Water tattoo ideas

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

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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
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
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
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
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 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
Black and grey realism tattoo of a leaping bass breaking through splashing water on an upper arm.
Leaping bass breaking through water
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
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
Colour realism tattoo on an upper arm showing a woman with downcast eyes in teal tones, with a sea turtle below her and streaks of water-like colour above.
Woman and sea turtle on upper arm
Purple lotus flower with grey ripples in shaded water, tattooed on the upper arm in a botanical style.
Purple lotus on upper arm
Japanese style full sleeve tattoo on an arm showing a koi fish, rolling waves, lotus flowers and a skull, shown from three angles.
Koi, waves and lotus full sleeve
Black and grey Japanese-style wave sleeve tattoo covering the shoulder and upper arm of a shirtless man, with swirling water and wind motifs.
Black and grey wave sleeve on a shoulder and upper arm
Black and grey tattoo of a muscular, bearded sea god holding a trident, with a water-tail base, on the upper arm.
Trident-bearing sea god on upper arm
Black and grey fine line tattoos on an upper arm, including a crescent moon with a bird, a speech bubble reading CAN I LIVE, a palm tree over water and a small heart.
Small flash-style tattoos along an upper arm
Three views of a colour Japanese-style half sleeve on the upper arm and shoulder, with teal waves, red blossoms and dark shaded rays.
Japanese waves and blossom half sleeve
Black and grey botanical tattoo of cattails and reeds with stippled shading on the outer upper arm, with a dark sleeve and stone wall behind.
Cattails tattoo on an upper arm
Black and grey blackwork tattoo on an upper arm showing a woman with long hair flowing into water beneath a crescent moon, with trees, mountains and a tower.
Woman in water beneath a crescent moon
Full arm sleeve tattoo in a watercolour style showing a mermaid with flowing red hair and a green tail, with blue splashes, covering the upper arm and shoulder down to the forearm.
Watercolour mermaid full sleeve
Neo-traditional tattoo of a snarling grey wolf with a third eye and a gold-hilted dagger on an upper arm, with blue water swirls.
Wolf head and dagger on an upper arm
Realism tattoo of a leaping largemouth bass with a lure, dead tree stumps and a fisherman in a boat, across a man's back and shoulder.
Leaping bass and angler across back and shoulder
Japanese-style landscape tattoo on an upper arm and shoulder, showing a grey pagoda, cherry blossom, red maple, rocks and rushing water.
Japanese pagoda landscape on upper arm
Black and grey tattoo on an upper arm showing a head profile filled with a night sky, a ringed planet, triangular mountains and a dotted water reflection.
Ringed planet and mountains in a profile silhouette
Black and grey Japanese-style wave tattoo covering the upper arm and shoulder, with swirling curls and shaded crests.
Black and grey wave sleeve on upper arm
Colour Japanese style half sleeve tattoo of red koi fish and pink cherry blossoms over a grey swirl, covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Koi and cherry blossom half sleeve
Black and grey Japanese-style wave tattoo covering the upper arm, with pale skin showing through the wave crests.
Japanese waves on an arm
Colour tattoo of a moonlit castle on a hill above rippling blue water, with a full moon, stars and a dark silhouette at the top, across the upper arm and shoulder in a bold neo-traditional style.
Moonlit castle night scene on upper arm
Side-by-side photos of a botanical swirl tree tattoo in black ink above blue wave shading on an upper arm.
Swirling tree and blue waves on an arm
Colour realism tattoo of a mermaid with teal hair, pearls, an orange starfish and seashells across an upper arm.
Mermaid portrait with starfish on upper arm
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
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
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
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
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
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
Realistic colour tattoo of a sea turtle swimming over a teal wash, placed on the upper arm.
Sea turtle realism on upper arm
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
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
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
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
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