Sketch tattoo ideas

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

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Pencil sketch of an abstract symbol made of looping swirls, a long vertical stroke and scattered dots, drawn on plain paper as a possible tattoo design.
Swirling abstract symbol sketch
Sketch-style rabbit tattoo with blue, purple and pink watercolour washes on the upper arm.
Sketched rabbit with watercolour splashes on upper arm
Pencil and colour sketch of two owls for a neo-traditional tattoo design, one holding a skeleton key in its beak.
Owl with key design sketch
Pencil and red pencil sketch of a snarling wolf overlapping an antlered stag, drawn as a design study for a tattoo.
Wolf and stag pencil design sketch
Pencil sketch of a botanical tattoo design with acanthus-style scrolls, chrysanthemums and peonies, shown as a drawing on paper with no body placement visible.
Pencil sketch of floral scrolls and chrysanthemums
Black and grey pencil drawing of three roses with leaves, drawn as a botanical tattoo design sheet with no body placement shown.
Three roses in a black and grey cluster
Pencil drawing of a lion head with a flowing, swirling mane, shaded in soft greys as a tattoo design.
Lion head pencil sketch
Black linework and dotwork drawing of a rose framed by mandala-style petals, sketched on tracing paper beside a pen case.
Rose within a mandala design sketch
Pencil sketch design of a hummingbird feeding from bell-shaped flowers on a curling vine with leaves, suited to a botanical tattoo.
Hummingbird feeding from bell flowers
Black line drawing of a hand gripping a tattoo machine, with roses and lotus leaves wrapped around the wrist and forearm in a traditional botanical style.
Hand holding a tattoo machine with roses
Red pencil sketch of a woman with flowing hair entwined with a snake and surrounded by flowers and leaves, drawn as a tattoo design.
Woman and snake floral design sketch
Pencil sketch of an ornamental tattoo design with a flame motif, a lotus, a moth and dotted accents, shown as a drawing with no body placement.
Lotus and moth design sketch
Pencil sketch of a heart formed from feathered wings, with two birds inside and crossed blades at the base, drawn as a tattoo design.
Winged heart with two birds and crossed blades
Pencil sketch of an outlined heart pierced diagonally by a dagger, drawn on a page of a spiral sketchbook.
Heart pierced by a dagger sketch
Pencil sketch of a treble clef with a heart and peace sign inside it, drawn on plain white paper as a tattoo design.
Treble clef with heart and peace sign sketch
Black line drawing of a ribcage with a bow and arrow, flanked by flowers and a sunburst above, captioned Sagittarius, in a botanical illustration style.
Sagittarius ribcage, bow and flowers
Fine line pen drawing of a tattoo design with an Om symbol above a stippled, looping ornamental knot, shown on plain white paper with no body placement.
Om symbol above a looping ornament
Pencil sketch of a compass rose with ripple lines and several birds in flight, a tattoo design shaded in black and grey.
Compass rose with birds in flight
Pencil sketch of a tattoo design with swirling scrolls and five-pointed stars trailing diagonally across a white background.
Swirling stars in pencil sketch
Pen and ink sketch of a sailing ship whose hull forms a dripping skull, drawn on an open sketchbook page.
Skull ship pen sketch
Hand-drawn black ink sketch of a DNA double helix on a cream background, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement visible.
DNA double helix sketch
Pencil sketch of a tattoo design showing two large roses, smaller buds and leaves wrapped around a compass star, shown on paper with no body placement.
Rose cluster and compass star sketch
Black ink sketch of a mountain range above the handwritten script words the mountains are calling, shown as a tattoo design on paper.
Mountain range with script quote
Brown ink drawing of a jellyfish with long trailing tentacles on cream paper, shown as a possible tattoo design.
Jellyfish ink sketch on paper
Sketch style forearm tattoo of dandelion seed heads, a red sun and lettering in black ink with touches of red, on the inner forearm.
