Scale tattoo ideas

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

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Japanese style dragon leg sleeve with red cherry blossoms running from the thigh down to the ankle, shown on a leg resting on a tattooist's paper.
Japanese dragon leg sleeve with cherry blossoms
Close photo of a traditional style tattoo of a green dragon head with orange-tipped frill, bold black outlines and yellow ringed eyes, on the lower leg.
Green dragon head on a calf
Full arm sleeve in blackwork and dotwork with a hexagon scale pattern on the forearm and an ornamental mandala on the upper arm, shown from three angles.
Blackwork sleeve with hexagon scales and mandala
Colour tattoo sleeve with red apples, leaves and green snake scales across the chest, shoulder and arm of a shirtless man against a black background.
Apples and snake sleeve on chest and arm
Black and grey Japanese style dragon design with clouds, scales and claws, drawn on paper with no body placement shown.
Black and grey dragon with clouds
Black and grey realism tattoo of a Godzilla-style kaiju in profile with a spiked back and tail, on the side of the ribs.
Godzilla-style kaiju tattoo on the side ribs
Black and grey realism tattoo of claws tearing through skin on the upper chest, with small stars visible inside the tear.
Claws tearing through skin on chest
Colour tattoo of green and blue fish scales with small bubbles on the side of a person's torso, above the hip.
Green scales with bubbles on the side of the torso
Colour Japanese-style tattoo of a green and blue fish tail curling through black-outlined waves on skin.
Green and blue fish tail with waves
Black and grey realistic tattoo of two coiling snakes with patterned scales wrapping across the ribs and side of the torso.
Coiled snakes across the ribs
Neo-traditional style tattoo of a lotus with an eye at its centre above balance scales with moon and sun pans, on a person's upper back.
Lotus and scales on upper back
Full body Japanese style tattoo with koi, dragon and lotus motifs across the arms, chest and legs of a seated person against a black background.
Japanese bodysuit with koi and dragon
Woman seen from behind with a colourful Japanese-style phoenix and flower sleeve on her arm and a large tattoo across her thigh.
Japanese phoenix and flower sleeve with thigh tattoo
Black and grey Neo-trad back tattoo of a woman holding a set of scales, with roses, a skull and feathered wings across the back.
Woman with scales and skull on full back
Close view of a large dark grey scale pattern tattoo covering a shoulder and upper arm, with a small script tattoo on the chest above.
Scale pattern tattoo over shoulder and upper arm
Black and white ink snakes coiled together across a forearm, rendered in blackwork and dotwork style.
Intertwined snakes on a forearm
Gold and silver metallic temporary tattoo bands with scale, chevron, dot and swirl patterns wrapped across a forearm.
Gold and silver metallic temporary tattoos on forearm
Black and grey two-panel tattoo on an upper arm in an engraved style, showing scales and a solid polyhedron on the left and a skeleton holding an hourglass above a skull on the right.
Two-panel engraving tattoo on an upper arm
Full sleeve tattoo on an upper arm in Japanese style, with orange, green and red lotus-like motifs, swirling clouds and layered scale patterns.
Colourful ornamental sleeve on upper arm
Several arms linked together, showing gold and silver metallic temporary tattoos of scales and geometric bands on the upper arm, forearm and hand.
Gold and silver metallic temporary tattoos
Colour traditional tattoo of a pin-up mermaid with a flower in her hair and a green scaled tail, on the inner forearm.
Pin-up mermaid on a forearm
Black line drawing of a coiled snake with tribal-style patterned scales on a white background, shown as a standalone design with no body placement.
Ornamental snake design
Black and grey tattoo of balance scales held by a hand, framed by leafy branches and berries on the upper arm, with fine dotwork accents.
Scales and botanical branches on upper arm
Small teal and yellow shaded fish-scale tattoo of overlapping arcs on the top of a foot, with white-tipped toenails.
Green scale pattern on a foot
Realistic brown and tan snake tattoo with shaded scales coiling from the shoulder down across the chest.
Realistic snake tattoo across the chest
Colour tattoo of blue, green and yellow fish scales in a repeating pattern on the thigh, shown in two photographs.
Blue and green fish scale pattern on thigh
Black design of two dragons with their necks curving into a heart shape around a central sword, drawn in solid black on a white background, as a blackwork-style flash design.
Two dragons framing a sword in a heart shape
Black floral ornament design filling a Libra scales symbol, showing leaves, scrolls and swirling tendrils on a white background.
Libra symbol filled with floral ornament
Gold and silver metallic geometric temporary tattoos on a woman's forearms and hand, including a small pineapple on the hand.
Metallic geometric temporary tattoos on forearms
Black fine line tattoo of a mermaid with swirling hair and scroll details on the calf.
Mermaid line tattoo on a calf
Pencil drawing of a Japanese-style dragon coiling above chrysanthemum flowers, with wind lines, designed as a tattoo piece.
Japanese dragon with chrysanthemums
Black ink drawing of a pair of scales of justice with a floral and vine-entwined stem and base, shown as a tattoo design on plain paper.
Floral scales of justice design
Neo-traditional style colour tattoo of a fish with blue-grey scales and teal dots, shown on the forearm.
Fish tattoo on a forearm
Black line drawing of two koi fish swimming in a circle among sakura blossoms and water ripples, a Japanese-style tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Two koi fish with sakura flowers
Black ink line drawing of an ornate goldfish with flowing fins and swirled scale patterns, drawn on cream paper as a tattoo design.
Ornate goldfish line drawing
Black ink drawing of two snakes with scale texture, interlocking in a circle on a plain tan background, shown as a tattoo design.
Two snakes intertwined in a circle
Shaded colour mermaid tattoo with purple and teal scales and an orange starfish, placed across a person's upper back.
Mermaid with starfish on upper back
Black and grey realistic snake coiled around a round orb, tattooed on the forearm.
Coiled snake and orb on a forearm
Colour tattoo of an Art Nouveau style woman with flowing golden hair and a helmet-like headpiece, shown on the side of the body beneath a raised arm.
Art Nouveau woman with flowing golden hair
Black and grey blackwork tattoo of a scaled snake, open flowers and dotted geometric lines on the outer forearm.
Snake and flowers on a forearm
Drawn koi fish tattoo design in a Japanese style, with black scales, orange-gold fins and a red gill, beside the headline The Meaning Behind Koi Fish Tattoos.
Koi fish tattoo design with headline
Black and grey realistic dragon biting its own tail in a circle, tattooed across the upper back.
Dragon coiled in a circle on upper back
Black and grey Japanese style koi fish tattoo with wave linework on a person's upper back and shoulder blade.
Koi fish and waves on upper back
Japanese style dragon tattoo in red, orange and cream over dark green-black scale ground, across a hip and thigh with a white cloth wrapped around the waist.
Red and green dragon on hip and thigh
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a rose and a skull with scale detail on a woman's forearm.
Rose and skull on a forearm
A woman seated on a beach, seen from behind, showing a large colourful Japanese-style tattoo across her back with a peony, feathered bird and green scales.
Colourful Japanese back piece with peony and feathers
Black ink drawing of a woman's face framed by flowing hair, feathers and a tentacle, in a fine line and dotwork style, shown as a tattoo design rather than on skin.
Woman's portrait with feathers and tentacle
Colour fine line tattoo of a mermaid with flowing red hair and a blue peacock-feather tail, sitting on the lower back above jeans.
Mermaid with peacock-feather tail on lower back