Wave tattoo ideas

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

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Two bare ankles on sand wearing metallic gold and silver temporary tattoos of hibiscus flowers, wavy lines, shells and a dotted band.
Gold and silver metallic ankle tattoos
Black and grey full arm sleeve with chrysanthemums, flower of life geometry and dotwork, with red script on the forearm, shown on both arms.
Full sleeve with chrysanthemums and sacred geometry
Traditional style tattoo of a sailing ship, lighthouse and waves across a person's upper chest.
Sailing ship and lighthouse on the chest
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
Overhead view of a seated person with hands on their knees, showing a Japanese-style red flower tattoo on one forearm and a black and grey cloud design on the other.
Japanese-style forearm tattoos seen from above
Black and grey realism tattoo of a sailing ship in a storm with lightning and a compass on a man's upper arm and shoulder.
Sailing ship in a storm with compass on upper arm
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
Colour Japanese-style tattoo of an orange koi carp, purple lotus flowers and grey waves across a person's back.
Koi and lotus on a back
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
Close photograph of a bold solid black tattoo of a fluted, spiked crown-like shape with a wavy line rising from its left side and a curved hook on the right, on skin.
Bold black crown-like tattoo on skin
Blue and black tattoo of Hokusai's Great Wave inside a golden ratio spiral grid, on the inner forearm.
Great Wave with golden ratio grid on forearm
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of peonies and a mandala across a woman's forearm, with a partly visible second tattoo at the lower right.
Floral mandala forearm tattoo
Black and grey dolphin tattoo with splashing waves on the outer thigh, in a Japanese-inspired style.
Dolphin and waves on the thigh
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
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 spiral and wave design tattoo wrapping around the upper arm and shoulder, in a blackwork style.
Tribal armband tattoo on upper arm
Close view of two forearms with metallic temporary tattoos in gold, silver and blue, including palm trees, a wave, leaves and shells, against sand.
Metallic palm tree and wave designs on forearms
Traditional-style tattoo on a forearm showing a grey umbrella with a lightning bolt, rain, a paper boat sailing in a purple teacup and a red rose on the cup.
Umbrella storm and paper boat in a teacup
Small blue and black wave tattoo in a Japanese style on the centre of a chest, shown above an open zipped dark jacket.
Blue wave on the chest
Two feet showing a pair of tattoos: a pink and blue watercolour feather with birds and the words I'll be your wings on the left foot, and a shaded grey anchor with birds and the words and I'll be your
Matching anchor and feather tattoos on two feet
Woman seen from behind with a colourful Japanese style koi and wave tattoo covering her back and left arm, against a dark red studio backdrop.
Full back Japanese koi and wave tattoo
Black and grey wine glass tattoo on a forearm, its bowl filled with a curling wave and a whale tail in fine line and dotwork style.
Wine glass with wave on a forearm
Small black and grey sailing ship tattoo with stippled shading and rigging on the back of a hand.
Sailing ship on the back of a hand
Small blue tattoo of a circular emblem with spirals and wave lines in a geometric style, placed on an ankle.
Blue wave and spiral emblem on an ankle
Black script lettering tattoo on an upper arm reading: our world is no more permanent than a wave rising on the ocean.
Wave quote lettering on an upper arm
Colour neo-trad tattoo of a walrus wearing a red beanie and red and white striped jumper, smoking a pipe, on the side of the torso.
Walrus in beanie and striped jumper
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 and grey Polynesian-style tribal tattoo with plumeria flowers across a shoulder and upper arm.
Polynesian tribal shoulder and upper arm
Side-by-side photos of a Japanese-style swirling cloud tattoo on an upper arm and shoulder, the left before treatment and the right after, with the colour noticeably faded.
Japanese swirl sleeve before and after laser fading
Black and grey Japanese-style wave tattoo with fine linework and dotwork shading on the inner arm.
Great wave tattoo with dotwork shading
Traditional style colour tattoo of a red and white striped lighthouse with lightning bolts and waves on a man's upper arm, with a skull and nautical elements nearby.
Lighthouse and lightning sleeve on an arm
Colour tattoo of a grey anchor with swirled detailing, an orange starfish and teal and blue waves, on the ankle.
Anchor, starfish and waves on an ankle
Back of a woman with a black linework Japanese-style lotus and wave design across her lower back, and a peony and flower sleeve on her arm, photographed in a dim studio.
Lotus back piece and flower arm sleeve
Fine line black tattoo of a wave inside a circle on the inner forearm of a pale-skinned arm.
Small wave in a circle on a forearm
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
Black and grey realism tattoo of flowers, rolling waves and a wing across the side of the hip and down the thigh.
Black and grey flowers, waves and wing on hip and thigh
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
Large Japanese-style back tattoo of a geisha with pink flowers in her hair, a red and green serpent, waves and chrysanthemums, shown across a person's upper back.
Geisha and serpent back piece
Black dotwork and linework tattoo of a sailing ship on waves inside a circle with clouds and birds, on the upper arm.
Sailing ship in a dotwork circle
Back and arm tattoo in Japanese style showing a fierce warrior with a sword, a koi on the upper arm and peonies, in colour against a black background.
Japanese back and arm sleeve tattoo
Fine line black tattoo of a wavy line and a small animal outline running across an ankle and the top of a foot.
Fine line wave and animal outline on ankle
Colourful fine line tattoo of a compass rose and sailboat on the side of a ribcage, with a watercolour style orange sky and blue sea.
Compass rose and sailboat on the ribs
Small black fine line wave tattoo on a woman's shoulder, with a turquoise pendant necklace and a white crochet bikini top visible.
Small wave tattoo on a shoulder
Black and grey neo-traditional tattoo of a pin-up mermaid with an anchor and scaled tail across the side ribs.
Mermaid and anchor on the side ribs
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
Two matching foot tattoos: a watercolour feather with flying birds and the words I'll be your wings on the left foot, and a shaded grey anchor with waves and birds on the right foot.
Feather, birds and anchor tattoos on both feet
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