Traditional tattoo ideas

4,572 photos and flash · Forearm most common

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Traditional style tattoo of a bearded merman in a top hat and eye patch, with a blue and teal scaled tail, on a calf.
Bearded merman in top hat on a calf
Two matching traditional-style tattoos on the tops of bare feet, showing a haloed figure in blue holding a record and a bearded haloed figure in red holding a book, framed by flowers and leaves.
Traditional religious figures on both feet
Traditional style rose flash design with red petals, a yellow centre bud and dark green leaves on a cream textured background.
Traditional rose flash design
Black and grey tattoos on a woman's forearm, including a skull with ornate wings, a crescent moon and geometric shapes, with a small tattoo on her ankle as she sits on rocks by the sea.
Forearm tattoos of a skull and geometric shapes
Colour tattoo of a gnarled tree with bright orange and red foliage and grassy roots covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Autumn tree on upper arm and shoulder
Colourful sugar skull design with red roses in the eye sockets, a cross on the forehead and flowers above, drawn in a bold traditional style on a black background.
Sugar skull with roses and flowers
Colour traditional tattoo on a limb of a cartoon figure with a bare belly beside a red rose, under the slogan MY BODY MY RULES.
Cartoon character and rose with slogan
Traditional style tattoo of a black dagger piercing a red rose with dark green leaves, placed on the upper chest.
Dagger and rose on the chest
Black and grey realistic bee tattoo with shaded wings and the words 'You're the bee's knees but so am I' above and below it, on a calf.
Bee with pun lettering on a calf
Black linework tattoo on a thigh showing a stormtrooper helmet, a Millennium Falcon and roses with leaves, in a traditional outline style.
Stormtrooper helmet and Millennium Falcon on thigh
Traditional style colour tattoo on a upper back of a castle inside a mouse head silhouette, with red and orange fireworks in the ears.
Castle and fireworks in a mouse head on a back
Traditional style colour tattoo of a feather with green leaves, a pink flower and a black swirl on the forearm.
Colourful feather on forearm
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a hand holding a bouquet of flowers and leaves on a forearm, with dotwork shading.
Hand holding a flower bouquet on a forearm
Traditional style toucan tattoo with a large orange and black beak and a speech bubble reading I can you can toucan, on the upper arm.
Toucan with speech bubble on an arm
Colour tattoo on skin of an anthropomorphic cat wearing a top hat, monocle and red bow tie inside an ornate oval frame, in a neo-traditional style.
Cat in top hat and monocle in an oval frame
Colour tattoo of a pink flamingo standing on one leg, with the words 'Only one foot in the shit' arched above and below it, on a calf.
Pink flamingo with slogan on a calf
Colour neo-traditional tattoo of an owl above a sugar skull with red roses and a diamond, on a lower leg, shown in three side-by-side panels.
Owl and sugar skull on a calf
Traditional colour tattoo of a black and white cat wearing a sailor hat, flanked by red flowers and a yellow banner reading MMXIV, on the forearm.
Tuxedo cat in sailor hat with roses and banner
Colour neo-traditional tattoo of a black cat with green eyes, a beaded necklace and gold cross, surrounded by red roses, on the outer thigh.
Black cat with roses and cross on thigh
Traditional tattoo of a stippled grey rose inside an oval frame with orange flowers, black leaves and a teal and dotted border on a limb.
Stippled rose in oval frame with orange flowers
Close crop of a woman in a patterned bralette showing a black panther and red rose traditional tattoo across her chest and upper arm, with an eye design on her forearm.
Panther and rose tattoos on chest and arm
Colour traditional tattoo sleeve on a raised forearm, showing a skull, green leaves and red and dark green flowers against a pale wall.
Traditional sleeve with skull and flowers on forearm
Colour tattoo of pink peonies, green leaves and a hand gripping a lightsaber hilt, with bold black outlines, on a lower limb.
Peonies and a lightsaber hilt on a lower limb
Traditional style flash design of a pocket watch surrounded by pink flowers and green leaves, with a banner reading We Have Forever.
