Shading tattoo ideas

28 photos and flash · 36% Realism, 18% Dotwork · Forearm most common

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Realistic blue butterfly tattoo with black shading on a person's upper back near the shoulder blade.
Blue butterfly on the upper back
Small black fine line tattoo of three stacked triangles with shaded hatching on the side of an ankle, shown on bare feet over a wooden floor.
Stacked triangles on the ankle
Black ink script lettering design with stippled shading, dots and swirling flourishes, drawn on white paper.
Script lettering design with dotwork shading
Watercolour-style tattoo on the side of the ribs showing a red flower, black brush strokes and a line of printed lyrics on a grey shaded background.
Red flower and lyrics on the ribs
Black and grey realism tattoo of a wolf walking towards the viewer across a man's upper chest and shoulder.
Realistic wolf tattoo across chest and shoulder
Colour tattoo on the outer thigh showing a large block letter with a star in blue and red panels, with a shaded sphere above it, worn beneath rolled denim and a brown cowboy boot.
Star and sphere thigh tattoo in blue and red
Small black and grey fine line tattoo of two hands reaching towards each other on the inner forearm.
Two reaching hands on a forearm
Small black fine line infinity symbol tattoo on an ankle, with a paper plane filling the left loop and a dashed line forming the right loop.
Infinity symbol with paper plane on ankle
Black and grey tattoo of a compass rose beside a tall pine tree, with dotwork fading down the trunk, on the calf near the ankle.
Compass and pine tree on a lower leg
Black and grey shaded tattoo of large outlined stars and swirling smoke-like shading across a shoulder and upper arm.
Stars and swirls across shoulder and upper arm
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of a shaded figure inside a triangle outline on the inner forearm.
Shaded figure inside a triangle on a forearm
Black and grey realistic lily tattoo with ink splashes and partial script above, sitting on the upper arm.
Black and grey lilies on an upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a pin-up woman in a billowing white dress on the side of the ribs, with a vintage car tattoo beside it.
Pin-up woman with billowing dress on ribs
Black and grey photograph of a man seen from behind, with a skull tattoo and other tattoo work on his upper arm and forearm, wearing a dark t-shirt with a printed slogan.
Black and grey arm tattoos with a slogan tee
Black and grey shaded tattoo of a small pale figure in a dark fading patch on the outer thigh, with a light blue top and purple bed behind.
Black and grey figure tattoo on a thigh
Back view of a person with a black and grey tattoo sleeve on the raised arm, showing clouds, leaves and floral shapes across the upper arm and forearm.
Black and grey arm sleeve seen from behind
Black and grey hexagonal honeycomb tattoo covering a shoulder and upper arm, with shaded hexagons that appear raised.
Hexagon honeycomb pattern across a shoulder
Black and grey realistic skull tattoo with ornamental shading on an upper arm, photographed at a steep angle.
Realistic skull on an upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a cross with cracked edges on the upper back, shoulder blade area.
Cracked cross on upper back
Black and grey realism tattoo of a howling wolf with smoky shading and maple leaves, placed on the side of a person's ribs.
Howling wolf and maple leaves on the ribs
Black and grey tattoo of a cartoon cat wearing a bow and holding a pistol, with wavy shading below, on a forearm.
Cartoon cat with a pistol on a forearm
Close photograph of a small grey shaded dome tattoo with an outline and horizontal inner lines, at the end of an arm, with faint scratch-like marks above it.
Grey dome tattoo on an arm
Black and grey realism style tattoo of a deer antler curving down the upper arm, with shaded highlights along the tines and base.
Antler tattoo on an upper arm
Realistic colour tattoo of purple, blue and red flowers with green leaves and grey shading running down the side of the ribs.
Colourful flowers on a side ribs tattoo
Black and grey dotwork triangle tattoo with a shaded point on the centre of a woman's chest, above a knit crop top.
Small triangle tattoo on the chest
Black and grey scrollwork tattoo with swirling shapes and shading on a forearm, beside a leather strap and stacked leather bracelets.
Black and grey scrollwork on a forearm
Realistic colour tattoo of two pink roses above a shaded grey skull with red accents, on the outer thigh.
Roses and skull on a thigh
Teal scale-like tattoo with soft grey shading on the upper thigh of a person lying in denim shorts and a woven belt.
Teal scale tattoo on a thigh