Sea tattoo ideas

574 photos and flash · 21% Fine line, 20% Traditional · Forearm most common

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A sheet of blue line and solid wave designs in a Japanese-influenced style, arranged in rows on a white background.
Sheet of blue wave designs
Navy engraved-style drawing of a curling wave with foam and a dark speckled circle on a beige background, a flash design with no body placement shown.
Curling wave with splatter circle
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 drawing of a skull wrapped in octopus tentacles with a ship's anchor behind it, shown as a design on a dark background.
Skull, anchor and tentacles design
Black ink design of an anchor with a looping line leading to a flock of birds and the script words carry with me the weight of the sea, shown on a white background.
Anchor and birds with script quote
Black and grey flash sheet drawing of a sailing ship on waves, two swallows, an anchor and a telescope, with the script phrase Between the Devil and the deep blue Sea beneath.
Sailing ship, swallows, anchor and telescope flash
Black and grey traditional flash design of an hourglass reading TEMPUS FUGIT, with a sailing ship in the top bulb and a skull in the bottom bulb.
Hourglass with skull and ship
Traditional style flash drawing of a mermaid with shell top and a vintage brass diving helmet diver beside her, framed by a rope border.
Mermaid and diver under the sea
Retro-style flash drawing of a dark-haired mermaid with a teal tail, surrounded by orange fish, pink coral and stylised waves, with no body placement shown.
Vintage mermaid with fish and coral
Blue pen sketch of a sailing ship inside a bottle, with a kraken's tentacles reaching up from the waves beside it.
Ship in a bottle with kraken sketch
Pencil drawing of a traditional-style tattoo design showing a kraken's tentacles wrapped around a sailing ship inside a rope-edged oval.
Kraken attacking a sailing ship design
Black line drawing of a curling wave flowing into the script words 'into the sea', a fine line lettering tattoo design on a white background.
Wave swirl with 'into the sea' script
Blue ink drawing of a traditional sailing ship in heavy waves, with a curling banner on the left reading LOVE IS LIKE A TIDE BRINGING YOU HOME, intended as a tattoo design.
Sailing ship and banner design
Blue shaded flash design of two dolphins curving head to tail into a circle, with one tail at the top and one at the bottom.
Two dolphins forming a circle
Black ink design of a shark fin rising above two wavy lines, with a stippled fill, shown on a plain white background.
Shark fin above waves
Black and grey neo-traditional design drawn on tracing paper of a mermaid with a ship, anchor, rope and ship's wheel, with no body placement shown.
Mermaid with ship and ship's wheel design
Neo-traditional flash drawing of a pink scallop shell holding a white pearl, with green seaweed and teal dots, drawn on paper.
Pearl in a pink shell design
White line drawing of a whale built from stylised waves on a navy background, with a tiny boat and figures in the sea, drawn as a flash design.
Whale formed from waves and a small boat
Pencil drawing of a tattoo design showing a striped lighthouse, a sailing ship and stormy waves framed inside a ship's wheel, in a traditional nautical style.
Lighthouse and sailing ship in a ship's wheel
Traditional style flash sheet showing a red crab with a heart-shaped body, an anchor wrapped in rope with waves, a scallop shell and a conch shell.
Nautical flash sheet with crab, anchor and shells
Black ink drawing of two whale tails rising from stylised waves on white paper, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement visible.
Two whale tails with waves
Black line drawing of a three-masted sailing ship with billowing sails among curling waves, shown as a flash design rather than on skin.
Sailing ship in rough waves
Black and grey flash drawing of a pocket compass with waves breaking beneath it and a flock of birds rising above, drawn on pale paper.
Compass, birds and waves design
Six blue fine line drawings of waves arranged in a grid on a white background, shown as tattoo design flash.
Six line drawings of waves
Black and grey flash design of a three-masted pirate ship with a skull flag, surrounded by pirate-themed lettering and a shark.
Pirate ship with lettering flash 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 ink pen drawing of a three-masted sailing ship on hatched waves, with a dotted line falling to a small anchor, on plain off-white paper.
Sailing ship and anchor pen drawing
Colour flash design of a dark-haired mermaid with a green scaled tail seated on a pink and orange shell, holding a pearl necklace among rising bubbles and two yellow fish.
Mermaid on a shell with bubbles
Pencil sketch of a compass rose with N, E, S and W labels and the words A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor set in a circle around the centre.
Compass rose with sailor quote
Black ink dotwork drawing of an anchor with a circular medallion showing a sun, palm trees and a small island above the sea.
Anchor with palm tree island medallion
Black ink line drawing of a sun with dotwork and rays above geometric mountains and wavy sea lines, all enclosed in a triangle, shown as a tattoo design on white paper.
Sun, mountains and waves in a triangle
Black ink drawing of a lighthouse inside a circular compass rose, with dotwork and patterned panels, sketched as a tattoo design.
Lighthouse inside a compass rose design
Navy line drawing of a bearded sailor in a striped top and cap, with tattooed arms, anchor and rope, and the lettering A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.
Sailor flash with smooth sea lettering
Black ink line drawing of an ornate scallop shell with a woman's face and pearl necklace at its centre, surrounded by smaller shells, waves and bubbles, drawn as a tattoo design.
Shell and wave design sketch
White single-line drawing of a small circle above a stylised wave on a dark background, a fine line design with no body placement shown.
Circle above a wave line drawing
Black ink line drawing of a three-masted ship on hatched waves with a dotted line to an anchor, above the script words Life's roughest storms prove the strength of our anchors, on crumpled paper.
Ship, waves and anchor with script quote
Traditional style flash sheet in navy line work showing an anchor with rope, a swallow in flight, a three-masted sailing ship and a cluster of roses on a white background.
Nautical flash sheet with anchor, swallow, ship and roses
Black and white ink drawing of a crescent moon above a circular scene of a breaking wave and a rock under a night sky, a possible tattoo design.
Crescent moon over a wave in a circle
Pen drawing of a neo-trad style lighthouse design inside a rope-edged oval, with clouds, waves and crystals, in black and grey ink on paper.
Lighthouse in rope frame design
Line drawing of two skeletal mermaids with mint green hair and pink shells on a black background, with mirrored lettering reading dead and sea.
Skeleton mermaids with mint hair
Black and white line drawing flash sheet showing a lighthouse, a sailing ship, a compass rose, an anchor, two birds and a floral swirl, with no body placement shown.
Nautical flash sheet with lighthouse and anchor
Black and white ink drawing of a large letter S, its strokes formed from flowing flame-like lines and ocean waves with foam crests.
Wave and flame letter S design
Traditional flash drawing of a three-masted sailing ship with grey sails and a red pennant, set in a rope oval with grey clouds, a red sun and blue waves.
Sailing ship in a rope frame with setting sun
Flash design of three blue dolphins arcing together in a tight group, shaded in blue with white highlights on a white background.
Three blue dolphins leaping
White line drawing of a whale tail fluke on a dark navy background, with mountains, waves and a whale scene filling its shape, shown as a design with no body placement.
Whale tail filled with mountains and sea
Black traditional-style swallow flying over waves and a sun, printed as a graphic on a grey vest top against a teal wooden background.
Traditional swallow over waves design
Loose blue watercolour and black ink drawing of a curling wave on white paper, with splattered ink dots around it.
Blue ink and watercolour wave
Coloured traditional-style flash drawing of a red and white striped lighthouse framed by a rope border, with a red flower at the top and an anchor at the bottom.
Traditional lighthouse and anchor flash design