Wave tattoo ideas

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

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Traditional style tattoo on a forearm showing a bottle enclosing a dark sea scene with waves, with a red rose and leaves at its base.
Bottle with sea scene and rose on a forearm
Realism style colour tattoo of two grey dolphins leaping through a blue swirl with white stars, on the calf.
Two dolphins with stars on a leg
Black and grey traditional flash design of an hourglass reading TEMPUS FUGIT, with a sailing ship in the top bulb and a skull in the bottom bulb.
Hourglass with skull and ship
Colourful neo-traditional tattoo of a hamsa hand framing an eye, a swallow, cherry blossoms and a rose, placed on the thigh.
Hamsa hand with eye, swallow and blossoms
Black line tattoo of a lotus flower with waves and clouds in a Japanese style across a person's stomach above white underwear.
Lotus and waves across the abdomen
Neo-trad style flash design of a red-haired cartoon girl surfing a turquoise wave beneath pink flowers and a ribbon banner with lettering, with no body placement shown.
Surfing girl with wave and flowers
Black and grey realism tattoo of a sailing galleon in heavy seas with crashing waves, wrapping around a forearm.
Galleon and waves on a forearm
Fine line black sailboat tattoo with small waves on the inner wrist of a hand raised above a nautical chart.
Small sailboat tattoo on the inner wrist
Black and white flash design of a bearded figure framed by two surfboards, anchors, waves and dotwork bands, with no body placement shown.
Symmetrical surfboard figure flash
Upper arm sleeve tattoo in black and grey shading with a ship wheel, waves and a banner reading of the Sea, with pink flowers and a compass star.
Ship wheel sleeve with banner and flowers
Black linework leg sleeve covering both legs from thigh to ankle, with a peony at the knee, hands in a mudra pose and ornamental patterns, on a grey bed.
Full leg sleeve with peony and hands
Black and grey Japanese-style wave tattoo covering a forearm, with a cloud motif near the elbow and solid black bands near the wrist.
Japanese waves and clouds on a forearm
Colour traditional tattoo of a mermaid holding a rope, with waves, clouds, birds and a flower, on an upper arm.
Traditional mermaid with rope on upper arm
Colour tattoo on a forearm of a sailor's head in a cap inscribed Cherie, with a whale and a sunset sea scene inside the head, in neo-trad style.
Sailor head with whale on a forearm
Colour traditional-style tattoo on the side of the torso showing a palm tree, a wave, an orange sun, a red flower and a surfboard-shaped panel with script lettering.
Palm tree, wave and surfboard tattoo on the side
Colour tattoo of a beach sunset with palm tree silhouettes, birds and a star, in Realism style on the calf.
Beach sunset with palm trees on a calf
Black and grey dotwork design of a teacup with rolling waves, a sailing ship, a storm cloud with lightning and rain, and flowers on the cup and saucer.
Storm in a teacup with a sailing ship
Blackwork tattoo of wavy parallel black lines forming a fingerprint-like pattern across the inner forearm.
Wavy black lines on a forearm
Black and grey pencil drawing of a tribal sun with radiating rays above bold Polynesian-style patterns, shown as a design with no body part visible.
Polynesian sun and tribal sleeve design
Traditional-style flash design on paper showing a sailing ship on rough seas and a black and grey rose in a bold black oval frame, with no body part visible.
Sailing ship and rose flash in oval frame
Small blue sailboat tattoo with wavy lines beneath it, placed on the inner wrist of a raised hand.
Sailboat on the inner wrist
Fine line black tattoo of a curling wave with small bubble dots and a shaded crescent on the inner forearm.
Wave line tattoo on inner forearm
Blue and turquoise wave tattoo inside a black outlined circle, centred on a person's back.
Blue wave in a circle on the back
Colour Japanese style tattoo of an orange koi fish with a pink lotus, pink cherry blossoms and blue waves across the upper back.
Orange koi with lotus and cherry blossom on a back
Fine line silver wave and gold scallop shell temporary tattoos on the inner forearm, above a thin gold band and teal cord bracelets.
Metallic wave and scallop shell on a forearm
Colour tattoo of a green sea serpent with red eyes and teeth inside a block letter F, framed by blue waves on a red background.
Green sea serpent in a block letter F
Back view of both legs with a black and grey woodcut-style tattoo of a sailing ship on the sea beneath clouds and sunrays, running from the thighs to the calves, in a Blackwork style.
Woodcut-style ship scene on both legs
Purple and black Aquarius zodiac wave symbol above the word Aquarius in black script, tattooed on an ankle.
Aquarius zodiac symbol and script on ankle
Traditional style colour tattoo of a sailing ship on green waves inside a waffle cone, with pink and orange flowers and green leaves below, on a lower back.
Sailing ship in an ice cream cone with flowers
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of folding fans with wave patterns covering the upper arm of a man in a grey top.
Folding fans and waves on an upper arm
Colour Japanese style tattoo of a noodle bowl with chopsticks and green garnish on a forearm, partly covered by a paracord bracelet with a metal clasp.
Noodle bowl tattoo on a forearm
Blue and black ink drawing of a nautilus shell with waves splashing out of its opening, shown as a flash design with no body placement.
Nautilus shell with blue waves
Small black zigzag wave tattoo on the neck behind an ear, in a fine line style.
Zigzag wave tattoo behind the ear
Japanese style koi fish with orange flowers and waves covering the upper arm and shoulder, shown in two side-by-side photos.
Koi fish and flowers on upper arm and shoulder
Back view of a man with a large flowing wave tattoo in black outline and orange and brown fills covering the shoulder and upper arm.
Flowing wave tattoo across back and upper arm
Retro-style flash drawing of a dark-haired mermaid with a teal tail, surrounded by orange fish, pink coral and stylised waves, with no body placement shown.
Vintage mermaid with fish and coral
Blue pen sketch of a sailing ship inside a bottle, with a kraken's tentacles reaching up from the waves beside it.
Ship in a bottle with kraken sketch
Colour tattoo on an upper arm showing a red-haired girl riding a blue wave, with a large blue wave shape behind her.
Red-haired girl on a blue wave on an arm
Colour traditional-style tattoo on the outer thigh showing an anchor with rope, pink flowers, seaweed, an open shell with a pearl and blue waves.
Anchor, shell and pearl on a thigh
Black ink tattoo on the side of the body showing a crescent moon with clouds, sun rays and a wave, in fine line and stippled dotwork.
Moon, sun and wave on the side
Black and grey cherry blossoms and falling petals run down the spine, with a shaded lotus and pink water lines at the lower back, in a Japanese style.
Cherry blossom trail and lotus on a back
Black and grey realism tattoo of a lighthouse beside crashing waves and a stormy sky, across the upper arm.
Lighthouse and stormy sea on upper arm
Black and grey engraved-style tattoo of mountains framed by curling waves and rays of light, covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Waves and mountains on an upper arm
Traditional style tattoo of a black-sailed ship with a red sun and teal waves on the back of a hand.
Sailing ship and waves on the back of a hand
Black and grey traditional flash of a skull above a trident and anchor rope, framing a ship, a whale and a banner reading Sea Shepherd.
Skull, trident and whale in a rope frame
Black and white Polynesian tribal sleeve design drawn as a full arm, with spirals, chevrons and wave motifs on a white background.
Polynesian tribal arm sleeve design
Realistic tattoo of a sailboat on calm grey water under a soft pinkish sky, across a forearm.
Sailboat at sea on a forearm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a tall sailing ship in rough waves, covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Sailing ship in a stormy sea sleeve