Wave tattoo ideas

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

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Black ink drawing of a whale swimming through stippled waves beneath a starry night sky, set inside a circle, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement.
Whale in a circle of waves and stars
Black and grey pencil drawing of a Japanese-style skull with peony flowers and swirling wave motifs, shown as a tattoo design without a body placement.
Skull and peonies in a Japanese design
Black monoline flash design in a circle showing a crescent moon and stars on the left, a tower with a keyhole motif in the centre, and a sun with waves on the right.
Moon, sun and tower in a circular line design
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
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
Watercolour-style flash design of a sailing ship being wrapped by an octopus tentacle among swirling waves, with an anchor and rope below.
Sailing ship, octopus and anchor design
Hand-drawn black line sketch of an anchor rising from curling waves, with the Latin lettering fluctuat nec mergitur along the lower wave, shown as a tattoo design on paper.
Anchor and waves design with Latin lettering
Coloured pencil drawing of a koi fish and a long-beaked bird above stylised swirling waves, in a Japanese-influenced flash design.
Koi and bird over swirling waves
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
Black and grey Japanese style illustration of a woman in a patterned kimono holding a dragon, with a tattoo-style design on her upper arm and a parasol behind her.
Kimono woman with dragon and parasol
Coloured pencil drawing of a sailing ship on waves inside a rope-framed spade shape, with a rope knot and lotus-like shape below, in a traditional style.
Sailing ship in a rope-framed heart design
Black line drawing of a mermaid with long wavy hair and a curling fish tail, shown as a tattoo design on white with no body part visible.
Mermaid with flowing hair line drawing
Three paper tattoo flash designs in traditional style: a teacup with a wave and flowers, a small aeroplane, and a dagger-like syringe, each with a text banner.
Teacup, aeroplane and syringe flash stickers
Traditional style flash drawing of a red and grey lighthouse with red light beams, set on rocks above rolling waves.
Lighthouse on rocks with waves flash
Five Japanese-style full back tattoo designs drawn on paper sheets, showing dragons, an oni mask, a warrior with a sword, a woman and waves in colour.
Japanese back piece designs on painted sheets
Greyscale pencil drawing of two koi fish swimming through stylised waves, a Japanese style tattoo design on paper.
Two koi fish among waves design
Black and grey traditional flash design of a sailing ship on rough sea inside a ship's wheel, with banners reading NEED YOU LIKE WATER IN MY LUNGS.
Sailing ship in a ship's wheel with banner lettering
Black traditional-style swallow design with a sunburst and wavy lines, printed on a grey t-shirt laid flat on a wooden background.
Traditional swallow with sunburst and waves on a grey
Colourful Japanese-style koi fish design in orange and gold on a deep blue background, framed by teal wave and cloud swirls.
Koi fish with swirling waves
Two versions of a stylised flame design with spirals, a Greek key motif and wave lines, one in black outline and one in rainbow colour, shown as a tattoo flash design.
Flame and spiral design in line and colour
Black line drawing of a flying saucer beaming down over mountains, a moon, stars, pine trees and a small house with a wavy hatched field.
UFO beam over a mountain landscape
Traditional-style nautical design of two swallows, a rope-edged anchor and roses, burned into a pale wooden board, with no body placement shown.
Swallows, anchor and roses design on wood
Sepia drawing of a geisha with hair sticks and closed eyes, with a dragon and wave design and a patterned sleeve, in a Japanese style.
Geisha and dragon tattoo design
Black and grey flash design of a skull above a sailing ship on waves, with a mermaid resting on a treasure chest below, shown without a body placement.
Skull, pirate ship and mermaid design
Pencil line drawing of a mermaid with both arms raised, flowing hair and a scaled tail, shown as a tattoo design sketch on paper with no body placement.
Mermaid with raised arms, pencil sketch
Black ink line drawing of a mermaid with a long, flowing tail curling upwards past rising bubbles, shown as a fine line tattoo design with no body placement.
Mermaid tail with rising bubbles line drawing
Flash sheet of black line flourishes, scrolls, leaves, arrows and a laurel motif on a white background, with a white laurel on a grey panel at the top.
Flourishes and ornaments flash sheet
Black line drawing of a mermaid with flowing, swirling hair and an ornamental scrolled tail on a white background, suitable as a tattoo design.
Mermaid with swirling hair and tail
Black line flash sheet of small geometric motifs including skull faces, spirals, zigzags, diamonds, squares and asterisks, with no body placement shown.
Geometric motif flash sheet in black line
Tall black and white design drawing for a full sleeve, showing cats, bats, waves and a geisha-style figure in a Japanese-influenced style.
Black ink sleeve design with cats, bats and geisha
Hand-drawn flash design of four stacked motifs in bold black linework with green, red and blue wash, including a swirling vine, a flame trail and a wave.
Four elemental motifs in black ink and wash
Black and grey drawing of a mermaid with swirling hair, a scaled tail and curling waves, presented as a tattoo design.
Mermaid with flowing hair and waves
Black line drawing of a mermaid with flowing hair and an ornamental scaled tail on a white background, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement visible.
Mermaid line drawing design
Black tribal tattoo design of a large spiral and flowing swirls with notched edges, shown as a stencil-style drawing with no body part visible.
Tribal spiral and swirl design
Black line drawing of a sailing ship above a curling banner reading IT IS NOT DOWN ON ANY MAP TRUE PLACES NEVER ARE, with waves below, in a traditional style.
Ship and banner quote design
Black line drawing of a sailing ship, tentacles, waves and an anchor with a banner reading I am the captain of my soul, shown as a traditional-style tattoo design.
Ship and anchor flash with captain banner
Sheet of gold and silver metallic temporary tattoo designs with chevrons, diamonds, triangles, a wave with dots, a leaf vine and a lattice band.
Metallic geometric temporary tattoo sheet
Teal line drawing in a traditional nautical style showing a sailing ship, waves and an anchor wrapped in rope, with a banner reading I am the captain of my soul.
Sailing ship and anchor banner design
Black line drawing of a geometric tattoo design: a vertical staff with a pennant-like top, crossed arrows, a ring, bars, a curved arrow and wave lines, shown on a white background.
Geometric staff with arrows and waves
Black and grey pencil drawing of a Japanese-style sleeve design showing a samurai mask, koi, dragon, peony and waves, with no body part visible.
Japanese sleeve design with samurai, koi and dragon
Black ink drawing of many small symbols on a white background, including suns, horses, eyes, crescent moons, spirals and zigzags, shown as a design sheet rather than on skin.
Sheet of ink symbols and pictograms
Black and grey Japanese-style dragon design surrounded by swirling clouds and cherry blossoms, drawn as a tattoo flash sheet.
Japanese dragon with clouds and blossom
Black and white drawing of a Polynesian tribal sleeve design with a face motif at the top, surrounded by spirals, waves and geometric bands.
Polynesian tribal sleeve design
Hand-drawn colour pencil design for a full arm sleeve showing a compass rose, clouds, swallows, a sailing ship, waves, jellyfish, manta rays, an anchor and a treasure chest.
Nautical sleeve design with compass and ship
Pencil and teal colour sketch of a woman in profile with flowing hair, waves and a ship, drawn as a tattoo design with the words my love n the sea.
Woman in profile with waves and ship
Chart of five grey Maori design motifs with captions: koru spiral, hei-matau fish hook, moana wave, mangopare hammerhead and a kowhaiwhai band pattern.
Maori motif chart: koru, hei-matau and more