Traditional tattoo ideas

4,572 photos and flash · Forearm most common

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Traditional style tattoo of a grey teacup with curling steam and a red rose with green leaves, placed on the thigh.

Teacup and rose on a thigh

Black and grey diamond-shaped tattoo on a limb showing a flying saucer over mountains and pine trees, with the words I want to believe along the left edge.

UFO over mountains in a diamond frame

Colour tattoo on a forearm of a mint ice cream scoop shaped like a cat's face, with a chocolate drip and cherry, beside red flowers in a neo-traditional style.

Cat-face ice cream cone on a forearm

Colour tattoo of two butter-topped waffles with a blue banner reading BEST DUDE EVER, on the upper arm.

Waffles with butter and a Best Dude Ever banner

Traditional-style tattoo of two red roses with green leaves on the top of a foot, beside a black flip-flop strap.

Two red roses on a foot

Black and grey pencil drawing of a pocket watch with Roman numerals, two shaded roses and a TIMELESS banner, presented as a tattoo design.

Pocket watch and roses with TIMELESS banner

Colour tattoo of two hedgehogs among red, orange and yellow autumn leaves on a forearm, with dark outlines and soft shading.

Hedgehogs among autumn leaves on a forearm

Two matching colour tattoos of red diamonds and black spade shapes wrapped in green thorned vines, one on a forearm and one on an upper arm.

Matching playing card and vine tattoos on two arms

Woman in a blue dress with traditional tattoos on her thigh, including an eagle over a skull, and colourful designs on her lower leg and upper arm.

Eagle and skull on a thigh, traditional legs

Traditional style flash design of a black panther with yellow eyes and a red rose, set against a torn pink and red background.

Black panther and rose flash design

Black and grey traditional tattoo of a scalloped heart reading BE BRAVE, framed by two flowers and dark leaves, on a forearm.

Be brave heart with flowers on a forearm

Traditional style tattoo of a compass surrounded by red roses, green leaves and chain on an upper arm.

Compass and roses on an upper arm

Black and grey traditional dotwork tattoo of a stylised cat with floral patterns, placed on the side of the ribs.

Ornamental cat on the ribs

Cameo, moth and flowers on a forearm

Traditional-style colour tattoo on a calf with pink roses, a sunflower framing a woman's face, and banners reading PRETTY ODD and THINGS ARE SHAPING UP TO BE.

Roses and sunflower with banners on a calf

Blue-black floral tattoo of a rose with leaves on a calf, with a matching larger rose design on a forearm and a smaller piece on another leg.

Matching blue rose tattoos on forearm and calf

Black and grey traditional tattoo of two roses with a butterfly between them on an upper arm.

Two roses and a butterfly on an arm

Traditional flash sheet of ten coloured sailing ships on green waves, with banners reading Hell Bound and Home Ward Bound and a few small stars and a rose.

Sailing ship flash sheet

Traditional flash drawing of a pin-up woman resting her arms on the rim of a foaming beer mug, with a green and red fish tail below, in bold colour.

Pin-up leaning over a beer mug

Traditional style colour tattoo on a calf showing a blue puzzle piece with a gold outline motif, framed by a banner reading DIFFERENT NOT LESS.

Puzzle piece and banner reading Different Not Less

Black and grey traditional tattoo of a pocket watch with Roman numerals and a banner reading I shall not live in vain, on a forearm.

Pocket watch with banner on a forearm

Pencil sketch of a tattoo design showing a pocket watch, a swallow, a flower and a banner with script lettering, in a traditional style.

Pocket watch, swallow and banner sketch

A sleeping fawn pug puppy rests on a forearm with bold colour traditional tattoos, including a red rose, and letter tattoos across the fingers.

Pug puppy resting on traditional forearm tattoos

Small black swallow tattoo with patterned wing fills on the upper shoulder near the collarbone, in a traditional style.

Small swallow tattoo on a shoulder

Close-up of a traditional style tattoo of a blue diamond set in a gold ring, with bold black outlines, on an upper arm.

Blue diamond ring tattoo on upper arm

Black and grey traditional tattoo on a calf showing a tent, pine trees and stars inside a crescent moon, with the word HOMESICK arched above.

Homesick tent and moon on a calf

Traditional style tattoo of a cartoon boy with a scowling face inside a red scalloped heart with banners, on the upper thigh.

Cartoon character in heart banner on thigh

Colour traditional-style tattoo of a red octopus with grey shading and a yellow eye, wrapping across the upper arm of a man in a blue vest top.

Red octopus tattoo on upper arm

Black and grey traditional tattoo of a pin-up boxer in gloves between two banners reading Nobody's and Girl, on the outer thigh.

Pin-up boxer tattoo on a thigh

Woman and crescent moon with rose

Two bare feet on a sheepskin rug, with a colour traditional-style face and flower tattoo on one ankle and a red and grey rooster tattoo on the other.

Rooster and face tattoos on bare ankles

Black and grey traditional flash sheet showing five moth designs with bold outlines and dotwork shading, taped to a brown card background.

Five moths on a flash sheet

Black line drawing of a three-masted sailing ship with billowing sails among curling waves, shown as a flash design rather than on skin.

Sailing ship in rough waves

Traditional style grim reaper with a red scythe and dotwork shading, tattooed on the calf.

Grim reaper with scythe on a calf

Two traditional-style flash drawings of a Nikon film SLR camera in black and grey with a red glow beneath, shown on a parchment-coloured background with no body placement.

Traditional film camera flash design

Black and grey tattoo of an ornate skeleton key crossed by a dragonfly on the forearm, with part of a triangle tattoo visible at the top left.

Key and dragonfly on the forearm

Traditional black and grey tattoo of a crescent moon with a face, a black cat sitting on the moon, three stars and a flower with leaves, on a calf.

Crescent moon, cat and flowers on a calf

Close-up of a traditional style tattoo of a small ginger cat with black outlines, placed on a forearm beside a large ornate design in purple and yellow.

Small ginger cat on a traditional arm piece

Traditional colour tattoo of a red lipstick, gold compact mirror and blue flowers with teal leaves on the upper arm.

Lipstick, compact mirror and flowers on an arm

Traditional style flash drawing of a red rose with white highlights, dark green leaves and yellow thorns on a stained paper background.

Traditional red rose flash design

Snarling black panther head

Traditional style tattoo of an orange campfire with flames, brown logs and grey stones on a forearm.

Campfire tattoo on a forearm

Traditional-style red and yellow rose tattoo with green leaves and bold black outlines, shown on the forearm.

Traditional rose and leaves on an arm

Back view of a man in a white t-shirt showing a black traditional-style ship's wheel with a skull at its centre on his forearm, and a partly visible coloured tattoo on his upper arm.

Ship's wheel with skull on a forearm

Traditional colour tattoo of a dagger gripped by a hand with a crown pommel, above a red rose and black leaves, on the upper back.

Dagger and rose on upper back

Black traditional-style tattoo of a snake coiled around a skull with a dagger below, with dotwork shading, on a calf.

Snake coiled around a skull on a calf

Collage of nine sewing-themed tattoos, including a traditional sewing machine on a forearm and scissors with a red spool on an upper arm, with a fine line spool on a forearm.

Sewing-themed tattoos in a nine-image collage

Black and grey traditional swallow tattoo on the upper back, with a banner reading it's just a spark but its enough beside a starburst.

Swallow with spark quote on upper back