Pocket watch with flowers and a We Have Forever banner
Thigh tattoo of a shaded grey pocket watch with a key, beside a red rose with green leaves and a banner, in a traditional and realistic style.
Pocket watch and rose on the thigh
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a snarling wolf head with spiked fur and bared teeth, placed on the side of the ribs.
Snarling wolf head on the side ribs
Traditional style tattoo of a blue and red sneaker with trailing laces and sparkles on the thigh, with the words Zig A Zig Ahhh written beneath.
Sneaker with Zig A Zig Ahhh lettering
Colour traditional-style tattoos on a leg in bath water, showing a rose, a snake, a matryoshka doll and a hot air balloon with an ornate basket.
Traditional rose, doll and balloon tattoos on a leg
Colour traditional tattoo of an owl with spread wings on a chest, with a black swirl background and a Japanese wave sleeve on the upper arm.
Owl with spread wings on chest
Traditional style tattoo design showing a blue gem, a red bomb with a lit fuse and green leaves and vines, with banners reading Sirens who slay together and Stay together, shown on a navy phone case.
Sirens who slay together tattoo design on phone case
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a cactus with flowers, crystals and a patterned pot, on the lower leg.
Cactus and crystals in a pot on a calf
Traditional style colour tattoo of a red heart inside a teal and gold framed box, with a pink flower and teal leaves, on the back of a hand.
Heart and flower on the back of a hand
Four views of a black and grey nautical full sleeve tattoo on an arm, showing an octopus, a skull, a ship's wheel and a compass star, placed from the forearm up to the upper arm.
Black and grey nautical full sleeve
Black line drawing of a traditional-style tattoo design with roses, a teacup with rising steam, a cupcake and a scroll banner, shown on translucent paper.
Roses, teacup and cupcake design
A traditional-style swallow flash design in red, black and white on a light blue background, shown inside a metal circular badge.
Traditional swallow flash in a round badge
Blue butterfly tattoo with a central eye and dotted wing edges, in traditional style, on the upper back.
Blue butterfly with eye on upper back
Traditional style tattoo of a woman with yellow flowers in her dark hair and an orange top, with the word divine written below, on the ankle.
Woman portrait with flowers and the word divine
Traditional style tattoo of an ornate gold and green cross with scalloped edges and red flower details, placed on the outer lower leg.
Ornate gold cross on a lower leg
Colour tattoo of purple violets with green leaves and yellow centres on the top of a foot, in a botanical style with bold outlines.
Purple violets on the top of a foot
Traditional style elephant tattoo with grey shading and coloured ornament across its head, shown on the thigh, with a close-up of the eye beside it.
Ornamented elephant on a thigh
Watercolour-style colour tattoo of a white unicorn silhouette inside an outlined triangle over a blue and purple galaxy wash on the inner forearm.
Unicorn in a triangle on a forearm
Neo-traditional style flash design of a woman's portrait framed by bees, honeycomb, a UFO and an 'I want to believe' banner, with no body placement shown.
Portrait with bees, UFO and banner
Colour traditional tattoo on the upper arm showing a woman's face with a toothed lower edge framed by red flowers, teal leaves and a bell-shaped base.
Traditional face and flowers on upper arm
Black and grey traditional flash sheet showing an anchor, clasped hands, crossed arrows, a rope, flowers, an envelope and banners with lettering.
Traditional flash sheet with anchor, hands and banners
Black and grey script lettering reading sisters with a shaded key beneath it, tattooed on the lower leg.
Sisters script lettering with a key
Full back tattoo in traditional style showing a black snake coiled between red roses, sun faces, dripping apple and blue waves, with forearm and upper arm tattoos visible.
Traditional back piece with snake, roses and sun faces
Traditional style flash sheet of six Doctor Who designs in bold outlines and bright colour, including a TARDIS, a Dalek, a Cyberman head and a fez-wearing face with a bow tie.
Doctor Who flash sheet with TARDIS, Dalek and Cyberman
Black and grey traditional anchor tattoo on a forearm, with two banners reading SINK OR SWIM and leaf shapes above a ring at the top of the shaft.
Anchor with Sink or Swim banners on a forearm