Water tattoo ideas

300 photos and flash · 22% Japanese, 20% Realism · Forearm most common

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A sheet of blue line and solid wave designs in a Japanese-influenced style, arranged in rows on a white background.
Sheet of blue wave designs
Realistic black and grey penguin diving head first through blue water and bubbles, tattooed on the calf.
Diving penguin with blue water on a calf
Black outline tattoo of a spotted ray with grey shading and blue bubbles and water lines, on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Spotted ray and blue bubbles on the back
Colour tattoo of a mermaid with flowing red hair, a shell top and blue wash below, outlined in black on a limb.
Mermaid with red hair and shell top
Colour tattoo of a lakeside landscape with mountains, a large tree and two silhouetted figures sitting by the water, on the calf.
Lakeside landscape with two figures on a leg
Colour tattoo on an arm showing a sunset over hills and a lake, with large maple leaves in orange and yellow across the lower part.
Sunset landscape and maple leaves on an arm
Blue wave tattoo with a curling crest and spray, shaded in a painterly style across the forearm.
Blue wave tattoo on a forearm
Black fine line script reading not all those who wander are lost, with two small bird silhouettes, tattooed on the outer side of a bare foot on wet sand.
Quote and birds tattoo on the side of a foot
Black and grey realism tattoo of stacked polaroid-style photographs showing a swing by water, with the script words Every summer has a story, on a upper back.
Stacked polaroids with a swing and script quote
Colour realism tattoo on the side of the torso showing a fanned hand of playing cards with a red heart, red dice and the words Roll With It on blue water.
Playing cards and dice with Roll With It lettering
Black fine line tattoo of a bird's neck rising from water with reeds and ripples, placed on the upper arm.
Bird neck rising from water on upper arm
Hand-drawn tattoo design of two lungs and a trachea with stippled dotwork and watercolour-style washes, with the words Need you like water in my lungs above and below.
Lungs with lettering design
Blue and turquoise wave tattoo inside a black outlined circle, centred on a person's back.
Blue wave in a circle on the back
Colour Japanese style tattoo of an orange koi fish with a pink lotus, pink cherry blossoms and blue waves across the upper back.
Orange koi with lotus and cherry blossom on a back
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of folding fans with wave patterns covering the upper arm of a man in a grey top.
Folding fans and waves on an upper arm
Blue and black ink drawing of a nautilus shell with waves splashing out of its opening, shown as a flash design with no body placement.
Nautilus shell with blue waves
Colour tattoo on an upper arm showing a red-haired girl riding a blue wave, with a large blue wave shape behind her.
Red-haired girl on a blue wave on an arm
Black and grey cherry blossoms and falling petals run down the spine, with a shaded lotus and pink water lines at the lower back, in a Japanese style.
Cherry blossom trail and lotus on a back
Black and grey tattoo of a dark starry night sky over a brushed shoreline on the inner forearm, in a painterly blackwork style.
Night sky and shoreline on a forearm
Traditional style colour tattoo of a brass vintage diving helmet with green seaweed and a coiled hose, on the calf.
Vintage diving helmet on a calf
Watercolour illustration of four element symbols labelled air, fire, earth and water, each drawn with a spiral or flowing motif in blue, orange, green and blue respectively.
Four element symbols in watercolour
Black and grey tattoo of a mountain with clouds, pine trees and a striped water reflection in a diamond shape on the ribs.
Mountain landscape with pines on the ribs
Black outline drawing of four triangle element symbols on white, labelled Air, Fire, Water and Earth, shown as a flash design sheet.
Four element symbols: air, fire, water, earth
Small circular tattoo on the top of a foot near the toes, with its left half filled with blue wavy lines and its right half drawn as a plain outline.
Blue wave circle on the foot
Flash sheet of gold and silver foil temporary tattoo designs, including icosahedrons, arrows, a sunburst and lettering, with no body placement shown.
Metallic geometric flash sheet with lettering
Black and grey flash sheet of seven numbered swan designs, ranging from sketchy brushwork to clean single-line outlines.
Seven swan designs on a flash sheet
Colour tattoo of a fisherman silhouetted on a boat at sunset above a leaping bass, on the upper arm.
Angler and leaping bass on an upper arm
Black and grey tattoo of a striding tiger with a curling tail and water splashes, across the left ribs of a bare torso.
Striding tiger on the ribs
Realistic wolf and woman face tattoo on a forearm, with teal water bubbles and splashes of blue behind the figures.
Wolf and woman portrait on a forearm
Black and grey realistic shark with open jaws covering a man's back, with swirling ornaments on the shoulders and tattoo sleeves on both arms.
Realistic shark tattoo across a full back
Small blue wave tattoo with white highlights in a Japanese-influenced style, placed on the upper back between the shoulder blades.
Blue wave on upper back
Japanese-style wave tattoo with pale outlines over solid black ink, running along a forearm.
Stylised waves on a forearm
Two black and grey fine line tattoos inside outlined triangles on the lower leg: a Hokusai-style wave on the left and pine trees with birds on the right.
Wave and pine trees in triangles on lower legs
Realistic swan tattoo on the inner forearm, with grey and white feathers, a red beak and blue water beneath.
Swan with spread wings on a forearm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a leaping bass breaking through splashing water on an upper arm.
Leaping bass breaking through water
Hand-drawn flash design of pink lotus flowers and green leaves with bold black astrological symbols and a triangle, labelled Cancer.
Lotus and astrology symbols design
Colour tattoo of two koi fish swimming through teal water beneath pink cherry blossom, across the upper back and shoulder blade.
Koi fish and cherry blossom across a back
Colour tattoo of a grey-blue heron with pink shading, standing among reeds on water, on the lower leg.
Heron standing in reeds on a leg
Two fingers with small tattoos, a black line-work anchor on one finger and a colour shark fin above blue water on the next, with black lettering across the knuckles and fingers.
Anchor and shark finger tattoos
Colour realism tattoo of an autumn lake with orange trees, blue hills and a wooden jetty, on the calf.
Autumn lakeside jetty on a calf
Black blackletter lettering arranged in a diamond shape, appearing to spell earth, air, fire and water, shown as a flat design drawing with no body placement.
Earth, air, fire and water blackletter design
Realistic colour tattoo of a crocodile with open jaws emerging from water and reeds across the upper arm.
Crocodile emerging from reeds on an arm
Colourful full sleeve tattoo in a pixel art style, showing a swirling tree, a yellow gem, a pixelated figure, fish and a moon across the upper arm and forearm.
Pixel art scene full sleeve
Colourful botanical tattoo of a water lily pond with lily pads and reflections covering the upper arm, shown from three angles.
Water lily pond sleeve on upper arm
Black and grey traditional tattoo with dotwork shading on a thigh, showing mountains, pine trees, a sunburst, roses and the script Let's be Adventurous.
Mountain sunrise and roses on a thigh
Colour Japanese koi fish tattoo with white wave swirls and a white lotus bloom, wrapping the shoulder and upper arm.
Koi fish and lotus on upper arm
Solid black swan silhouette with purple watercolour-style splashes beneath it, tattooed on the upper arm near the elbow.
Black swan with purple splashes on upper arm
Black and grey linework tattoo on a thigh showing a gothic cathedral skyline, a rayed sun, mountains and a half-sun above banded lines.
Cityscape with sun and mountains on a thigh