Wave tattoo ideas

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

What will it cost? Try the tattoo cost calculator
Black and grey Japanese full back tattoo of a lion dog, tiger, clouds and lotus flowers, with a cicada on the upper arm.
Full back Japanese lion dog and tiger piece
Colour Japanese-style tattoo of a rising sun over teal waves and pine trees, with grey clouds on the shoulder, shown on an upper arm from three angles.
Sun, waves and clouds on an upper arm
Black and grey sleeve tattoo of a ship's wheel, waves, clouds and script reading 'of the Sea', with pink flowers, on an upper arm and shoulder.
Ship's wheel and sea sleeve on an upper arm
Black and grey Japanese-style wave tattoo covering the upper arm and shoulder, with swirling curls and shaded crests.
Black and grey wave sleeve on upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo covering a man's back with a sailing ship on rough waves, a bearded face in the sea spray, an underwater scene and a temple, with tentacles on the upper arms.
Full back sailing ship and sea scene tattoo
Black and grey Polynesian-style tribal tattoo with spirals and triangles wrapping the upper arm, with stippled dotwork shading.
Polynesian-style tribal upper arm tattoo
Black and grey tattoo of a breaking wave and a sailing ship, split into rectangular panels, on the upper arm of a person in a dark t-shirt.
Wave and ship on upper arm
Black and grey realistic full arm sleeve showing a galleon under sail, churning waves and a shark, across the upper arm and forearm.
Galleon and shark full arm sleeve
Japanese style full arm sleeve with red lotus flowers, teal shading and grey clouds across the upper arm and forearm.
Lotus flowers and clouds on a full arm sleeve
Black and grey Japanese style back tattoo with curling waves, a scaled creature and lotus flowers, extending down the left arm in a sleeve.
Back and arm sleeve with waves and dragon
Full Japanese-style sleeves on both arms and a chest piece, with pink and yellow koi, cherry blossoms and black-grey waves, shown on a shirtless torso.
Japanese koi and blossom full sleeves
Traditional style colour tattoo of a sailing ship above an anchor and waves, framed by green leaves and a red rose, on an upper arm.
Ship, anchor and rose on an upper arm
Colour traditional tattoo of a large sailing ship on rolling blue waves, with clouds, gulls and a red flag, across the upper arm and shoulder.
Sailing ship with waves on upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a galleon at sea with a skull in storm clouds, on the upper arm.
Galleon and skull in storm clouds
Black and grey realism tattoo of a surfer riding a curling wave above hibiscus flowers on the upper arm and shoulder.
Surfer riding a wave with hibiscus flowers
Black and grey Japanese style koi fish, flowers, clouds and waves covering a full sleeve from shoulder to forearm, shown from two angles.
Koi and waves full sleeve
Colour Japanese style half sleeve tattoo of red koi fish and pink cherry blossoms over a grey swirl, covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Koi and cherry blossom half sleeve
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of a lighthouse, stars and clouds inside a bottle, on the upper arm.
Lighthouse in a bottle on an upper arm
Full body Japanese style tattoo with koi, dragon and lotus motifs across the arms, chest and legs of a seated person against a black background.
Japanese bodysuit with koi and dragon
Woman seen from behind with a colourful Japanese-style phoenix and flower sleeve on her arm and a large tattoo across her thigh.
Japanese phoenix and flower sleeve with thigh tattoo
Full sleeve Japanese style tattoo of a teal dragon with red accents, swirling waves and pink peonies, shown on an arm from two angles.
Japanese dragon full sleeve
Traditional-style tattoos of a swallow, a ship, an eye and a banner on a man's arm, with a chest script partly visible above a white printed tank top.
Swallow, ship and banner tattoos on an arm
Black and grey Japanese-style wave tattoo covering the upper arm, with pale skin showing through the wave crests.
Japanese waves on an arm
Colour tattoo of a moonlit castle on a hill above rippling blue water, with a full moon, stars and a dark silhouette at the top, across the upper arm and shoulder in a bold neo-traditional style.
