Shell tattoo ideas

264 photos and flash · 18% Fine line, 15% Neo-trad · Forearm most common

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Watercolour style tattoo of a scallop shell above a nautilus shell on a calf, with black linework and washes of orange, yellow and blue.
Scallop and nautilus shells on a calf
Small black fine line shell tattoo on a person's lower abdomen, just above the waistband of blue denim jeans.
Small shell tattoo above the hip
Black outline scallop shell tattoo in a fine line style on the upper arm of a person wearing a white crop top.
Scallop shell on upper arm
Small fine line tattoo of a scallop shell in black ink on the inner forearm, near the elbow.
Fine line scallop shell on a forearm
Black and grey Capricorn sea goat tattoo with curled horns and a scaled fish tail, covering most of the upper back.
Capricorn sea goat across a back
Black ink and pencil drawing of a snail with an ornate patterned shell beside geometric crystals and scrolling swirls, a neo-traditional tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Snail and crystals tattoo design
Two people holding hands, each with a small fine line shell tattoo on the inner forearm, one teal and one lilac.
Matching shell tattoos on two forearms
Two forearms with black tattoos, an outline world map on one arm and a compass rose on the wrist, while the hands hold a pine cone and a shell.
World map and compass rose tattoos on forearms
Black and grey realism portrait of a woman with white eyes and snakes in her hair, set within an ornate filigree frame on the thigh.
Woman with snakes in ornate frame on thigh
Colour tattoo of a mermaid with a bold black outline, red hair, a purple shell top and a blue and green tail, on the lower leg.
Mermaid outline with coloured tail on a lower leg
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of a seashell on the upper arm, with the wearer in a navy and white striped top.
Seashell on upper arm
Small coloured tortoise tattoo with black outlines on the lower leg, above the ankle.
Tortoise tattoo on lower leg
Small fine line black outline tattoo of a scallop shell on the side of the ribs, below the arm.
Scallop shell on the side ribs
Black and grey dotwork tattoo design of an ornate scallop shell with a central oval gem, drawn on pale paper.
Ornate scallop shell design
Black and grey blackwork tattoo on a forearm showing a shaded face with one eye, white outlined roses across it and a hatched shell shape below.
Shaded face and rose on a forearm
Colour tattoo of a spiral shell in blue, purple and pink on a person's shoulder blade, with bold dark outlines.
Spiral shell on a shoulder
Black and grey dotwork sea turtle tattoo swimming across the outer thigh, with stippled shading on the shell and flippers.
Sea turtle tattoo on the thigh
Watercolour-style mermaid tattoo with red hair, a teal tail and black linework across the side of the ribs.
Watercolour mermaid on the side ribs
Fine line mermaid tattoo with flowing red hair, a shell top and blue wash water splashes on the lower leg.
Mermaid with red hair on a calf
Colour traditional-style tattoo of a pink flamingo with a flower-trimmed hair bow beside a pineapple, a sunset and sea, inside a rope-edged teardrop frame on a calf.
Flamingo in a rope frame on a calf
Black tribal-style sea turtle design with a spiral head, patterned shell and stylised flippers, shown as a line drawing on a white background.
Polynesian-style sea turtle design
Collage of four colour tattoos of Ariel from The Little Mermaid, mostly on the thigh or side of the body, in cartoon and watercolour-style designs.
Ariel from The Little Mermaid tattoos, four examples
Colour tattoo of two cartoon green turtles walking across the foot, the smaller one trailing behind the larger.
Two cartoon turtles on a foot
White sea turtle silhouette with a sand dollar inside its shell on a black background, shown as a design with no body placement.
Sea turtle with sand dollar design
Small fine line tattoo of a shell with stippled dotwork shading on the forearm, in dark ink against pale skin.
Small shell outline on an arm
Blue pencil sketch of a mermaid with shells in her hair, a starfish, bubbles, waves and a fish, drawn in a neo-traditional style on cream paper.
Mermaid with shells and fish sketch
Four pairs of ankles on a poolside, with small fine line black tattoos of a shell, an anchor with a heart, a palm tree and a thin line.
Shell, anchor and palm tree ankle tattoos
Fine line colour tattoo of a teal swirl and red and orange wavy shapes with a small purple dot on the forearm, with a beach behind.
Colourful swirl tattoo on a forearm
Watercolour-style nautilus shell tattoo with a black outline and blue, green and purple washes, on the elbow.
Watercolour nautilus shell on an elbow
Small colour tattoo of a turtle with brown shell segments and three pink hearts in the centre, on the side of the ribs.
Turtle with pink hearts on the ribs
Colour tattoo of a starry galaxy-filled figure silhouette inside a scalloped shell on the lower leg, with a bold black outline and pink and orange wash behind.
Galaxy silhouette in a shell on the calf
Neo-trad style colour tattoo of an open clam shell holding a pearl, with pink, orange and teal shading, on a forearm.
Open shell with pearl on a forearm
Black and grey fine line tattoo of a nautilus spiral with dotted geometric construction lines and circles on an upper arm.
Nautilus spiral with geometric construction lines
Neo-traditional colour tattoo of a shell holding a pearl, with red hearts, green leaves and bubbles, on a forearm.
Shell and pearl with hearts on a forearm
Traditional style colour tattoo of a sea turtle with a black-outlined star burst on its shell, placed on the lower back.
Turtle with star burst shell on lower back
Black and grey realism tattoo of a small sea turtle with shaded shell scutes and dotted edging, placed on the top of a foot.
Sea turtle on the top of a foot
Colour tattoo of a smiling cartoon sea turtle with large eyes and a red-spotted shell on the side of the ribs, in a bold outlined neo-traditional style.
Cartoon sea turtle on the side ribs
Two people seen from behind in a jungle setting, each with a small white scallop shell tattoo on the shoulder.
Matching white scallop shell tattoos on shoulders
Fresh black script lettering with a starfish, dots and a shell on the side of the ribs, covered by clear wrap and tape.
Script quote with starfish and shell on ribs
Woman seen from behind on a city street with a fine line cross-like symbol on her left shoulder blade, a paper plane on her upper back and a shell on her upper arm.
Fine line tattoos on back, arm and shoulder
Coloured illustration of a skeletal mermaid with a skull, flowing hair and fishbone tail, holding an open shell with a pearl, drawn as a tattoo design.
Skeletal mermaid holding a shell
Black and grey tattoo of a conch shell behind a person's ear, with outlined whorls and light shading on the shell.
Conch shell behind the ear
Two legs in denim shorts and black sneakers covered in colour neo-traditional tattoos, including an owl, a raven with roses, a fox and a rabbit.
Full leg sleeve of colourful neo-traditional tattoos
Neo-traditional colour tattoo of a woman's face framed by teal hair, octopus tentacles and peach shells, on the upper arm.
Woman portrait with teal hair and tentacles on upper arm
Two views of an arm with an abstract geometric tattoo of teal and blue circles, a dark shell-like form and fine radiating lines, running from the upper arm across the elbow onto the forearm.
Geometric shapes and shell on upper arm and forearm
Colour tattoo behind an ear showing a purple shell, a black fork and an orange starfish with small teal dots, placed behind the ear.
Shell, fork and starfish behind the ear
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of a skull, shells and peony flowers across a woman's hip and thigh, shown from the side against a white wall.
Skull and peony flowers across hip and thigh
Collage of six colour neo-traditional tattoos of ornate perfume bottles with smoke clouds, shown on arms and legs.
Neo-traditional perfume bottle tattoos in colour