Water tattoo ideas

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

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Colour Japanese style tattoo of two koi fish among teal waves and red clover shapes across a person's back.
Koi fish and waves across a back
Fine line mermaid tattoo with flowing red hair, a shell top and blue wash water splashes on the lower leg.
Mermaid with red hair on a calf
Colour Japanese style tattoo of a red koi and a pale koi swimming over dark blue waves, on the inner forearm.
Red and white koi fish in waves on a forearm
Black ink drawing of two cupped hands holding a crescent moon, with water drips and a star constellation above, labelled aquarius.
Aquarius hands holding a crescent moon
Traditional colour tattoo on the top of a foot showing a dripping drain cover, a banner reading IT'S OUR TIME and DOWN HERE, and two red flowers with green leaves.
Drain banner and red flowers on a foot
Blue and grey Great Wave tattoo in Japanese style on a woman's upper back, near the shoulder blade, with her hair falling over one side.
Great Wave tattoo on upper back
Realistic colour tattoo of a sea turtle swimming over a teal wash, placed on the upper arm.
Sea turtle realism on upper arm
Blue and black wave tattoo running along the inside of a forearm, with stacked bangles on the wrist.
Blue wave on a forearm
Black linework flash sheet of thirteen script lettering designs, including the words Rain, Life, Birth, Star and Peace, drawn on white paper.
Script word designs on a flash sheet
Black line-art city skyline with a bridge and wavy water below and a small red heart above, tattooed on the upper arm.
City skyline with a red heart on an arm
Black and grey fine line tattoo of a face in profile rising from rippled water beside a triangular fin shape, on the inner upper arm.
Face rising from water on upper arm
Black and grey fine line tattoo of bare cypress trees rising from still water and a low island on the forearm.
Cypress swamp landscape on a forearm
Small colourful watercolour-style tattoo of a city skyline with a yellow junk boat on the water, placed on the inside of a forearm.
Harbour skyline and junk boat on a forearm
Colour realism tattoo of a panda partly submerged in water in front of green bamboo, placed on the upper arm.
Panda and bamboo on an upper arm
Black and grey vertical tattoo on the side of a woman's torso above the hip, shown in a black bikini in shallow sea water.
Small vertical tattoo on a woman's side in the sea
Pencil sketch of a koi fish swimming upward among lotus flowers and swirling water lines, drawn as a tattoo design in a Japanese style.
Koi fish sketch with lotus flowers
Colour cartoon fox and hound tattoos on upper arms, with the words Best of Friends in black script on the right-hand arm.
Matching cartoon fox and hound tattoos
Black and grey Japanese style drawing of a peony, cherry blossoms and a swirling wave, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement visible.
Peony and cherry blossom wave design
Black and grey realism tattoo of a woman's face in profile merging with a castle, trees and birds on the thigh.
Castle and woman's face blend on thigh
Watercolour style tattoo of a sailing boat with blue wash, black linework and ink splatters on the upper arm.
Sailing boat with blue watercolour splashes
Japanese style Great Wave tattoo in teal and blue with grey shading, placed on the upper back near the shoulder.
Great Wave tattoo on upper back
Black line drawing of three lotus flowers with curling Japanese-style waves, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement visible.
Three lotus flowers with swirling waves
Three photos of a forearm with a black armband tattoo filled with blue wave shapes, with blue splashes and dots trailing below it.
Blue wave armband tattoo on a forearm
Watercolour-style landscape tattoo of pine trees, a red-roofed cabin and water, covering the outer thigh down towards the knee.
Watercolour forest landscape on a thigh
Colour neo-traditional tattoo on a calf of a woman in a green dotted dress holding a pink parasol on a tightrope, with an alligator rising from water below.
Parasol tightrope walker and alligator on a calf
Black and grey blackwork tattoo on a thigh showing a castle skyline with crescent moons, mountains, a water band and stripes, with a dragon below near the knee.
Castle skyline and dragon on a thigh
Back view of a woman with a small fine line tattoo of triangles and a circle with rays on her side ribs, beside a panel of alchemy symbols.
Small triangle and circle tattoo on a ribcage
Greyscale pencil drawing of two koi fish swimming through stylised waves, a Japanese style tattoo design on paper.
Two koi fish among waves design
Colour tattoo of a white polar bear beneath aurora, stars and a green moon in an oval panel on the upper arm.
Polar bear under northern lights on upper arm
Colour tattoo of a blue dolphin with teal water splash shading, placed on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Blue dolphin with splash on upper back
Small cartoon-style dolphin tattoo with a black outline, blue body and grey shading, on the outer side of a foot.
Small blue dolphin tattoo on a foot
Japanese style koi fish with red and black scales swimming among waves and clouds, tattooed on an upper arm and shoulder.
Koi fish and waves on an upper arm
Realistic colour tattoo of a sea turtle swimming against a teal and blue ocean background, on the upper back.
Realistic sea turtle tattoo on skin
Two photographs of watercolour-style northern lights tattoos on an arm: the left has black pine trees inside a circle, the right shows aurora over a dark shoreline with turquoise ice.
Northern lights tattoos with pine trees and ice
Colour Japanese style koi fish tattoo in red, orange and yellow with grey swirling water across the side of the ribs.
Koi fish tattoo on the side ribs
Colour tattoo of a lakeside landscape with mountains, a large tree and two silhouetted figures, sitting on a limb.
Lakeside landscape with tree and silhouettes
Black and grey realism tattoo covering the upper arm, showing a full moon over a cloudy sky, a woman with wind-blown hair seen from behind by a lake, and a crow on a rock.
Moonlit lake scene on upper arm
Colour tattoo of a pink flamingo standing on one leg in a small blue pool, on the inner upper arm.
Pink flamingo on the upper arm
Colourful jellyfish tattoo on a forearm, with a red bell, long trailing tentacles and a teal watercolour-style background.
Red jellyfish on a forearm
Black silhouette of a sailing ship against a blue, orange and yellow watercolour-style sunset, with a crescent moon, tattooed on the upper arm.
Sailing ship and crescent moon on an upper arm
Colour Japanese style koi fish tattoo with blue water splashes on the top of a foot.
Koi fish with water splash on a foot
Colour tattoo on a calf showing koi, a dragonfly, lily pads, white lilies and a striped lizard in a pond scene with soft shading.
Koi pond and dragonfly on a calf
Realistic colour tattoo of a river with tall green trees and rocks in shallow water, running down the inner forearm.
River landscape tattoo on a forearm
Colour tattoo of a geometric fox in orange, grey and purple facets with blue splashes, on the side of a pale body.
Geometric fox with blue watercolour splashes
Realistic colour tattoo of a sea turtle swimming over a blue watercolour-style wash, placed on the back.
Sea turtle swimming on a blue wash
Realistic full-colour forest tattoo covering the upper arm and shoulder, showing tall trees, a mossy fallen log and a stream.
Forest and stream upper arm tattoo
Colour tattoo of a purple seahorse with a green eye and orange starfish over blue water streaks, on the forearm.
Purple seahorse with starfish on a forearm
Black and grey blackwork tattoo of a flowing wave and scrolling swirls across the shoulder and upper back.
Flowing black wave swirl on the shoulder