Wave tattoo ideas

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

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Full back tattoo in a Japanese style showing a large red and brown owl beside cherry blossom branches and a pale moon, with a green bird sleeve on the upper arm.
Owl, cherry blossom and moon back piece
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of a skull, koi fish and peony flowers with waves across the upper arm.
Skull, koi and peony on the upper arm
Close-up of a Japanese style tattoo on a back and upper arm, showing a red and yellow serpent with a dark scaled head and orange eye among black and grey waves.
Japanese serpent and waves across back and arm
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of a koi fish on the upper arm and a dragon with flowers and waves across the shoulder and chest.
Black and grey koi and dragon shoulder piece
Colour sleeve tattoo on an upper arm and forearm showing a cat, dolphins, hearts and a star, worn beside a pastel rainbow dress.
Colourful cat and dolphin sleeve tattoo
Two tattooed people in a Japanese style: a woman with a grey oni mask on her stomach and a man with a full colour sleeve and an oni mask on his chest.
Two people with Japanese style tattoo sleeves and torsos
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a sailing ship on rough waves, with a rose beneath it, on an upper arm.
Sailing ship and waves on an upper arm
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Full arm sleeve tattoo in black and grey shading with pink flowers, showing a ship wheel, waves and a 'of the Sea' banner on the upper arm and forearm.
Ship wheel sleeve with waves and script
Black and grey neo-traditional tattoo of a woman's face framed by swirling hair and pearl strands, covering the upper arm and shoulder.
Woman portrait with pearls on upper arm sleeve
Colour tattoo of purple and red chrysanthemums with green leaves and grey shading across an upper arm and shoulder, with a real butterfly resting on the flowers.
Purple chrysanthemum tattoo on upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a lighthouse in a stormy sea on the chest, with a sailing ship on the upper arm and shoulder.
Lighthouse in a storm on chest and ship on arm
Black and grey engraved-style tattoo of a sailing ship under stars, with waves, clouds and the date 1872 beneath, on the upper arm.
Sailing ship and 1872 on upper arm
Colour tattoo of three stacked arrowheads over a dotted circle with orange watercolour washes and teal wave lines, on the outer thigh.
Three arrowheads over a watercolour circle
Five views of a colourful traditional style full sleeve tattoo on an arm, showing a mermaid, a shark, sailing ships, a castle and fish in a sea scene.
Under-the-sea full sleeve tattoo
Colour traditional tattoo of a pirate ship with a skull and crossbones sail, red flags and green waves across an upper arm.
Pirate ship and skull on upper arm
Colour Japanese style tattoo on an upper arm showing a crane in flight, a red sun, grey clouds, waves and orange and red maple leaves.
Crane, red sun and clouds on an upper arm
Fine line and dotwork tattoo of a moon with stars, small clouds and wavy sea lines on the upper arm.
Moon, clouds and waves on upper arm
Black fine line tattoo of wavy parallel lines running from the shoulder down the upper arm, shown on a woman in a black bandeau top.
Wavy parallel lines across shoulder and upper arm
Close-up of a small black fine line sailboat tattoo on a person's upper arm, with a hand resting across the forearm.
Small sailboat on an upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a city skyline with a clock tower, power lines and a pine forest over waves, across an upper arm and forearm.
City skyline, power lines and forest sleeve
Black and grey fine-line geometric wave tattoo running from the upper back over the shoulder and down the outstretched upper arm.
Wave linework across back and arm
Black and grey realism sleeve tattoo on an upper arm showing a pocket watch, a sailing ship in rough sea with a tentacle, and a dotwork mandala.
Pocket watch, ship and mandala sleeve
Fine line tattoo of a half sun above three wavy horizontal lines on the upper arm, shown against a black sleeve.
Small sunset line tattoo on an upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a galleon under full sail above breaking waves, across a man's upper arm and shoulder.
Galleon and stormy waves on upper arm
Colour Japanese koi fish tattoo with white wave swirls and a white lotus bloom, wrapping the shoulder and upper arm.
Koi fish and lotus on upper arm
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
Fine line tattoo of a sailboat on waves with two small clouds, placed on the upper arm of a person in a navy top.
Sailboat and clouds on upper arm
Black and grey blackwork sleeve in a Polynesian-style tribal pattern covering a man's upper arm and forearm, with a wristwatch on the wrist.
Polynesian-style sleeve on forearm and upper arm
Neo-traditional full sleeve tattoo on an arm showing a red-sailed ship in a lightning storm above an octopus and sharks in green sea.
Pirate ship and octopus full sleeve
Black and grey blackwork tattoo on an upper arm showing a sailing ship, a hot air balloon with a Take Me Home banner, and stylised waves, shown in two side-by-side photographs.
Sailing ship, hot air balloon and waves on upper arm
Traditional style tattoo of a dark grey whale with a rope around it, rising above green and grey waves in front of a red sun, shown on an upper arm in two photos.
Whale with rope over a wave and red sun
Black linework tattoo of a sailing ship tossed by waves beneath a rain cloud, in a blackwork style, on the upper arm.
Sailing ship in a storm on the upper arm
Colour realism tattoo on an upper arm showing a woman with downcast eyes in teal tones, with a sea turtle below her and streaks of water-like colour above.
Woman and sea turtle on upper arm
Colour pop art comic style full sleeve tattoo on an upper arm and forearm, showing a blonde woman with a hand raised to her mouth, a speech bubble and a red explosion.
Pop art comic full sleeve with woman and explosion
Black and teal hot air balloon tattoo with mandala patterns, stars and a crescent moon on the upper arm, in a dotwork and geometric style.
Hot air balloon mandala on upper arm
Five views of a colourful full sleeve tattoo in neo-traditional and Japanese-inspired style, showing birds, swirling clouds and rays across the upper arm and forearm.
Colourful bird and cloud full sleeve
Black and grey Japanese-style tattoo of a wolf with swirling clouds on the upper arm and shoulder, shown from two angles.
Wolf and swirling clouds on upper arm
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of an oni mask with lotus flowers, waves and chrysanthemums covering the shoulder and upper arm.
Oni mask and lotus flowers on a shoulder and arm
Black and grey dotwork sleeve tattoo on a forearm showing a sailing ship, a diver in a brass helmet, a submarine, fish and an octopus.
Nautical sleeve with diver and sailing ship