Wave tattoo ideas

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

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Black line drawing of a mermaid with long flowing hair and scaled tail, framed by curling wave ornaments, in a fine line style.
Mermaid with swirling waves line drawing
Black tribal design of a hibiscus, two plumeria flowers and curling spirals, shown as a drawing with no body placement visible.
Hibiscus and plumeria tribal design
Black line drawing of a woman with long hair and closed eyes, showing a Japanese-style sleeve of cherry blossoms, a koi-like fish and a skull on her arm.
Woman with Japanese-style sleeve and skull
Traditional flash drawing of a three-masted sailing ship with grey sails and a red pennant, set in a rope oval with grey clouds, a red sun and blue waves.
Sailing ship in a rope frame with setting sun
Black and grey pencil and ink drawing of a tattoo design inside a diamond, showing a UFO-like eye with rays, raindrops, stars and waves.
Diamond with eye and rain over waves
Full-colour Japanese style koi fish design drawn in red and orange with white wave lines and a black and grey swirl behind it, shown as a flash drawing with no body placement.
Koi fish with swirling waves design
Blue line drawing of a rayed sun with the words You are my sunshine written in script and capitals inside it, shown as a tattoo design on a white background.
You are my sunshine lettering in a sun
White line drawing of a whale tail fluke on a dark navy background, with mountains, waves and a whale scene filling its shape, shown as a design with no body placement.
Whale tail filled with mountains and sea
Pencil drawing of a Japanese-style foo dog with a flowing mane and tail, standing among swirling clouds, shown as a black and grey tattoo design sketch.
Japanese foo dog with swirling clouds
Colour flash design of a monkey king in gold and green armour holding a staff, with red dragons, leaves and waves, in Japanese style.
Monkey king with red dragons and golden staff
Black and grey drawing of a Japanese-style dragon coiling through clouds above a swirling wave, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement.
Japanese dragon with clouds and swirling wave
Traditional-style flash design of a bearded sailor in a knitted cap smoking a pipe, framed by rope, with an anchor, laurel leaves and a red flower below.
Bearded sailor with pipe and anchor
Black and white flash design of a fish caught on a hook above waves, with the words Good Hope in lettering along the bottom.
Fish on a hook with Good Hope lettering
Black ink flash design of a white silhouetted creature framed by swirling waves, scale patterns and fine dotwork.
Silhouette within swirling waves
Black traditional-style swallow flying over waves and a sun, printed as a graphic on a grey vest top against a teal wooden background.
Traditional swallow over waves design
Black line drawing of the Aquarius water bearer figure pouring water, with a wave symbol and the word AQUARIUS beneath it, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement visible.
Aquarius water bearer zodiac design
Black ink drawing of a lighthouse within stippled clouds, with a compass rose below it on waves, shown as a tattoo design on paper.
Lighthouse and compass rose design
Loose blue watercolour and black ink drawing of a curling wave on white paper, with splattered ink dots around it.
Blue ink and watercolour wave
Traditional-style winged sailing ship design with a globe and banner, printed in red and grey on the back of a black t-shirt.
Winged sailing ship design on a t-shirt
Coloured traditional-style flash drawing of a red and white striped lighthouse framed by a rope border, with a red flower at the top and an anchor at the bottom.
Traditional lighthouse and anchor flash design
Neo-traditional style line drawing of a woman with octopus tentacles and a sailing ship, shaded in red wash on a cream background.
Woman with octopus tentacles and a ship
Black and green line drawing of a Polynesian-style tribal design with koru spirals and chevron bands, shown as a tattoo design on white paper.
Polynesian-style koru design with green fill
Black and grey realism design of Medusa, with a woman's face framed by coiled snakes and rippling water below, shown on a dark background.
Medusa with snakes in black and grey
Black and white flash design of a tribal sun face surrounded by spirals, chevrons and bold curved blackwork shapes, with no body part shown.
Polynesian-style sun face and spiral design
Pen drawing of a traditional-style anchor wrapped in rope, with a seagull, a ribbon banner reading family and blue water, shown as a design with no body placement.
