Wave tattoo ideas

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

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Colour drawing of a silver Japanese-style dragon with orange flame accents, coiling through blue stylised waves, as a tattoo design.
Silver dragon with blue waves and orange flames
Neo-traditional flash design of a red-haired mermaid in a grey shell top, with a green scaled tail, wave pattern, stars and a red flower.
Mermaid with waves and red flower in ornate frame
Black and grey flash drawing of a pocket compass with waves breaking beneath it and a flock of birds rising above, drawn on pale paper.
Compass, birds and waves design
Six blue fine line drawings of waves arranged in a grid on a white background, shown as tattoo design flash.
Six line drawings of waves
Colour Japanese style full back tattoo design showing a pig-headed figure in a patterned robe, surrounded by orange flames, clouds and a snake.
Pig-headed figure in flames, Japanese back design
Black line drawing of a mermaid with long curling hair and a fish tail, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement visible.
Mermaid with wavy hair line drawing
Pencil sketch of a geisha with cherry blossom, clouds and a koi fish in Japanese style, drawn on pink paper as a tattoo design.
Geisha with koi and cherry blossom sketch
Black ink pen drawing of a three-masted sailing ship on hatched waves, with a dotted line falling to a small anchor, on plain off-white paper.
Sailing ship and anchor pen drawing
A sheet of metallic temporary tattoo designs with gold, silver, blue and pink triangles, chevrons, diamonds, teardrops and rings, shown on a black background.
Metallic geometric temporary tattoo sheet
Traditional style flash design of an anchor wrapped in rope with a ship's wheel, two swallows and a laurel wreath, drawn on torn paper over wooden boards.
Anchor and ship wheel with swallows
Four minimal black line symbols on a plain light grey background: a sun with dotted rays, three wavy lines, a peak with dots, and a cross with dots, in a fine line style.
Sun, waves, mountain and cross symbols
Pencil line drawing of a traditional-style anchor inside a rope border, with a lighthouse and seascape in the upper shank and a scallop shell and flowers at the base.
Anchor, lighthouse and shell design
Black and white flash design of a simple cartoon penguin waving with one flipper, shown on a plain white background.
Waving cartoon penguin design
Coloured Japanese-style design of a samurai warrior in armour holding a drawn sword, surrounded by yellow lightning bolts, clouds and black waves.
Samurai warrior with lightning and waves
Traditional-style flash design of a yin yang symbol, with the black side filled with red and yellow flames and the white side with blue water splashes, shown without any body placement.
Yin yang with fire and water
Blue ink drawing of two koi fish circling in a yin and yang arrangement, surrounded by stylised water swirls, in a Japanese style.
Two koi fish in a yin and yang circle
Black and grey flash design of a lighthouse inside a rope circle, with a ship's wheel at its base and three banners carrying lettering.
Lighthouse and ship's wheel with banners
Black and grey pencil drawing of a lighthouse and ornate compass tattoo design on paper, with a hand holding a pencil at the top left.
Lighthouse and compass tattoo design
Black tribal-style flash design of two dolphins leaping above curling swirls and water splashes, with no body placement shown.
Two dolphins with tribal swirls
Full-colour Japanese style flash design of a green spotted lion dog beside a pink peony, set among black and grey waves and swirling clouds.
Peony and lion dog back piece design
Black ink line drawing of a sun with dotwork and rays above geometric mountains and wavy sea lines, all enclosed in a triangle, shown as a tattoo design on white paper.
Sun, mountains and waves in a triangle
Black line drawing of a koi fish with flowing fins and curling waves, shown as a Japanese style tattoo design on a white background.
Koi fish with swirling water design
Black ink drawing of a lighthouse inside a circular compass rose, with dotwork and patterned panels, sketched as a tattoo design.
Lighthouse inside a compass rose design
Traditional flash sheet of four designs in colour: chess pieces with a rose, a sunset over waves, an hourglass with a skull, and a fox with pine trees, above a BRAND NEW banner.
