Sketch tattoo ideas

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

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Black and grey pencil sketch of an ornate tattoo design with a central rose, two side roses, lace-like patterning and dotted chains drawn on paper.
Rose and lace ornamental design sketch
Pencil tattoo design of a Roman numeral clock framed by two shaded roses and leaves, drawn over faint grid lines.
Clock and roses pencil design
Black and grey sketch-style tattoo of a bat with leaves and a daisy across the shoulder and upper chest.
Bat and leaves on a shoulder
Pen and ink sketch of two howling wolves with swirling smoke-like linework, drawn in black, blue, purple and orange on a notebook page, not shown on skin.
Pen sketch of two howling wolves
Six fine black ink sketches of looping, swirling ornamental designs drawn on grid paper, with two pens resting above them.
Six looping line ornament sketches
Pen sketch of a lion's head framed by lotus flowers and foliage, drawn as a botanical tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Lion head with lotus flowers sketch
Sketched tattoo design of a songbird with spread wings in front of a pocket watch with Roman numerals, surrounded by leaves, drawn in blue and red pencil.
Bird and pocket watch design sketch
Purple linework tattoo of the Millennium Falcon and Death Star across both thighs, with Rebel and Imperial emblems below.
Star Wars ships across both thighs
Six numbered pencil sketches of skulls in varying shapes and shading, shown as possible tattoo design options.
Six numbered pencil skull sketches
Hand-drawn black ink lettering sheet of the numbers 0 to 9, an exclamation mark and an ampersand, in a decorative lettering style suitable as tattoo flash.
Hand-drawn numerals and symbols sheet
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
Pencil sketches on graph paper of mountain peaks merged with heartbeat trace lines, shown as possible tattoo designs.
Mountain and heartbeat line sketches
Black and grey hand-drawn design of an arrow, a semicolon and an infinity symbol on a textured grey surface with vertical lines.
Arrow, semicolon and infinity symbol
Pen sketch of the words Who I am today is worse than other times in mixed lettering styles, with no body part visible.
Hand-drawn lettering sketch of a quote
Black ink sketch of an ornate anchor with swirling scroll details, drawn on paper beside a black marker and a gel pen.
Ornate anchor sketch with scrolls
Pencil sketch of three peony blooms with leaves and small buds in a botanical design, drawn for a tattoo and not shown on skin.
Three peonies with leaves, pencil design
Black and grey sketch of a Batman-style cowl with cross-hatched shading, fading into loose ink splatters on a white background.
Batman mask in ink splatter sketch
Black line drawing of an owl facing the viewer with its wings spread wide, shown as a tattoo design sketch with no body part visible.
Owl with spread wings sketch
Pencil sketch of an outstretched bird wing with layered feathers on a white background, a possible design for a tattoo.
Pencil sketch of a bird wing
Pencil sketch of a round-eyed owl perched on a branch beside blossoms and leaves, drafted as a botanical tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Owl on a branch with flowers sketch
Sketch-style tattoo of a green chameleon with a curled tail on a forearm, with black linework and a watercolour green wash.
Green chameleon sketch on a forearm
Grid of nine pen drawings on paper showing swirl, wave, dot and leaf-shaped line patterns in black ink, shown as tattoo design sketches with no body placement.
Nine pen sketches of line and dot tattoo designs
Sketch-style tattoo of a pale moon over a shadowed shape, with pink, purple and teal watercolour washes, on a limb.
Sketched moon with watercolour splashes
Fine line tattoo of an ornate cat face with mandala patterns and a lotus flower on a forearm, beside a matching black ink sketch on paper.
Ornate cat design on a forearm
Coloured pencil drawing of a clenched fist with red nails and a lettering design reading 'be kind to yourself' with a small heart on the wrist, in a lettering style.
Fist with 'be kind to yourself' wrist design
Pencil sketch of a wide-eyed cartoon owl perched on a shaded branch, drawn in a spiral-bound notebook, shown as a possible tattoo design.
Pencil sketch of a cartoon owl on a branch
Black and grey flash sheet of Harry Potter themed tattoo designs, including the Deathly Hallows, a golden snitch, the Sorting Hat, a stag silhouette and Dementor-style skulls.
Harry Potter motif flash sheet
Colour tattoo of a vintage camera with a black lens and orange ring, surrounded by green, blue and orange watercolour splashes, on a forearm.
Camera with watercolour splashes on forearm
Pencil sketch of a large number five with swirling filigree ornaments and the word Thirty in script lettering above it, beside a green pencil.
Thirty script and ornate number five sketch
Black and grey sketch of two feathers, one dark and upright and one lighter and curving downward, drawn as a tattoo design on a white background with no body part shown.
Two black and grey feathers design
Black ink drawing of a rosemary sprig inside a dotted circle on a sketchbook page, in a botanical fine line style, beside a carved stone figure.
Rosemary sprig sketch with dotted circle
Watercolour-style sketch of a flower with loose red, pink and blue washes on the upper leg, with a bed sheet visible behind.
Watercolour sketch flower on a thigh
Black ink sketch of a barn owl in flight with spread wings, drawn in fine line and dotwork shading, while a hand holds a pencil beside it.
Barn owl in flight sketch
Pencil and ink sketch of a raven head with dotwork shading, set within overlapping triangles and circles, drawn as a tattoo design on a sketchbook page.
Geometric raven head design sketch
Sketch-style TARDIS tattoo with a blue watercolour wash and a Bad Wolf sign, placed on the outer thigh.
TARDIS with Bad Wolf sign on a thigh
Coloured pencil sketch of a cartoon pin-up character with pigtails, holding a mallet and a pistol, with a red heart on the thigh and playing card letters beneath, drawn as a tattoo design.
Cartoon pin-up sketch with mallet and pistol
Pencil sketch of a curling fish or mermaid tail with scalloped scales and fanned fins, drawn in black and grey on a sketchbook page.
Curling fish or mermaid tail pencil sketch
Pencil sketch of a wolf howling up towards a large full moon, drawn on paper with faint construction guidelines.
Howling wolf and moon sketch
Black ink pen sketch of a dotwork cat creature with a leaf above and a lotus flower below, drawn on a sketchbook page.
Dotwork cat with leaf and lotus design
Pencil sketch of a swallow in flight among magnolia blooms and leafy sprigs, a tattoo design with no placement shown.
Swallow and magnolia design sketch
Hand-drawn flash design of a pink-shaded rose with leaves and dotwork mandala petals, held up over a person's chest.
Rose and mandala tattoo design sketch
Two pencil sketches of ornamental mandala-style flower designs on paper, drawn as tattoo designs with no body part shown.
Mandala flower and lace design sketches
Pencil and ink sketch of Medusa, a woman with snakes for hair, drawn on paper as a tattoo design.
Medusa sketch with snake hair
Realistic coloured tattoo of an Egyptian queen in a striped headdress with an ankh and pyramids, with an Eye of Horus below, on the inner forearm, shown beside its pencil sketch.
Egyptian queen and Eye of Horus forearm
Hand-drawn flash sheet titled Actions and Senses, with black line drawings inside circles, each labelled with an action or sense word such as Travel, Fall, See and Smell.
Actions and senses flash sheet
Pencil sketch of a hamsa-style hand design with an elephant and leaves, drawn on paper on a wooden table.
Hamsa hand with elephant and leaves sketch
Pencil drawing of an open pocket watch with a rose and leaves, shaded in grey, drawn as a tattoo design on paper.
Pocket watch and rose design sketch
Pencil sketch of an ornate oval frame with a fleur-de-lis crest and three roses, drawn as a possible tattoo design on paper.
Pencil sketch of roses in an ornate oval frame