Anchor and rope design with family banner
Japanese style design drawing of a Guanyin figure with praying hands, a red lotus and swirling waves, shaded in black, grey and red.
Guanyin with lotus and waves design
Line drawing of a tattoo design in muted lavender ink on white, showing an anchor-like motif with a circle, waves, a diamond and a linear ornament, with no body placement shown.
Anchor and waves tattoo design
Pencil sketch of a mermaid with long flowing hair and a scalloped shell tail, drawn on a sketchbook page, suitable as a fine line tattoo design.
Mermaid with shell tail sketch
Two colour flash designs on a white background: a blue water and red flame yin-yang, and a sun and moon face in blue and gold, in a traditional style.
Yin-yang fire and water with sun and moon face
Two solid black circular tribal designs with spiral motifs and a central wave-like symbol, shown as line art on a white background.
Two circular tribal spiral designs
Hand-drawn black line sketch of two stacked wave motifs inside rectangular outlines, a tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Two line-drawn waves in rectangular frames
Purple line drawing of a three-masted sailing ship with full sails cutting through stylised waves, shown as a tattoo design on a plain white background.
Sailing ship on waves line drawing
Line drawing of a Japanese-style dragon, lion-like mask and lotus flowers over waves and clouds, with pink wash shading, as a tattoo design.
Japanese dragon and lotus flash design
Black line drawing of stylised sea waves with curling crests and spray, framed inside a circle, shown as a tattoo design without a body placement.
Stylised waves inside a circle
Black ink flash sheets of roses, daffodils, lotus and a mountain design set inside solid black triangles and circles, shown on white paper beside fresh flowers.
Botanical flash in triangles and circles
Black tribal-style dragon design with a long horn, open jaw and swirling tail, shown as a flat drawing rather than on skin.
Tribal dragon design with swirling tail
Hand-drawn sheet on squared paper showing many small line symbols, including an ankh, eye, skull, owl, lion, dreamcatcher and mountains, as possible tattoo designs.
Hand-drawn sheet of small tattoo symbols
Black ink line drawing on paper of a rope-framed heart holding a lighthouse, waves and birds, with a flower and leaves below and a small anchor, shown as a tattoo design sketch.
Lighthouse heart and flower design sketch
Traditional style flash design of a black and white striped lighthouse in an oval frame, with clouds, rocks, mountains and a red flower.
Lighthouse in an oval frame
Black ink drawing of a curling ocean wave inside an inverted triangle, with fine hatched linework and stippled spray.
Wave curling inside an inverted triangle
A flash sheet of small black tattoo designs on white, including a snake, sun, butterfly, dragonfly, flower and frog, shown in a simple bold tribal-style outline.
Black tattoo flash sheet of small motifs
Black line drawing flash of a cartoon sailor in a rowboat inside a circle, with the words ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT and THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME, shown without a placement on the body.
Sailor in a rowboat flash design
Black line drawing of an octopus with an elephant-like head and curling tentacles surrounded by wave swirls, shown as tattoo flash on white paper.
Octopus and elephant hybrid line drawing
Flash design of a tattooed mermaid holding a skull, with an anchor, stars and a crescent moon above her head and tentacles coiled around her tail, in cream ink on a dark teal background.
Mermaid with anchor, skull and crescent moon
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo design of a koi fish swimming among stylised waves, lotus flowers and maple leaves.
Koi fish with lotus flowers and waves
Black line drawing of a cartoon captain in a rowing boat on waves, with lettering around a circular rope border, shown as a tattoo design.
Cartoon captain rowing a boat with lettering
Green pencil sketch of a geisha with cherry blossom branches, a large moon, hair pins and a kimono patterned with clouds, with waves at the sides, as a Japanese style flash design.
Geisha with cherry blossom and waves sketch
Black tribal flash design with cherry blossoms, waves and a central medallion, in a bold blackwork style with no body part shown.
Tribal and cherry blossom sleeve design