Traditional flash sheet with rose, fox and hourglass
Black line drawing flash sheet of a saguaro-style cactus, prickly pear, crescent moon, fish, sun and wavy lines on a cream background.
Desert cactus flash sheet
Black ink line drawing of an ornate scallop shell with a woman's face and pearl necklace at its centre, surrounded by smaller shells, waves and bubbles, drawn as a tattoo design.
Shell and wave design sketch
White single-line drawing of a small circle above a stylised wave on a dark background, a fine line design with no body placement shown.
Circle above a wave line drawing
Black ink line drawing of a three-masted ship on hatched waves with a dotted line to an anchor, above the script words Life's roughest storms prove the strength of our anchors, on crumpled paper.
Ship, waves and anchor with script quote
Black ink line drawing of a mermaid with scaled tail and curling waves, sketched on paper beside two fineliner pens, a tattoo design for fine line work.
Mermaid with curling wave tail line drawing
Black ink flash sheet of six alien-themed designs, including a UFO over pine trees, a banner reading Scully and Aliens, and a Believe diamond.
Six UFO and alien flash designs on paper
Black and white ink drawing of a crescent moon above a circular scene of a breaking wave and a rock under a night sky, a possible tattoo design.
Crescent moon over a wave in a circle
Black line drawing of a heart enclosing the words Adventure is where your heart is, with a cactus, mountains, palm tree, sailboat, pine trees and a sun, as a tattoo design.
Heart with adventure lettering and landscape
Traditional style flash design of a woman in profile wearing a black bowler hat with a red flower, beside a ship's wheel and green leaves.
Profile woman in bowler hat with ship wheel
Navy line drawing of three skeletons in a row, swimming, cycling and running, as a triathlon-themed design on a cream background.
Skeletons swimming, cycling and running
Dark single-line drawing of a leaping dolphin among curling wave scrolls, shown as a stitched design on a pale textured background.
Dolphin with swirling waves
A black and white flash sheet of nautical designs including anchors, a lighthouse, a whale, a compass star, a ship's wheel, a sailing boat and a sailing ship.
Nautical flash sheet of anchors, waves and ships
Pencil drawing of a tribal-style design with a blank central circle, flanked by swirling bands filled with hatched and chevron patterns, shown on a plain background.
Tribal-style circle design in pencil
Flash sheet of gold, red, green and black temporary tattoo designs, including flowers, a chain bracelet, wave bands and patterned borders.
Metallic temporary tattoo flash sheet
Pen drawing of a neo-trad style lighthouse design inside a rope-edged oval, with clouds, waves and crystals, in black and grey ink on paper.
Lighthouse in rope frame design
Black line drawing of a Japanese-style koi fish swimming among lotus flowers and swirling waves, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement.
Koi fish with lotus flowers and waves
Black linework flash drawing of a Japanese-style dragon coiling among peony, cherry blossom, wave and cloud motifs, with no body placement shown.
Japanese dragon with peonies and cherry blossoms
Japanese style flash drawing of a black and grey snake coiled around two blue peonies, with a small skull in grass at lower left.
Snake and peony flash design
Black and white line drawing flash sheet showing a lighthouse, a sailing ship, a compass rose, an anchor, two birds and a floral swirl, with no body placement shown.
Nautical flash sheet with lighthouse and anchor
Black and white ink drawing of a large letter S, its strokes formed from flowing flame-like lines and ocean waves with foam crests.
Wave and flame letter S design
Black ink line drawing of a mermaid with swirling hair and a fishtail, shown as a tattoo design on white.
Mermaid with swirling hair line drawing
Black and grey pencil drawing of a mermaid with wind-swept hair, a shell top and a curling wave-shaped tail, shown as a tattoo design.
Mermaid with flowing hair and wave tail
Black tribal-style dolphin design with swirling wave patterns on a white background, shown as a stencil-style drawing with no body placement visible.
Tribal dolphin design in black linework
Black and grey Japanese style flash drawing of a hannya demon mask with lotus flowers and swirling wave motifs.
Hannya mask with lotus and waves