Dandelions and red sun on a forearm
Red pencil flash drawing of a swan and a skull-like head inside a cracked scrolled frame, a neo-traditional design shown on paper rather than skin.
Swan in a cracked ornate frame
Back and shoulder of a person with fine line black tattoos of a birdcage, a sailing ship sketch and script above the shoulder, with the head turned away.
Birdcage and ship tattoos on a shoulder and back
Hand-drawn ornate letterform in red fineliner with scrolls, filigree and hatched shading, a design suited to lettering-style tattoos.
Ornate red ink lettering sketch
Pencil sketch of a woman wearing a wolf headdress with feathers, with a rose and pearl strands drawn below, shown as a tattoo design on paper.
Woman in wolf headdress with rose design
Black pen sketch of a nested geometric triangle design on a notebook page, with handwritten words Explore, Challenge, Transcend, Express, Create and Learn beside small triangle motifs.
Geometric triangle design sketch with words
Pen and ink sketch of three feathers on cream paper, drawn in fine black linework with soft shading, suited to a feather tattoo design.
Three feather sketches on cream paper
Red line drawing of a fox head framed by ornamental flowers and filigree, a tattoo design sketched on tracing paper.
Fox head with floral ornament sketch
Pencil-style line drawing of a woman with closed eyes, flowers in her hair, a songbird and orchid sprigs, designed as a fine line tattoo sketch.
Woman with bird and orchids sketch
Pencil and wash flash sketch of an ornate lace-patterned heart held by two hands, with a crown above and a dagger through it, partly tinted pink.
Lace heart with crown and dagger design
Pencil sketch of a dreamcatcher with two shaded feathers and small birds, drawn on a spiral sketchbook page, suitable as a tattoo design.
Dreamcatcher and feathers pencil sketch
Blue pen sketch of an Egyptian queen in a striped headdress, with an Eye of Horus, an ankh, palm fronds and a flower of life behind her.
Egyptian queen tattoo design sketch
Pen drawing of a tattoo design on a woman's torso in a bikini, showing a Japanese style dragon and mermaid along the ribs and hip.
Dragon and mermaid design on a torso
Blue pencil drawing of a tattoo design showing a woman's face framed by flowing hair, peonies and a owl, in a neo-traditional style.
Woman with roses and an owl design
Pencil and red ink sketch of an ornate lion head wearing a crown, drawn as a tattoo design on paper, with no body placement shown.
Lion head with crown, pencil design sketch
Pencil sketch of a woman with eyes closed and a bonsai pine tattoo design across her shoulder and upper arm, drawn in a Japanese-inspired style.
Woman with bonsai pine tattoo design, pencil sketch
Pencil-style sketch of a tattoo design showing an ornate birdcage, a small bird and flowers, drawn on paper with no body placement shown.
Birdcage, bird and flowers design
Black and grey sketch-style tattoo of a fawn head with thistle flowers on the forearm, shaded with dotwork stippling.
Fawn and thistle on a forearm
Black and grey sketch-style tattoo of two birds and flowers across a woman's upper back, with dotwork shading.
Two birds and flowers across a back
Hand-drawn script lettering design reading Mind on my money, money on my mind, in black ink on cream paper, being traced by a hand holding a pen.
Script lettering sketch on paper
Pencil sketch of a small bird with outstretched wings and feathered detail, drawn in red and blue coloured pencil on cream paper, shown as a possible tattoo design.
Bird with spread wings pencil sketch
Pencil sketch of a fox with its head turned back over its shoulder, drawn as a simple black outline design on grey paper.
Stylised fox outline sketch
Pencil sketch of a stylised lion head in profile with a flowing mane, drawn in brown ink on cream paper beside a green pencil.
Lion head sketch on paper
Pencil sketch of an anchor with a dotted line curling up to a flock of birds, drawn on lined paper as a tattoo design.
Anchor with dotted line and flying birds