Scale tattoo ideas

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

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Black and grey full sleeve tattoo on an upper arm, with a mandala on the shoulder and a serpent over geometric bands.
Mandala shoulder and serpent sleeve on upper arm
Black line-art flash sheet of twelve zodiac-style designs, including an archer, a ram, a fish, a lion, a crab, a scorpion and a pair of scales, on a white background.
Set of zodiac-style line designs
Woman with long blonde hair wearing an orange top, showing gold metallic temporary tattoos of scales, a feather, leaves and a key on her shoulder, chest and forearms.
Gold metallic temporary tattoos on shoulder and arms
Black and grey realism sleeve on a woman's arm, showing a scaled snake, a camera and a portrait tattooed on the forearm and upper arm.
Black and grey sleeve with snake and camera
Drawn tattoo design of a green dragon coiling through grey swirling clouds in a Japanese style, shown on a parchment-coloured background.
Green dragon among grey clouds design
Black and grey realism style mermaid tattoo with flowing hair and a scaled fish tail across a person's full back, with bubbles around the figure.
Mermaid back piece in black and grey
Colour tattoo of blue, yellow and orange fish scales showing through a torn skin effect on the outer thigh.
Fish scales revealed through torn skin on thigh
Pencil sketch of a curling fish or mermaid tail with scalloped scales and fanned fins, drawn in black and grey on a sketchbook page.
Curling fish or mermaid tail pencil sketch
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of a skull merged with layered feathers, placed on the side of the ribs.
Feathered skull on the ribs
Traditional style tattoo of a teal and orange beetle with a central eye and green leaves, placed on the upper back near the neck.
Traditional beetle with eye on upper back
Black and grey Japanese style dragon tattoo with peony flowers wrapping around the side of a thigh and hip.
Dragon and peonies on a thigh
Flash design of a silver dragon coiling around an orange tiger that is mid-roar, with Chinese characters at the lower right, in Japanese-style tattoo artwork.
Silver dragon and tiger design
A mermaid tattoo in grey-green ink on a preserved piece of skin, displayed in a sealed glass jar, in a traditional style.
Preserved mermaid tattoo on skin in a jar
Close-up of gold and silver metallic temporary tattoos on a forearm and hand, with geometric bands, scales and a small pineapple design.
Metallic geometric temporary tattoos on forearm and hand
Black and grey dragon tattoo wrapping from the upper arm across the ribs, with a smaller flaming dragon on the thigh against a warm gold background.
Black and grey dragon across ribs and arm
Large black and grey Japanese style blackwork octopus tattoo spreading across a person's back and upper arm, with scaled skin and sucker detail on the tentacles.
Octopus tattoo across a back
Black and grey Japanese-style dragon tattoo wrapping around the outer thigh and hip, with its head and open jaws at the top.
Black and grey dragon wrapped around a thigh
Woman with long blonde hair wearing an orange top, with gold metallic temporary tattoos of scales on her shoulder and a feather and eye design on her forearm and hand.
Gold metallic temporary tattoos on shoulder and arm
Pencil line drawing of a Japanese-style dragon head and demon mask surrounded by flowers and scales, drawn on paper as a tattoo design.
Japanese dragon and flower sketch on paper
A colourful Japanese-style dragon tattoo with orange and blue scales runs down a leg onto the ankle, where cherry blossom sprigs sit beside a white strap heel.
Dragon tattoo on a leg in white heels
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a skeletal mermaid with long hair and a fish tail on an upper arm, with a peony above it.
Skeleton mermaid with peony on upper arm
Black and grey realistic tattoo of a dinosaur head with a textured, brush-stroked background, on the side of the torso.
Realistic raptor head on the side of the torso
Bold black tribal-style dragon tattoo with a small red flame on a lower leg, shown in a close photograph.
Tribal dragon on a lower leg
Black and grey Japanese dragon tattoo wrapping from the hip down the outer thigh, with its head and open jaws near the hip.
Japanese dragon wrapping hip and thigh
Black and grey scales of justice tattoo with swirling shading on the side of the back.
Scales of justice tattoo on the side of the back
Black and grey realism style tattoo of a rearing cobra with its hood spread, covering the upper arm.
Cobra with raised hood on upper arm
Colour tattoo of a dark-haired mermaid with closed eyes and a teal scale tail, surrounded by small red fish, on the inner forearm near the wrist.
Mermaid with red fish on a wrist
Blue ink line drawing of a fancy goldfish design on translucent tracing paper, with a purple pencil sketch of the same fish above it.
Goldfish tattoo design on tracing paper
Realistic black and grey snake tattoo coiling up a lower leg, with cream highlights on its scales, placed on the calf.
Realistic snake on a calf
Black and grey realism tattoo of a winged, blindfolded figure holding a set of scales, covering most of a person's back.
Winged blindfolded justice figure across a back
Black and grey tattoo of a scaled fish smoking a cigarette and riding a bicycle, with dotwork shading, on the lower leg.
Fish riding a bicycle and smoking
Two views of a forearm tattoo showing red scales beneath black, torn-open skin edges, placed on the forearm.
Torn skin with red scales on forearm
Black and grey Japanese style dragon coiled around a sword with red accents, tattooed on the forearm.
Dragon and sword on a forearm
Full-colour Japanese style dragon design with green scales, red fins and clouds on black, shown as a flash drawing with no body placement visible.
Green and red dragon design with wind chime
Two patches of teal and purple fish scale tattoos with shaded highlights on the outer thigh.
Teal and purple fish scale tattoos on a thigh
Realistic colour tattoo of a purple dragon head with a teal eye and spiked scales, placed on the outer thigh.
Purple dragon head on a thigh
Pencil sketch of a dragon coiling around a wolf that sits below it, drawn in soft shaded linework as a tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Dragon and wolf entwined pencil design
Pencil sketch of a koi fish swimming upward among lotus flowers and swirling water lines, drawn as a tattoo design in a Japanese style.
Koi fish sketch with lotus flowers
Small black fine line tattoo of balance scales on the inner wrist, set against an open printed book and a knitted jumper sleeve.
Scales of justice on the inner wrist
Black ink tattoo of a ruler with the numbers 1 to 8 running across the inside of a forearm against a blue wall.
Ruler with numbers 1 to 8 on a forearm
Gold metallic fish scale temporary tattoo on a shoulder and upper arm, with a gold clover chain design below it, worn over a bare back with a patterned strappy top.
Gold metallic fish scale temporary tattoos
Black and grey wolf head in profile with a snarling open mouth and scale-patterned fur, drawn as a flash design with no body placement shown.
Snarling wolf head in profile
Three clusters of teal, purple and pink mermaid scale tattoos on the outer thigh of a person lying on a white surface.
Teal and purple mermaid scales on a thigh
Black and grey dotwork mandala tattoo with a seed of life motif and scale-patterned shapes across a person's upper back.
Seed of life mandala on upper back
Black and grey pencil sketch of a dragon head in profile with swept-back horns, spiked crest and open jaw, drawn as a tattoo design.
Dragon head pencil sketch
Colour tattoo of a mermaid with a teal scaled tail on the ankle and top of a bare foot, standing on wet sand.
Mermaid tattoo on the ankle
Coloured pen drawing of two dragons facing each other nose to nose, forming a heart shape, as a tattoo design sketch.
Two dragons nose to nose in colour
Black and grey drawing of a coiled, scaled dragon with fin-like crest and clawed feet, shown as a tattoo design on white paper.
Black and grey coiled dragon design