Wave tattoo ideas

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

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Black and grey traditional style hourglass tattoo on the upper arm, with a flower at the top, a sailing ship in the upper and lower bulbs, and the words savor it on a banner.
Hourglass with ship and flower on upper arm
Black dotwork and linework tattoo on an upper arm showing a pier silhouette under a moon, with stippled sky, rolling waves and pebbles inside a circle.
Pier, moon and waves in a circle on an upper arm
Full body suit design of a red Japanese dragon with yellow claws, chrysanthemums and clouds across the back, arms and thighs.
Red dragon full body suit design
Japanese style full sleeve tattoo of a purple octopus with pink suckers and grey waves across the shoulder and upper arm, with a green anchor near the lower arm.
Octopus and waves full sleeve
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of a mermaid with cherry blossoms and swirling waves on the upper arm.
Mermaid with blossoms and waves on upper arm
Three views of a full arm sleeve tattoo in colour, showing blue tulip buds, swirling scrolls and pale clouds across the upper arm and forearm.
Full arm sleeve with tulips, clouds and scrolls
Colour traditional tattoo of a red and white lighthouse among waves and palm trees, with the words THE SEA WAS ANGRY THAT DAY beneath, on an upper arm.
Lighthouse and stormy sea on an arm
Full body Japanese style tattoo covering a man's arms, chest, back and legs, with a dragon, cherry blossoms, clouds and waves in bright colour on grey shading.
Full body Japanese bodysuit tattoo
Rainbow-coloured mermaid tattoo with flowing red hair and a blue to green tail, sitting on the upper arm.
Rainbow mermaid on upper arm
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of an oni demon mask with koi fish and clouds covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Oni mask and koi on upper arm and shoulder
Black and grey realism tattoo of a Buddha face with leaves and swirling waves on an upper arm.
Buddha face with leaves on upper arm
Fine line black script tattoo on an upper arm, repeating the word Miami along a jagged heartbeat-style line.
Repeated script word in a wave line on arm
Colourful Japanese style octopus tattoo with grey waves and green tentacles across the upper arm and shoulder.
Octopus and waves on an upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a scowling bearded face with swirling wave-like hair across the shoulder and upper arm.
Bearded face tattoo on shoulder and upper arm
Black and grey Japanese-style wave tattoo covering the upper arm and shoulder of a man in a grey vest top.
Japanese wave design on upper arm and shoulder
Black and grey full sleeve tattoo on an upper arm, with a mandala on the shoulder and a serpent over geometric bands.
Mandala shoulder and serpent sleeve on upper arm
Traditional tattoo sleeve on the upper arm showing a mermaid holding a bouquet, a red heart, pink roses, a skull and a blue rose, outlined in black.
Mermaid and heart sleeve on upper arm
Black ink tattoo of a silhouetted figure rowing a boat over wavy lines, with a line of script beneath, on an upper arm.
Rowing boat over waves with script quote
Black and grey blackwork tattoo of an anchor over stippled sea waves and a rising sun, set inside a diamond shape on the upper arm.
Anchor and sea waves in a diamond
Japanese style colour tattoo of a black cat and a green dragon among waves, covering the upper arm and shoulder, shown in a close-up alongside a detail view.
Cat and green dragon on an upper arm
Front and back views of a full body Japanese style tattoo with a large orange koi, cherry blossoms and grey waves across the back, arms, torso and legs.
Full body Japanese irezumi with koi and cherry blossom
Black and grey dotwork and engraved-style sleeve on the upper arm and shoulder, showing waves, a figure, a moon and a chain along the lower arm.
Engraved sea and figure upper arm sleeve
Three-panel photo of a geometric full arm sleeve tattoo in red and black, with a red star motif on the upper arm and a dark rosette pattern on the forearm.
Geometric red and black full sleeve tattoo
Traditional style tattoo of a red and grey striped lighthouse above waves and rocks, with an 'On the Rocks' banner, on the upper arm.
Lighthouse with waves and banner on upper arm
Black and grey tattoo of a mountain above pine trees and stylised waves inside a square frame, on the upper arm with a light red tint in the peak.
Mountain, pines and waves in a square frame
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
Colour Japanese style full sleeve tattoo of koi fish, waves and cherry blossom covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Koi and wave full sleeve
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
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
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
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
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
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 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 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
Black and grey fine line tattoo of a face in profile rising from rippled water beside a triangular fin shape, on the inner upper arm.
Face rising from water on upper arm
Black ink ship in a bottle tattoo on the inner upper arm, with a sailing ship drawn in outline and light shading.
Ship in a bottle on upper arm
Two side-by-side views of a bold black tribal-patterned tattoo of spirals and waves with red chevron fills, wrapping the upper arm.
Tribal spiral and wave design on upper arm
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of a shark with an anchor and rope amid curling waves, covering a person's upper arm and shoulder.
Shark, anchor and waves on upper arm
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
Realism colour tattoo of a sunset over the sea with a seashell and starfish on the upper arm of a person with long hair.
Sunset beach and shells on upper arm
Black and grey chest tattoo of a lighthouse with rays, a rose and Japanese-style waves on the upper chest, with a tattooed arm visible at the left.
Lighthouse and rose chest piece
Japanese style full sleeve tattoo on an arm, showing a red koi carp, purple lotus flowers, cherry blossoms and clouds, shown from three angles.
Koi and lotus full sleeve
Colour tattoo of a white polar bear beneath aurora, stars and a green moon in an oval panel on the upper arm.
Polar bear under northern lights on upper arm
Seated man shown from the neck down, covered in a full Japanese style tattoo with a dragon and phoenix on the arms and a deity figure across the chest and abdomen.
Full body Japanese tattoo with dragon and phoenix