pencil drawing of a stylised owl head with heavily shaded scales and large staring eyes, set within a decorative leafy and beaded border, with two pencils resting on the paper.
Pencil sketch of an owl in an ornamental frame
Black and grey Japanese style flash design of a coiling dragon with lily-like flowers and cloud motifs on a white background.
Black and grey dragon with flowers and clouds
Black and gold koi fish drawn in a Japanese style with white scale outlines and red gills, beside the headline The Meaning Behind Koi Fish Tattoos, with no body part shown.
Black and gold koi fish tattoo design
Drawing of a mermaid seated on a rock with her back to the viewer, long hair blowing sideways and a teal scaled tail.
Mermaid seated on a rock
Black and grey dotwork flash design of a horned animal skull above a pair of scales holding a feather and a small object, with an ankh inside a downward triangle.
Horned skull and scales dotwork design
Black and grey pencil-style drawing of a koi fish with a faceted geometric lower body, sketched on a tablet with a stylus.
Geometric koi fish design sketch
Black and grey line drawing of a coiling Eastern dragon with a flaming pearl, shown as a tattoo design on paper with no body placement.
Eastern dragon with a flaming pearl
Black and grey Japanese-style dragon design with cream flame highlights, coiling across a white background.
Grey dragon with flames design
Flash design of a red, orange and yellow Japanese-style dragon coiling through black clouds, with no body placement shown.
Japanese dragon among clouds and flames
Pen drawing of a tribal-style swirl tattoo design on white paper, with blue and black linework and shaded curls.
Tribal swirl tattoo design in blue and black
Black stencil design of a mermaid holding a trident, with a scaled tail and flowing hair, shown on a plain white background.
Mermaid with trident stencil
Teal line drawing of a mermaid with scale details and a tapering tail on a white background, shown as a design rather than on skin.
Teal mermaid line drawing
A coiled, multicoloured serpent with scaled body and botanical flourishes in flash-style illustration on a cream background, with no body placement shown.
Ornate serpent with botanical flourishes