Wave tattoo ideas

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

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Two side-by-side photographs of seahorse and compass rose tattoos on the upper thighs, one in purple and one in grey shading with blue waves.
Matching seahorse and compass tattoos on thighs
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 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
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
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
Colour Japanese style tattoo of a tiger and pink lotus flower with blue waves on the outer thigh of a woman's leg.
Tiger and lotus on a thigh
Black and grey lighthouse tattoo within a leaf and flower wreath on the thigh, in a traditional engraved style with dotwork water.
Lighthouse in a floral wreath on a thigh
Black ink tattoo of sailing ships, clouds and a rising sun with engraved-style sea lines, covering the thighs and calves of both legs.
Sailing ships and sunrise across both legs
Woman seen from behind with a full-back Japanese style tattoo of a dragon and waves, extending over the upper arms and thighs.
Full back and leg Japanese dragon tattoo
Colour tattoo of a pastel green and pink narwhal inside a purple heart with stars, in a neo-traditional style with bold black outlines, on the thigh.
Narwhal inside a heart on the thigh
Black blackwork band tattoo with geometric patterns, dots and wave lines wrapping the upper thigh, with a small heart tattoo on a finger.
Geometric blackwork band on a thigh
Traditional style colour tattoo of a red sailing boat with yellow sails and blue waves, placed on the thigh.
Sailing boat with waves on thigh
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of a curling wave inside an inverted triangle on the outer thigh, shown beside black shorts.
Wave inside an inverted triangle on a thigh
Black and white photo of two blackwork thigh tattoos, one showing a sunburst over a horizon and the other showing clouds over waves, worn on the thighs.
Sun and sea scene on both thighs
Fine line single-line tattoo of two facing cats with flowing wave-like strokes on the outer thigh, in reddish-brown ink.
Two facing cats in single line on thigh
Colour traditional tattoo of mountains, pine trees and a lake inside a rope-edged circle with a sunset and wave border, on the outer thigh.
Mountain lake scene in a rope circle on a thigh
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a skull with roses, palm trees and a sunset over waves, on the outer thigh.
Skull with roses and palm trees on a thigh
Japanese style tattoo of a black and grey koi with a pink lotus, cherry blossoms and waves, on the side of the thigh.
Koi and lotus with waves on the thigh
Two black and grey dotwork tattoos inside circular outlines on the legs, showing a mountain range on the left and a curling wave on the right.
Mountain and wave tattoos in circle frames
Colour tattoo of stylised blue and teal waves with black outlines and a curled crest, on the thigh, in a Japanese-influenced style.
Stylised blue waves on a thigh
Traditional style tattoo of a green kaiju monster with an open mouth and red and orange details, set within a black circle with waves, on the thigh.
Kaiju monster in a circle on a thigh
Traditional style tattoo of a red and white striped lighthouse inside a rope frame, with a pink flower above, on the outer thigh.
Lighthouse and flower on a thigh
Colour and grey tattoo of a mermaid inside an ornate oval frame on the outer thigh, in a neo-traditional illustrative style.
Mermaid in ornate frame on thigh
Two legs covered in colourful traditional tattoos, including roses, a dagger, a heart and a bird, photographed from above in a bath.
Traditional tattoos covering both legs
Full body Japanese-style tattoo with green and orange dragons, koi and goldfish over black wave-patterned ground across the chest, arms and thighs.
Full body Japanese irezumi with dragons and koi
Black tribal-style sea turtle tattoo with wave motifs on the outer thigh, shown in a close photograph against a red background.
Tribal sea turtle and waves on a thigh
Neo-traditional colour tattoo of a horned beast face above a red rose in a pink oval, placed on the thigh.
Horned beast and rose on a thigh
Colourful watercolour-style tattoo of a fox-like creature with galaxy dots and eye motifs on the thigh.
Watercolour fox and galaxy on a thigh
Person seen from behind with a full blackwork tattoo covering the back, buttocks and legs, featuring a lattice spine panel, swirling motifs and hexagon patterns.
Full back and legs blackwork tattoo
Colour cartoon tattoo of a smiling teacup character with blue wave-like hair and a pink ship-like shape above it, on the outer thigh.
Cartoon teacup character on a thigh
Black and grey hibiscus flower with tribal swirl and chevron banding tattooed on the outer thigh.
Hibiscus and tribal swirls on a thigh
Black tribal tattoos with spiral and leaf motifs on a person's upper thigh and lower leg, shown in a photo with a patterned sarong.
Tribal thigh tattoos in black ink
Black and grey dolphin tattoo with splashing waves on the outer thigh, in a Japanese-inspired style.
Dolphin and waves on the thigh
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
Colour tattoo of a sailing ship, red sun, waves and an octopus across the side of a torso and upper thigh, in a Japanese and traditional style.
Sailing ship and octopus side piece
Black and grey traditional-style tattoo of a lighthouse, ship's wheel and waves on the upper thigh, with a partly visible banner quote.
Lighthouse and ship's wheel on thigh
Traditional style colour tattoo on a thigh showing a sailing ship inside a ship's wheel, with an anchor, a rose and a small cross.
Sailing ship and anchor in a ship's wheel on thigh
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
Back view of a full back Japanese style tattoo of dragons among red clouds and waves, with colour and grey shading, extending down onto the thighs.
Full back dragon tattoo
Black and grey circular tattoo of waves and clouds in an engraved style, placed on the outer thigh.
Waves and clouds in a circle on a thigh
Black and grey sailing ship on rough waves tattooed on the outer thigh, with a dotted line running down to a small anchor, in blackwork and dotwork style.
Sailing ship and anchor on a thigh
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of a curling wave with spray inside an outlined triangle, on the outer thigh.
Wave inside a triangle on the thigh
Two hands with a colour nautical star on the back of one hand, LOVE on the knuckles, and Japanese-style dragon and koi tattoos on the arms and legs behind them.
Nautical star and Japanese sleeve on hands
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
A colourful Japanese-style tattoo sleeve covering a leg from thigh to calf, with a yellow creature, a red fish and green clouds.
Colourful Japanese-style leg sleeve
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
Traditional style tattoo of a sailing ship, eagle and skull on a thigh, framed by red clouds and lightning bolts above teal waves.
Sailing ship, eagle and skull on a thigh