Water tattoo ideas

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

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Watercolour-style humpback whale tattoo in pink, green and blue on the upper back, with a pale blue wash suggesting water above it.
Humpback whale on upper back
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of a curling wave with spray inside an outlined triangle, on the outer thigh.
Wave inside a triangle on the thigh
Three photos of black and grey forearm tattoos showing bare trees, a moon, flying birds, a horse and rider silhouette, and a gate by water, in a blackwork and realism style on the forearm.
Forest, moon and horse rider forearm tattoos
Colour neo-traditional tattoo of a cartoon whale in a sailor hat smoking a pipe, rising from a fishbowl, on an upper arm.
Cartoon whale with pipe rising from a fishbowl
Pink and black lotus flower tattoo with concentric ripple rings and pink paint-like drips across the middle of the back.
Pink lotus with ripples on the back
Black and grey circular tattoo of a waterfall between rocks and trees on a forearm, shaded in a realistic style.
Waterfall landscape in a circle on a forearm
Colourful koi fish with lotus flowers tattooed on the upper thigh, drawn with loose, watercolour-style washes of teal, green, pink and orange.
Koi fish and lotus flowers on a thigh
Black and grey realism design of a mermaid with long flowing hair, her scaled tail curling into a circle around her, surrounded by smoke-like swirls.
Mermaid curled within a scaled tail
Colour tattoo of a grey elephant sitting in a wooden tub with blue water spraying from its trunk, placed on the side of the ribs.
Elephant bathing in a tub on the ribs
Black and white photo of a small fine-line wave tattoo on the side of a torso, beneath a raised arm.
Small fine-line wave on the side ribs
Colour tattoo of a grey arrow crossing a stylised symbol, framed by blue swirling waves, on the shoulder.
Arrow symbol with blue waves on shoulder
Black ink sketch of bare trees and a lake framed in a circle on textured white paper, drawn in fine line with fineliner pens beside it.
Bare trees and lake in a circle
Black and grey neo-traditional tattoo of a lighthouse, lotus and sailing ship across a shoulder and upper arm.
Lighthouse, lotus and sailing ship on shoulder and arm
Colour tattoo of a purple lotus on a pond with reeds, a sunset and a pink blossom branch across the upper arm and shoulder.
Lotus pond and cherry blossom on upper arm
Pen and coloured pencil drawing of two koi fish circling a blue circle filled with white swirls and water splashes, a tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Two koi fish around a swirling wave circle
Colour traditional tattoo of a largemouth bass leaping through teal waves on a forearm, with bold black outlines.
Largemouth bass through waves on a forearm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a stag with large antlers, misty pine trees and a fisherman silhouette in water, covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Stag, forest and fisherman realism on upper arm
Fine black linework and blue-green wash form a curling wave tattoo on an upper arm, with small dark marks above it.
Blue-green wave tattoo on an upper arm
Small painterly dragonfly tattoo with teal wings and a green body hovering above teal water ripples, on bare skin.
Dragonfly over water ripples
Black and grey circular tattoo of stylised sea waves with hatched linework on the inner forearm.
Circular waves on a forearm
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of a mermaid with cherry blossoms and swirling waves on the upper arm.
Mermaid with blossoms and waves on upper arm
Realistic blue and green fish scale tattoo across a person's shoulder and upper arm, with small water droplets on the scales.
Blue fish scale tattoo on upper arm
Shaded blue and grey wave tattoo with white spray on the inner forearm, against a blurred wooden background.
Blue wave tattoo on a forearm
Flash style drawing of a blue tidal wave with a cream banner reading We Will Bring The Tidal Wave and the words Pierce The Veil 2013 beneath, shown without any body placement.
Tidal wave banner flash design
Small blue heart made of stylised waves tattooed on the neck behind the ear, shown in a black and white photograph.
Blue wave heart behind the ear
Blue Japanese-style wave tattoo with white foam detail running down the inside of a forearm against a plain beige wall.
Blue wave tattoo on a forearm
Black and grey fine line mermaid tattoo with flowing hair, bubbles and skulls in her tail, on the outer thigh.
Mermaid with skulls on a thigh
Colour tattoo on a thigh showing an animated-style woman with long dark hair beside a red crab and a small fish against blue water, in a neo-traditional style.
Animated woman and red crab on thigh
Neo-trad style flash design of a brown otter curling through blue water beside a fish, framed by swirling waves and bubbles in a circle.
Otter and fish in swirling water
Black and grey tattoo on a forearm of a circle enclosing a sun, mountains and water, with lettering above and below reading room for one more troubled soul.
Mountain and sun circle with quote on forearm
Realistic coloured tattoo of a pink lotus flower with yellow stamens and grey wash shading on a forearm.
Pink lotus flower on a forearm
Blue wave tattoo design with curling foam crests, black zigzag lines and dots, shown as a standalone drawing with no body placement visible.
Blue wave and Aquarius symbol design
Black and grey realism tattoo of two dolphins swimming through shaded water across the top of a foot.
Realistic dolphins across the top of a foot
Small solid black swan silhouette tattoo on the inner wrist of a raised hand, with blue water and sky behind.
Black swan on the inner wrist
Red koi fish with a white lotus flower and grey water swirls in Japanese style across a person's upper back.
Koi fish and lotus on the upper back
Black and grey Japanese-style wave tattoo covering the upper arm and shoulder of a man in a grey vest top.
Japanese wave design on upper arm and shoulder
Colour tattoo of a green sea turtle with pink and purple plumeria flowers and blue wave shading on the outer thigh, in a neo-traditional style.
Sea turtle and plumeria on a thigh
Watercolour-style blue and teal wave tattoo with white highlights across the inner forearm.
Blue watercolour wave on a forearm
Colour tattoo of a yellow rubber duck wearing a white sailor hat and dog tags, sitting in a blue water splash on the calf.
Rubber duck in sailor hat on a calf
Black ink tattoo of a silhouetted figure rowing a boat over wavy lines, with a line of script beneath, on an upper arm.
Rowing boat over waves with script quote
Black and grey forearm tattoo of a leafless tree in front of a full moon, with birds in the sky and dark posts above still water.
Leafless tree and full moon on a forearm
Realistic blue water splash tattoo wrapping around the inner wrist, shown from three angles against a grey background.
Blue water splash on a wrist
Realistic colour tattoo of peach roses, dark green leaves and rippling blue water across a forearm.
Roses and rippling water on a forearm
Black and grey fine line tattoo of a stippled wave inside an outlined triangle on the side of a thigh.
Wave inside a triangle on a thigh
Black line drawing of a stylised animal with a flowing tail, standing in water beside a large swirling crescent, drawn as a tattoo design.
Swirling stylised animal standing in water
Colour tattoo of a stylised flame and water emblem with a rainbow gradient on a forearm.
Rainbow flame and water emblem on forearm
Colour tattoo on a thigh of a yellow duck sitting in a wooden bath tub, surrounded by small black soot sprites and star-shaped flowers.
Yellow duck in a wooden tub on a thigh
A small wave tattoo with black outline and blue shading on the inner wrist, shown freshly done and wrapped in cling film.
Small blue wave on a wrist