Blackwork tattoo ideas

2,168 photos and flash · Forearm most common

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Black blackwork feather tattoo with small birds flying from its tip, on the lower back of a woman in a white bikini sitting on a sunny beach.

Feather and birds on lower back

Black and grey forearm tattoo of a dotted rain cloud above a patterned teacup filled with waves and a sailing ship, in blackwork and dotwork style.

Teacup with waves, ship and rain cloud

Black and grey sketchy blackwork tattoo of a sitting cat with ink drips running down the upper arm against a dark background.

Sketched black cat on upper arm

Black and white tribal-style flash design of a Mickey Mouse face, with ornate swirling patterns filling the ears, nose and mouth, and no placement on the body shown.

Tribal-style Mickey Mouse face design

Black and grey blackwork skull tattoo with dotted and mandala-like patterns on the upper arm, with the jaw open.

Ornate skull with mandala patterns on upper arm

Black mandala tattoo on head and neck

Bare back of a person with hands clasped behind their head, showing a black tribal design across the upper back and shoulders, a spider web on one shoulder blade and a star of David on the upper arm.

Tribal back tattoo with hands behind head

Black and grey blackwork tattoo of a ringed planet, Saturn-like, with striated shading, on the calf.

Ringed planet on a calf

Black and grey blackwork and dotwork tattoo on the outer thigh showing a fierce mythical creature head with ornate detailing, a compass-like motif and fine trailing lines.

Large mythical creature tattoo on a thigh

Black tribal swirl tattoo with dots and sweeping spikes on the inner forearm, shown in blackwork style.

Black tribal swirl on a forearm

Black tribal tattoo with swirls and triangular patterns running down the outer thigh and over the knee.

Tribal band tattoo on a thigh and knee

Solid black tribal-style eagle design with wings spread wide and talons extended, shown on a white background.

Tribal eagle with spread wings

Solid black tribal-style cat design with spiral patterns and a curled tail, shown on a plain white background with no body placement visible.

Tribal black cat with spiral tail

Close photograph of a hand holding a green bottle, with a black striped blackwork tattoo wrapping across the fingers.

Striped black tattoo across fingers

Solid black symmetrical blackwork tattoo on an upper arm, forming a heart shape with mirrored stylised animal heads and interlocking loops.

Symmetrical heart-shaped blackwork on upper arm

Black ornate hamsa hand tattoo with an eye at its centre and leaf patterns, placed on the side of a person's ribs.

Ornate hamsa hand on the ribs

Black blackwork tattoo of a crown above a triangle containing the letters FOB, with drip-style edges, on the forearm.

Crown and triangle lettering on forearm

Sheet of eight black tribal-style gecko and lizard designs with white pattern details, shown as flash for tattoo use.

Tribal gecko flash sheet

Solid black silhouette of a bird in flight tattooed on the inner wrist, with a book cover visible behind the arm.

Flying bird silhouette on a wrist

Blackwork geometric tattoo of parallel bands and a diamond pattern on a forearm and wrist, partly covered by a turquoise bracelet.

Black geometric bands on wrist with turquoise jewellery

Black tribal tattoo of an animal head above a paw print with spiral details, on the outer upper arm.

Tribal animal and paw design on upper arm

Black and white design of two facing ravens with spiral eyes and wings, framed by Celtic knotwork in a circle, shown as a drawn tattoo design with no body part visible.

Twin ravens with spirals and knotwork

Black tribal scorpion tattoo in solid blackwork linework across the upper arm and shoulder of a person in a white vest top.

Tribal scorpion on upper arm

Two forearms crossed in front of a pale green t-shirt, both covered in bold black tribal blackwork patterns on the forearm.

Black tribal patterns on both forearms

Two mirrored black geometric tattoos of radiating triangular spikes curve across a person's forearms, with the face hidden behind the hands, in a blackwork style.

Mirrored geometric spike forearms

Black and grey ornamental mermaid tattoo with a flower on the outer thigh, filled with patterned detail.

Ornamental mermaid and flower on the thigh

Two forearms side by side: the left has a fine line arrow with feathered fletching, the right has a bold blackwork arrow and chevron design, both on the inner forearm.

Arrow tattoos on two forearms

Black and grey arrowhead tattoo with a bold outline and shaded fill on a forearm, with a dark rose tattoo above it.

Arrowhead tattoo on a forearm

Black and grey geometric owl tattoo on an upper arm, built from dotwork shading, fine lines and solid black triangles.

Geometric owl on an upper arm

Black geometric four-armed motif with stepped edges and soft grainy shading on the inner forearm, resembling a swastika.

Angular geometric motif on forearm

Black and grey feather tattoo with fine linework, dotwork and a row of beads, running along the forearm.

Feather tattoo on the forearm

Back of a woman's neck and upper back showing a large black ornamental mandala tattoo in a V shape, placed across the nape and between the shoulder blades.

Black ornamental mandala across upper back and nape

Black ink fern frond tattoo on a forearm, with the hand open and a blurred outdoor background.

Black fern frond tattoo on a forearm

Black ornamental blackwork tattoo of paisley-like scrolls and scalloped borders covering a forearm and the back of a hand in dim light.

Ornamental blackwork on forearm and hand

Black linework tattoo of stacked wavy lines forming a band across the inner forearm, in a fine line and blackwork style.

Wavy line band on a forearm

Black dotwork and blackwork tattoo on a calf of three stacked balloons with grinning faces, two bats and a small figure hanging from a string.

Stacked balloons with skeletal characters on a calf

Black blackwork tattoo of a typewriter with the words Choose a dream in typed lettering beneath it, on the upper arm.

Typewriter with Choose a dream on arm

Traditional style tattoo of a hooded woman holding an infant in front of a sunburst, on a forearm with solid black shading around it.

Madonna and child with sunburst on a forearm

Black lace-pattern tattoo band around the upper thigh, drawn in blackwork and dotwork style, with a bathtub edge visible behind the leg.

Lace band tattoo on a thigh

Bold black tribal sun design with spirals and a stylised face covering the upper back and shoulder blade.

Tribal sun design on a shoulder blade

Black and white flash design of a shield crest containing a bird, a pentagram, a TARDIS, a lattice panel and the text 221B, above a banner reading NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST.

Fictional house crest with TARDIS and 221B

Black and grey photograph of a blackwork ornamental skull tattoo on the upper thigh, with the face cropped out of frame.

Ornamental skull on the upper thigh

Three photographs of a forearm tattoo of black hexagons and dotwork shading that wraps toward the elbow, with red and blue splashes above.

Hexagon and dotwork forearm tattoo

Black and grey blackwork tattoo of two feathered wings framing a central mandala, placed on the ribs below the bust.

Winged mandala tattoo under the bust

Flash sheet with two tattoo designs: a coloured dagger wrapped in a green snake, vines and red roses on the left, and a black and grey dagger with a snake on the right.

Dagger and snake flash designs

Black ornamental sugar skull design with a cap, crossed bones and filigree swirls, drawn in solid black linework on a white background.

Ornate sugar skull with crossbones

Black and grey photo of a woman with long hair in an off-shoulder jumper, showing a solid blackwork flame tattoo on her upper arm.

Black flame tattoo on an upper arm

A black ink branching tree tattoo on a man's shin, shown while he sits in a folding camping chair outdoors in a botanical blackwork style.

Dark branching tree tattoo on a shin