Moonlit castle night scene on upper arm
Full sleeve tattoo on an upper arm in Japanese style, with orange, green and red lotus-like motifs, swirling clouds and layered scale patterns.
Colourful ornamental sleeve on upper arm
Black and grey full sleeve tattoo of skulls, lotus flowers and smoke on an upper arm and forearm, shown from three angles.
Skulls and flowers full sleeve
Full Japanese-style sleeve tattoo on an upper arm and forearm, showing pink cherry blossoms, grey waves and a fish-like creature with a yellow eye.
Japanese full sleeve with cherry blossoms and fish
Woman in a dark grey band t-shirt showing colourful traditional rose and floral tattoos on her upper arms and forearms.
Tattooed arms in a band t-shirt
White ink tattoo sleeve of mandalas, leaves and geometric patterns covering an upper arm and shoulder.
White ink sleeve with mandalas and leaves
Colourful Japanese-style half sleeve on an upper arm and shoulder, showing a blue VW camper van among grey waves, purple plumeria and red clouds.
VW camper van and flowers on an upper arm
Two black and grey tattoos: a fine line wave on an upper arm and a dotwork palm tree within a dotted circle on a forearm.
Wave and palm tree tattoos on arms
Colour half sleeve on an upper arm showing a black tree with swirling branches at the top, orange koi and blue waves in the middle, and pink lilies below.
Tree, koi and lilies on an upper arm
Side-by-side photos of a botanical swirl tree tattoo in black ink above blue wave shading on an upper arm.
Swirling tree and blue waves on an arm
Black and grey Japanese full sleeve tattoo on an upper arm and shoulder, with cherry blossoms, waves, chrysanthemums and a sun motif.
Japanese sleeve with cherry blossoms and waves
Black outline tattoo of flowers, swirls and a geometric city skyline across a shoulder and upper arm, with red shading.
Flowers, swirls and a city skyline on upper arm
Colourful Japanese style tattoo of a yellow chrysanthemum and a pink flower with grey waves across the upper arm and shoulder.
Chrysanthemum and pink flower on upper arm
Japanese full sleeve tattoo with a samurai mask, koi, lotus flowers, a green dragon and waves, shown on an upper arm next to its flash design.
Samurai, koi and dragon Japanese full sleeve
Realistic colour tattoo of a lighthouse, a sailing ship and a moon over a stormy sea, covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Lighthouse and sailing ship seascape on upper arm
Black ink blackwork and dotwork tattoo of a curled-up cat in front of rooftops, a sun and waves, inside a circle on the upper arm.
Sleeping cat and town in a circle on upper arm
Traditional tattoo of a black and yellow compass rose with pink flowers, green leaves and an anchor, on the upper arm.
Compass rose with anchor and flowers on upper arm
Black and white photo of a man seen from behind, showing a large Japanese style back tattoo of an eagle, waves and clouds, with script lettering and tattoos on his upper arms and forearms.
Full back piece with eagle and waves
Man seen from behind with a column of teal circles running down his spine, a small bird on his lower left back and a blue-green arm tattoo on his right upper arm.
Circle spine tattoo on a muscular back
Full arm sleeve tattoo of a koi carp with chrysanthemums and clouds in Japanese style, shown from three angles on an upper arm.
Koi and chrysanthemum arm sleeve
Black and grey neo-traditional tattoo of a lighthouse, lotus and sailing ship across a shoulder and upper arm.
Lighthouse, lotus and sailing ship on shoulder and arm
Three-panel photo of a black linework wave tattoo covering a shoulder and upper arm, in a fine line style with Japanese-inspired curling waves.
Stylised wave tattoo across shoulder and upper arm
Colour Japanese style sleeve tattoo on an upper arm and shoulder, with orange tiger lilies, purple flowers, green leaves and grey waves.
Lily and waves sleeve tattoo
Fine black linework and blue-green wash form a curling wave tattoo on an upper arm, with small dark marks above it.
Blue-green wave tattoo on an upper arm
A man with full-body Japanese style tattoos in green, red and cream, showing a koi fish and peony flowers on the torso and arms, with his hands clasped in front of white underwear.
Japanese koi and peony tattoos on torso and arms