Scale tattoo ideas

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

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Close-up of a Japanese style tattoo on a back and upper arm, showing a red and yellow serpent with a dark scaled head and orange eye among black and grey waves.
Japanese serpent and waves across back and arm
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of a koi fish on the upper arm and a dragon with flowers and waves across the shoulder and chest.
Black and grey koi and dragon shoulder piece
Colour tattoo of a golden koi fish swimming among pink flowers and teal water plants on an upper arm, in a Japanese-influenced neo-traditional style.
Koi fish and flowers on an upper arm
Colour tattoo on an upper arm showing a dark-haired girl with a mermaid tail, a banner reading I'M NOT PERKY, and a dark creature with a small pink figure below.
Gothic girl mermaid banner on upper arm
Black and grey dragon tattoo running down the back of a person with a raised arm, in Japanese style, with a branch-like tattoo on the upper arm.
Black and grey dragon across a back
Japanese style koi fish with orange flowers and waves covering the upper arm and shoulder, shown in two side-by-side photos.
Koi fish and flowers on upper arm and shoulder
Colour Japanese sleeve tattoo on an upper arm and shoulder, with orange flames, a pink flower, a purple bloom and green scales.
Japanese flames and flowers on an upper arm sleeve
Black ink ornamental tattoo of a peacock with paisley scrollwork across the shoulder and upper arm.
Paisley peacock design on a shoulder
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
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 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 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
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
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 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 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
Full arm sleeve tattoo in Japanese style showing a blue-green scaled serpent, red flames and dragon heads, shown from three angles.
Full sleeve with dragons and serpent in Japanese style
Black and grey realism tattoo of a rearing cobra with a raised hood and coiled body on the upper arm.
Cobra tattoo on upper arm
Neo-traditional style tattoo of a creature with an open mouth and tongue, a fin above and scales, with pink fill and black outlines on an upper arm.
Pink-backed creature with fin and lettering on arm
Black and grey Japanese style full sleeve tattoo on an upper arm and forearm, showing armour plates, a scale pattern and swirling shapes.
Japanese armour sleeve on an arm
A green glowing dragon tattoo with scale patterning on an upper arm, photographed under ultraviolet light against a blue fabric sleeve.
Glow-in-the-dark dragon on an arm
Black and grey shaded dragon tattoo with spread wings and a long spiked tail, on the upper arm.
Winged dragon on upper arm
Black and grey Japanese dragon full sleeve tattoo with scales, waves and clouds, covering the shoulder, upper arm and forearm.
Japanese dragon full sleeve
Black and grey Japanese-style dragon tattoo with scaled body, wings and clawed feet across an upper arm, shown in four close-up panels.
Black and grey dragon on an arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a winged dragon wrapped in smoke, on the outer upper arm and shoulder.
Black and grey dragon on an upper arm
Interlaced serpent tattoo in a Norse knotwork style running down the upper arm, with dotwork shading on the scales.
Interlaced serpent on an upper arm
Woman seen from behind with long wavy hair and a white crochet top, wearing silver temporary tattoos of scales and a chain motif on her upper arm.
Metallic temporary tattoos on an upper arm
Black and grey dragon head with Celtic knotwork wrapping across an upper arm and shoulder, with two smaller dragon heads below.
Dragon and Celtic knotwork on an upper arm
Black and grey Japanese-style dragon tattoo with its head on the chest and its body wrapping over the shoulder and upper arm.
Dragon across chest and shoulder
Black and grey snake tattoo with tribal swirls wrapping over the shoulder and upper arm.
Snake with tribal swirls on upper arm
Traditional colour tattoo of a heart and a brain balanced on scales above a red rose with green leaves, on the upper arm.
Heart and brain scales with rose on upper arm
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a rope-wrapped anchor with two mermaids, one above and one below, on an upper arm.
Anchor and two mermaids on an upper arm
Several arms linked together wearing gold and silver metallic temporary tattoos of scales, lattice bands and quatrefoils on the upper arm and forearm.
Metallic temporary tattoos on linked arms
Woman seen from behind on a sunny beach with silver metallic scale, eye and feather designs on her upper arm and back.
Silver metallic scale and feather tattoos
Realistic black and grey cobra with its hood raised, coiling down the upper arm, shown in a photo of a tattoo on skin.
Realistic cobra on an upper arm
Colour traditional-style tattoo of a stylised fish with red and orange flame-like fins and scale shading, on the upper arm and shoulder.
Stylised fish with red flame fins on upper arm
Black and grey Japanese style back tattoo with curling waves, a scaled creature and lotus flowers, extending down the left arm in a sleeve.
Back and arm sleeve with waves and dragon
Side view of a man's arm covered by a colourful Japanese style full sleeve tattoo featuring a fierce figure, a moon and foliage on the upper arm and shoulder.
Japanese full sleeve with warrior figure
Full arm sleeve of a blue Japanese-style dragon with red flames, its head on the shoulder and body wrapping down the upper arm and forearm.
Blue Japanese dragon sleeve on an arm
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
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
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 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
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