Wave tattoo ideas

1,081 photos and flash · 24% Japanese, 20% Fine line · Forearm most common

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Black ink pen sketch of two stylised waves inside a circle, with the words A million waves in the ocean and Crash at once to make you smile written around the edge.
Waves and quote in a circular pen sketch
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
Navy engraved-style drawing of a curling wave with foam and a dark speckled circle on a beige background, a flash design with no body placement shown.
Curling wave with splatter circle
Green-toned flash design of a large eye whose iris becomes a scaled wave, with a hummingbird, a sailing ship and pale pink blossom on a beige background.
Eye with waves, hummingbird and blossom flash
Black ink design of a swallow in flight, with its wings and body filled with Japanese-style waves, flowers and a koi-like fish, drawn on a white background.
Swallow in flight with wave and koi patterns
Line drawing of a tattoo design with a woman's face, flowing hair, an owl, two roses and scrolling waves, shaded in blue, in a neo-traditional style.
Woman, owl and roses tattoo design
Black line drawing of a humpback whale rising beside curled wave scrolls, shown as a standalone design with no body part visible.
Humpback whale with swirling waves
Neo-traditional flash design of a red-haired mermaid with teal tail, fish and a banner reading SIREN, with an anchor and wave tattoo on her arm.
Mermaid with banner reading Siren
Pencil sketch of two dolphins curling around each other in a yin-yang arrangement, with swirling waves and bubbles, drawn as a tattoo design.
Two dolphins in a yin-yang pencil sketch
Black and white flash sheet of Polynesian-style tattoo motifs, including a turtle, dolphins, a whale tail, a lizard, a fishhook and a sun, each with a printed label and meaning.
Polynesian motif flash sheet with labelled designs
Black and grey flash sheet drawing of a sailing ship on waves, two swallows, an anchor and a telescope, with the script phrase Between the Devil and the deep blue Sea beneath.
Sailing ship, swallows, anchor and telescope flash
Black line drawing of a mermaid with scaled tail beside a sailing ship and a large sea creature, a tattoo design sketch with no body part shown.
Mermaid and ship sea monster design
Pencil-style shaded drawing of a sea turtle with plumeria-like flowers and a tribal wave swirl, designed as a tattoo.
Sea turtle with flowers and wave swirls
Black and grey traditional flash design of an hourglass reading TEMPUS FUGIT, with a sailing ship in the top bulb and a skull in the bottom bulb.
Hourglass with skull and ship
Neo-trad style flash design of a red-haired cartoon girl surfing a turquoise wave beneath pink flowers and a ribbon banner with lettering, with no body placement shown.
Surfing girl with wave and flowers
Black and white flash design of a bearded figure framed by two surfboards, anchors, waves and dotwork bands, with no body placement shown.
Symmetrical surfboard figure flash
Black and grey dotwork design of a teacup with rolling waves, a sailing ship, a storm cloud with lightning and rain, and flowers on the cup and saucer.
Storm in a teacup with a sailing ship
Black and grey pencil drawing of a tribal sun with radiating rays above bold Polynesian-style patterns, shown as a design with no body part visible.
Polynesian sun and tribal sleeve design
Traditional-style flash design on paper showing a sailing ship on rough seas and a black and grey rose in a bold black oval frame, with no body part visible.
Sailing ship and rose flash in oval frame
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
Retro-style flash drawing of a dark-haired mermaid with a teal tail, surrounded by orange fish, pink coral and stylised waves, with no body placement shown.
Vintage mermaid with fish and coral
Blue pen sketch of a sailing ship inside a bottle, with a kraken's tentacles reaching up from the waves beside it.
Ship in a bottle with kraken sketch
Black and grey traditional flash of a skull above a trident and anchor rope, framing a ship, a whale and a banner reading Sea Shepherd.
Skull, trident and whale in a rope frame
Black and white Polynesian tribal sleeve design drawn as a full arm, with spirals, chevrons and wave motifs on a white background.
