Sketch tattoo ideas

480 photos and flash · 22% Botanical, 14% Fine line · Forearm most common

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Pencil sketch of a small fairy seated with tall, swept wings and curling flourishes, drawn as a tattoo design on paper.
Pencil sketch of a fairy with wings
Sketchy black linework tattoo of Totoro holding an umbrella on the upper arm, with grey shading and a pink brush-stroke splash behind it.
Totoro with umbrella on upper arm
Pen sketch of a tattoo design showing a safety pin with a bow and two lettered ribbons, drawn on paper with no body part visible.
Safety pin and bow with lettered ribbons
Black and grey sketch tattoo of a ballerina in a flowing tutu, arm raised, on the upper arm of a person in a white vest top.
Ballerina sketch on an upper arm
Loose ink sketch of a hummingbird in mid-flight with black and teal linework on a pale grey background, drawn as a possible tattoo design.
Hummingbird sketch in black and teal ink
Pencil sketch of a bee in flight above a faint geometric pattern of overlapping circles and hexagons, drawn as a tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Bee sketch over geometric circles
Four purple ink sketches of cats with octopus tentacles for bodies, arranged in a grid on white paper.
Cat and octopus hybrid sketches
Pencil and ink sketch of a small girl with her hair in a bun, holding balloon strings behind her back, with the words Sometimes you have to let go, to be able to move on around a circle.
Girl releasing balloons with circular quote sketch
Pencil sketch of a tattoo design showing an Egyptian woman in profile wearing a striped headdress, with an eye of Horus and an ankh beside her, drawn on a sketchbook page.
Egyptian woman with eye of Horus and ankh sketch
Pencil and colour sketch of a grey Celtic knot ringed by green and purple thistles, a tattoo design drawn on paper.
Celtic knot with thistles
Black ink mandala flower drawings on sketchbook paper, with the foreground design in dotwork and fine line, shown without a body placement.
Mandala flower design drawings on paper
Sketch-style fox head with orange watercolour splashes and a drawn tape deck with red dots, tattooed along the side of a person's ribs.
Fox head and tape deck on ribs
Red pencil drawing of a skull shaped as a dripping ice cream cone, with a fishnet leg in a heel and the script words I'm so above it.
Skull ice cream cone with dripping melt
Black ink line drawing of a small sun with rays and a crescent moon with three dots, sketched on white paper as a tattoo design.
Sun and crescent moon sketch
Pencil sketch of a calla lily tattoo design with leaves and curling scrollwork, drawn in a botanical style with no body placement shown.
Calla lily design with swirls
Pen and ink sketch of an ornate clock face with scrollwork borders and fine radiating detail, drawn on paper beside two fineliner pens.
Ornate clock face design sketch
Two matching black linework tattoos of bridges, one on each forearm, drawn in a loose sketch style with thin lines and light shading.
Matching bridge sketches on forearms
Hand-drawn ornate script lettering reading New York with fine line flourishes on white paper, sketched in progress with a pen.
New York ornate script lettering design
Pencil sketch of the words Stay a little longer in flowing script lettering with swirled flourishes, drawn on paper beside a stencil and an eraser.
Stay a little longer script lettering sketch
Pencil sketch on white paper of a fine-lined symbol made of curling swirls and an infinity-style loop, with a small number written beside it, shown as a possible tattoo design.
Swirl and loop symbol pencil sketch
Blue and black shield tattoo with the letters W and B on the inner forearm, with a black and grey sketch tattoo above it.
Blue shield logo on a forearm
Black and grey italic script tattoo on a man's forearm, reading 'to thine own self be' with the end cut off by the frame, above a sketched line motif.
Script quote tattoo on a forearm
A hand with a black pen sketching an ornate scrollwork heart frame on paper, with a small anchor tattoo on a finger.
Ornate scroll heart frame sketch with anchor
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
Pen sketch on grid paper of a maned lion wearing a crown beside a lioness wearing a tiara-style crown, drawn as a possible tattoo design.
Lion and lioness with crowns, pen sketch
Black sketchy linework tattoo of a fox and a rabbit with leaves and a branch across the chest and shoulder.
Fox and rabbit with leaves on chest
Black and grey sketch-style tattoo of a cartoon girl with large eyes and a hair bun, placed on the upper back.
Sketchy cartoon girl on upper back
Pencil and ink sketch of a pocket watch with Roman numerals, surrounded by leaves and scrolls, drawn as a neo-traditional tattoo design with no body part shown.
Pocket watch with leaves and scrolls
Blue pen sketch of a crystal cluster with flowers and sparkles, drawn as a tattoo design in a neo-traditional style, shown beside real stones on a sketchbook page.
Blue crystal cluster with flowers and sparkles
Pen sketch on grid paper of a looped, abstract seated figure with the word love in handwritten script beneath it, shown as a possible tattoo design.
Looped figure sketch with love script
Pencil sketch of a cartoon owl with large round eyes, shaded feathers and a tufted head, drawn as a tattoo design on paper.
Cartoon owl design sketch
Pencil sketch of a symmetrical lotus flower with dotted petal detail and small dots above and below, shown as a botanical tattoo design on plain paper.
Lotus flower pencil design
Black and grey sketch-style bird tattoo on a forearm with ink splatter blotches on both forearms near the elbows.
Sketched bird and ink splatter on both forearms
Pencil and red ink sketch of a vertical black arrow passing through a circle, with a red spiral curve and construction lines on a white background.
Arrow and red spiral design sketch
Pencil sketch of a looping acanthus scroll with leaves and small flower shapes on translucent paper, with the handwritten word angel at the top left.
Acanthus scroll pencil sketch
Pencil sketch of a compass rose with a leafy tree and twisting roots at its centre, with a heart-tipped loop line running to the east point.
Compass rose with tree and roots sketch
Pencil sketch of a compass rose design with shaded points, a ringed centre and map outlines with stars in two quadrants.
Compass rose with map quadrants
Small fine-line black tattoo of two hands reaching towards each other on the inner forearm.
Two reaching hands on a forearm
Pencil sketch of two bell-shaped lily of the valley flowers on a thin curved stem, drawn in fine line on white paper.
Lily of the valley pencil sketch
Pencil sketch of a tattoo design with a rose at the centre, leaves, stacked triangles and dotted lines, drawn on skin.
Rose and geometric triangles sketch
Pen sketch of a safety pin with a bow and two ribbons carrying lettering, drawn as a tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Safety pin and bow sketch
Pencil and ink sketch of a fine line botanical design of ferns and small flowering sprigs arranged in an open arc, with a pen resting beside it on white paper.
Botanical sprig arc design sketch
Pencil sketch of a horned beetle framed by a crescent moon, drawn on paper as a tattoo design with no body part shown.
Beetle and crescent moon sketch
Black ink line drawing of a peony with blossoms, leaves and berry sprigs on white paper, a botanical tattoo design sketch.
Peony and blossom floral sketch
Teal sketch design of a perched owl with pine branches, a pine cone, a pocket watch and wisps of smoke, drawn on cream paper.
Owl and pocket watch tattoo design
Red pencil sketch of a botanical flower and swirl tattoo design wrapping along the side of a torso and hip, drawn on a sketchbook page.
Floral side piece sketch in red pencil
Black ink drawing of a white fox and a black fox curled into a circle, with a moon and stars, drawn on an open sketchbook page.
White and black fox yin yang ink sketch
Pencil sketch design of a heart filled with rib-like lines, with the words hearts are wild creatures, that's why our ribs are cages curving around it.
Heart rib cage pencil sketch with quote