Scale tattoo ideas

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

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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 realism tattoo of a mermaid sitting on a rock with long hair blowing, placed on the outer thigh.
Mermaid sitting on a rock on the thigh
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
Black and grey realistic lion head tattoo with a flowing mane and a yellow eye, sitting on the shoulder.
Realistic lion head on a shoulder
Large Japanese style dragon tattoo covering a person's back, with grey scales, red accents and black clouds.
Japanese dragon across a full back
Colour tattoo of a mermaid with flame-like red and orange hair and a blue-green tail, sitting on the upper arm.
Mermaid with flowing hair on upper arm
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 and grey realism tattoo of a mermaid with long flowing hair and a scaled tail, covering a person's upper back.
Mermaid across the upper back
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 and grey dragon tattoo with a detailed head and scaled body wrapping from the hip down the outer thigh.
Dragon tattoo across hip and thigh
Black and grey Celtic knotwork tattoo on the left hand and scale pattern tattoo on the right hand, both extending onto the forearms, with fingertips touching against a black background.
Celtic knotwork and scale tattoos on both hands
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
Two-panel image of a lower leg: red outline stencil on the left and a finished black tribal pattern tattoo covering the calf on the right.
Tribal calf tattoo, stencil and finished
Black and grey realistic fish scale tattoo with small bubble details on the hip, shown in a close-up photo.
Fish scale pattern on a hip
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
Colour tattoo of a red dragon breathing a fireball in a neo-traditional style, running down the side of a torso over the ribs.
Red dragon breathing fire on ribs
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of stacked planets, including two ringed planets, within a thin rectangular frame marked 0, 1/2 and 1, on a forearm.
Planets in a vertical scale on forearm
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
Two bare legs and feet covered in colourful scale and fin tattoos in pink, purple, teal and green on the calves and ankles.
Full leg scale and fin tattoo
Realistic colour tattoo of a blue steel armour plate with a Celtic triquetra knot and scale mail, set within torn skin and flames on a man's upper arm and shoulder.
Armour plate and flames on an upper arm sleeve
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 tattoo of a blue-grey and green Eastern-style dragon coiling across a person's upper back, shown in a Japanese style.
Blue and green dragon across a back
Black and grey dotwork koi fish tattoo with a mandala background, running across the upper arm and shoulder.
Koi fish with mandala on upper arm
Black and grey shaded fish scale tattoo on a person's hip, with the edge of white underwear visible below it.
Fish scale tattoo on a hip
Neo-traditional colour tattoo of an owl with pink flower eyes, purple and teal scale feathers and orange accents on a thigh.
Colourful owl tattoo on a thigh
Black and grey Japanese dragon with clouds, maple leaves and a rose across a forearm, shown from three angles.
Japanese dragon and maple sleeve on a forearm
Gold and silver metallic geometric temporary tattoos on a woman's forearm and wrist, including a pineapple design on the hand.
Metallic gold and silver wrist tattoos
Black and white photograph of a fine scale pattern tattoo across the back of a hand and fingers, with chunky rings and a cigarette in view.
Scale pattern tattoo on the back of a hand
Black and grey photo of a small Libra zodiac symbol tattooed on the nape of a person's neck, with hair tied up in a bun.
Libra zodiac symbol on the nape
Black and grey realistic dragon with a shaded head and scaled body, claws gripping a sphere, tattooed on the upper arm.
Black and grey dragon gripping a sphere on upper arm
Back of a person's neck showing a fine line black tattoo of a horizontal bar balanced on a small upright triangle, in a fine line geometric style.
Balance line and triangle on the neck
Black and grey full sleeve tattoo on an arm, showing a woman's face with flowing hair beside floral and swirling motifs, extending from the shoulder to the forearm.
Woman portrait and floral full sleeve
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 realism tattoo of a mermaid draped over an anchor on the upper arm and shoulder.
Mermaid draped over an anchor on an upper arm
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 grey shaded dragon tattoo running from the shoulder down the upper arm, with its horned head resting on the shoulder.
Black and grey dragon across shoulder and arm
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
Black and grey realism tattoo of a shaded skull and ornate key on an upper arm, with part of a scaled fish tattoo visible above it.
Skull and ornate key on upper arm