Polynesian tribal arm sleeve design
Black line drawing of a Japanese shishi lion with peonies and swirling waves, styled as a tattoo design on paper, with no body placement shown.
Japanese shishi lion with peonies and waves
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 flash design of a Polynesian-style turtle with shaded flowers, leaves and curling wave lines, drawn as a tattoo design.
Polynesian-style turtle with flowers and waves
Black line drawing of a curling wave flowing into the script words 'into the sea', a fine line lettering tattoo design on a white background.
Wave swirl with 'into the sea' script
Blue ink drawing of a traditional sailing ship in heavy waves, with a curling banner on the left reading LOVE IS LIKE A TIDE BRINGING YOU HOME, intended as a tattoo design.
Sailing ship and banner design
Black and white tribal flash design of spirals, wave bands and triangles, drawn to fit a full arm sleeve.
Black tribal sleeve design with spirals
Black ink design of a shark fin rising above two wavy lines, with a stippled fill, shown on a plain white background.
Shark fin above waves
Pencil sketch of a Japanese-style dragon with claws, whiskers and a scaled body, drawn in blue and red pencil for a tattoo design.
Japanese dragon design in pencil
Painted flash design of a pink seahorse among green seaweed, blue waves and bubbles, in a neo-traditional style with no body placement shown.
Pink seahorse with seaweed and waves
Line drawing of a Japanese-style peony and chrysanthemum design with swirling waves and clouds on a dark background, shown as a tattoo design rather than on skin.
Japanese peony and wave design
Black tribal flash design of a turtle with spiral and wave patterns, set along a long curved band, with no body placement shown.
Tribal turtle design in a curved band
Japanese style flash drawing of a green and red dragon coiling over black and grey waves, with a small cartoon figure in a yellow robe beside it.
Green dragon flash with wave background
White line drawing of a whale built from stylised waves on a navy background, with a tiny boat and figures in the sea, drawn as a flash design.
Whale formed from waves and a small boat
Pencil flash design of a pirate ship under a compass rose with Tinker Bell and shadowy figures, above the words Second star to the right and straight on till morning.
Pirate ship and compass rose flash design
Pencil drawing of a tattoo design showing a striped lighthouse, a sailing ship and stormy waves framed inside a ship's wheel, in a traditional nautical style.
Lighthouse and sailing ship in a ship's wheel
Illustration of a hairless cat with a Japanese style koi fish, waves and clouds tattoo in blue and black, leaning over a pale hairless cat.
Tattooed hairless cat with a koi and waves design
Traditional flash design of a paper boat on stippled waves beneath a red lightning bolt and clouds, framed by a rope border with a red flower at the base.
Paper boat and lightning in a rope oval
Flash sheet of metallic blue and bronze temporary designs showing palm trees, fern fronds, rope braids, anchors and the words live laugh love and hope, with no body placement visible.
Metallic flash sheet of palms, anchors and script
Fine line tattoo design of four small black icons in a row: a sun, three wavy lines, a mountain and a cross, on a plain light grey background.
Sun, waves, mountain and cross line icons
Traditional style flash sheet showing a red crab with a heart-shaped body, an anchor wrapped in rope with waves, a scallop shell and a conch shell.
Nautical flash sheet with crab, anchor and shells
Black ink drawing of two whale tails rising from stylised waves on white paper, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement visible.
Two whale tails with waves
Traditional flash sheet of ten coloured sailing ships on green waves, with banners reading Hell Bound and Home Ward Bound and a few small stars and a rose.
Sailing ship flash sheet
Black line drawing of a three-masted sailing ship with billowing sails among curling waves, shown as a flash design rather than on skin.
Sailing ship in rough waves
Coloured flash drawing of a woman in profile with blue hair, a red bandana, a sailing ship and a wave, with neck and chest tattoos of a cat, cross, diamond and heart in a neo-traditional style.
Blue-haired woman with ship and wave