Wave tattoo ideas

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

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Single-line drawing of four rolling waves above the handwritten phrase go with the flow, shown as a fine line design on a plain light background.
Line drawing of waves with go with the flow text
Black and grey forearm sleeve with a shaded peony, scrolling wave motifs and a geometric lattice band near the wrist, worn on the forearm.
Black and grey peony sleeve on a forearm
Blue and grey Great Wave tattoo in Japanese style on a woman's upper back, near the shoulder blade, with her hair falling over one side.
Great Wave tattoo on upper back
Close view of a black fine line wave tattoo running across a sun-tanned limb against a plain light background.
Black fine line wave tattoo on skin
Traditional style colour tattoo of a red and white lighthouse with an octopus, teal waves and a yellow flower on a forearm.
Lighthouse and octopus on a forearm
Fine line black tattoos on a woman's forearm include a coffee cup, a bomb, a paper aeroplane and a feather, with the words Far Away on the upper arm.
Small line icons and script on a forearm
Blue linework tattoos of dolphins and swirling bands across the back of a hand and the inner wrist, with a strip of matching designs at the right edge.
Blue dolphin and swirl tattoos on hand and wrist
Flash design of a leaping dolphin filled with dark brown marble texture and white tribal wave and spiral linework, with no placement shown.
Tribal dolphin design with wave linework
Hand-drawn flash design of three blue and black waves above the cursive word home, drawn on plain paper.
Three waves above cursive script on paper
Colour Japanese style full sleeve tattoo of koi fish, waves and cherry blossom covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Koi and wave full sleeve
Small black wavy brushstroke tattoo on the side of a finger, shown on a hand with gold nail polish.
Small wave tattoo on a finger
Blue and black wave tattoo running along the inside of a forearm, with stacked bangles on the wrist.
Blue wave on a forearm
Small black tattoo of two wavy lines on the inner wrist of a hand held up against a dark woven background.
Two wavy lines on the inner wrist
Black and grey dotwork seascape inside a diamond outline on a forearm, showing palm trees on a rocky island, breaking waves and a seated surfer.
Seascape with palm trees in a diamond on a forearm
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of nested, wave-like diamond bands shading from dense to light across a forearm, with the arm held out in front of a black top.
Dotwork wave pattern on forearm
Black line drawing of four stylised waves above the handwritten words go with the flow, shown as a fine line tattoo design on a plain light background.
Line waves with go with the flow script
Black script lettering tattoo on the upper arm reading 'our world is no more permanent than a wave rising on the ocean'.
Quote about a wave and the ocean on the upper arm
Colour tattoo of a crowned creature sailing a boat under a crescent moon and stars, on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Crowned creature in a sailboat on the upper back
Close-up of a fine line black wave tattoo on the inner ankle of a person wearing rolled light blue jeans, resting on a teal patterned blanket.
Fine line wave tattoo on an ankle
Black and grey fine line and dotwork sleeve on an upper arm and forearm, showing sailing boats, waves, swirling clouds and a small airliner.
Sailing boats, waves and airliner sleeve
Black ink tribal-style tattoo with hibiscus and plumeria flowers covering a woman's ribs and flank, with a smaller floral piece on her upper back.
Black ink Polynesian-style side piece with flowers
Black ink drawing of a circular mountain and wave design with arrows pointing north, south, east and west, shaded in dotwork, shown on white paper beside two marker pens.
Mountain and wave compass design
Traditional style tattoo of a bearded merman in a top hat and eye patch, with a blue and teal scaled tail, on a calf.
Bearded merman in top hat on a calf
Black and grey engraved-style tattoo on the forearm showing a whale tail rising from the sea, with small figures falling beneath a large dark shape in the sky above.
Whale tail and falling figures on a forearm
Black and grey Japanese style skull tattoo with curling waves and cherry blossom flowers across a person's upper back and shoulder.
Skull, waves and blossom on a back piece
Blue pencil sketch of a mermaid with shells in her hair, a starfish, bubbles, waves and a fish, drawn in a neo-traditional style on cream paper.
Mermaid with shells and fish sketch
Colour traditional tattoo of an owl with spread wings on a chest, with a black swirl background and a Japanese wave sleeve on the upper arm.
Owl with spread wings on chest
Small black fine line sailboat on rough waves on the inner upper arm of a person in a white top.
Small sailboat on waves on an upper arm
Colour tattoo of an anchor with a pink bow and a sailing ship inside it, across the upper back, with a pink heart at the base.
Anchor and sailing ship on upper back
Black and grey flash design of a skeletal mermaid holding a skull and a flower, with dotwork sunburst rays and stippled waves inside an oval frame.
Skeletal mermaid with skull and sunburst
Black and grey realism tattoo of a palm tree beside a curling wave over a calm sea, on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Palm tree and wave on the upper back
Black ink blackwork tattoo of a sun with rays, clouds and a curling wave inside a circle, on the inner forearm.
Sunburst and waves on a forearm
Four pairs of ankles on a poolside, with small fine line black tattoos of a shell, an anchor with a heart, a palm tree and a thin line.
Shell, anchor and palm tree ankle tattoos
Black tribal band tattoo design with spirals, zigzag edges and a central flower motif, drawn on a white background.
Tribal band design with spirals
Full Japanese-style sleeve tattoo on a man's arm, showing a figure in a teal robe with a sword beside cherry blossoms, waves and red roses on the upper arm and forearm.
Japanese sleeve with figure, waves and roses
Full back tattoo in traditional style showing a black snake coiled between red roses, sun faces, dripping apple and blue waves, with forearm and upper arm tattoos visible.
Traditional back piece with snake, roses and sun faces
Fine line colour tattoo of a teal swirl and red and orange wavy shapes with a small purple dot on the forearm, with a beach behind.
Colourful swirl tattoo on a forearm
Pastel neo-traditional style tattoo of a woman with flowing hair and draped fabric covering the outer upper arm.
Woman with flowing hair on an upper arm
A seated person in a black bra and patterned underwear shows neo-traditional tattoos of two female portraits on the upper arm, a rose on the hand, and ornate scrollwork and a teal wave on the torso.
Portrait and ornamental tattoos on arms and torso
A single thin black line drawn on a plain white background, forming a simple curling wave, shown as a fine line tattoo design with no body part visible.
Minimal wave line design
Black and grey Japanese full arm sleeve tattoo on the upper arm and shoulder, with cherry blossoms, wave patterns and a sunburst, shown from three angles.
Japanese cherry blossom sleeve in black and grey
Black and white photo of a thin single-line swirl tattoo curling across the inner forearm near the wrist.
Fine line swirl on a forearm
Traditional colour tattoo of a shark's open mouth framing a palm tree, red sunset and sea, on a calf.
Shark mouth with beach sunset on a calf
Black line-art city skyline with a bridge and wavy water below and a small red heart above, tattooed on the upper arm.
City skyline with a red heart on an arm
Black linework tattoo of mountains, radiating sun rays, clouds and rolling waves in a circular frame on a forearm.
Mountains, sunburst and waves on a forearm
Fine line black script reading let it be, swept up by a wave curve, on the ankle and foot of a bare foot standing on a wooden boardwalk.
Let it be script with wave on an ankle
Traditional style flash design of a black kraken with yellow eyes wrapping around a sailing ship, with a red sun and banners reading Kraken's Revenge on a starred cream background.
Kraken's Revenge sailing ship design
Black and grey realism tattoo of palm trees above a beach and waves on an upper arm and shoulder, with blue script lettering above, shown from three angles.
Palm trees and beach on upper arm