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
A sheet of blue line and solid wave designs in a Japanese-influenced style, arranged in rows on a white background.
Sheet of blue wave designs
Navy engraved-style drawing of a curling wave with foam and a dark speckled circle on a beige background, a flash design with no body placement shown.
Curling wave with splatter circle
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 line tattoo of a curling wave with spray dots on the inner forearm, in a fine line style with Japanese-inspired detail.
Curling wave on a forearm
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
Black ink design of a swallow in flight, with its wings and body filled with Japanese-style waves, flowers and a koi-like fish, drawn on a white background.
Swallow in flight with wave and koi patterns
Blue wave tattoo with a curling crest and spray, shaded in a painterly style across the forearm.
Blue wave tattoo on a forearm
Full back tattoo of a snake coiled around a skull with waves and clouds, in grey shading with small orange accents, placed across the back.
Snake and skull full back piece
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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 line drawing of a Japanese shishi lion with peonies and swirling waves, styled as a tattoo design on paper, with no body placement shown.
Japanese shishi lion with peonies and waves
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
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 circular tattoo of a curling wave with dotwork shading, on a forearm.
Hokusai-style wave in a circle on a forearm
Fine line black tattoo of a curling wave inside a circle on the inner forearm, with stippled dots in the spray.
Wave inside a circle on a forearm
Small blue wave tattoo with white highlights in a Japanese-influenced style, placed on the upper back between the shoulder blades.
Blue wave on upper back
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
Black and grey Japanese style sleeve tattoo on a forearm, showing a foo dog, an oni mask, a skull, a pagoda and swirling clouds.
Japanese sleeve with lion, oni and pagoda
Large realism tattoo on a person's back showing a woman's face framed by a feathered wing, red cherry blossom, lotus flowers and Japanese-style waves.
Realist woman portrait with lotus on a back
Japanese-style wave tattoo with pale outlines over solid black ink, running along a forearm.
Stylised waves on a forearm
Two black and grey fine line tattoos inside outlined triangles on the lower leg: a Hokusai-style wave on the left and pine trees with birds on the right.
Wave and pine trees in triangles on lower legs
Black and grey wave tattoo with curling crest inside an inverted triangle outline on the inner forearm, in a Japanese-inspired style.
Wave inside an inverted triangle on a forearm
Pencil sketch of a Japanese-style dragon with claws, whiskers and a scaled body, drawn in blue and red pencil for a tattoo design.
Japanese dragon design in pencil
Colour tattoo of a red daruma doll with a scowling face and gold characters, framed by grey Japanese-style waves on the skin.
Daruma doll with grey waves
Line drawing of a Japanese-style peony and chrysanthemum design with swirling waves and clouds on a dark background, shown as a tattoo design rather than on skin.
Japanese peony and wave design
Back view of two matching black and grey Japanese style tattoos on the calves, showing flower and flame motifs with wave lines below.
Matching Japanese flower tattoos on both calves
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
Japanese style flash drawing of a green and red dragon coiling over black and grey waves, with a small cartoon figure in a yellow robe beside it.
Green dragon flash with wave background
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
White line drawing of a whale built from stylised waves on a navy background, with a tiny boat and figures in the sea, drawn as a flash design.
Whale formed from waves and a small boat
Illustration of a hairless cat with a Japanese style koi fish, waves and clouds tattoo in blue and black, leaning over a pale hairless cat.
Tattooed hairless cat with a koi and waves design
Black ink drawing of two whale tails rising from stylised waves on white paper, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement visible.
Two whale tails with waves
Colour Japanese style chest tattoo of a humpback whale surrounded by turquoise waves, with a small seated figure in a red and gold sunburst on the chest.
Humpback whale and waves on a chest
Colour drawing of a silver Japanese-style dragon with orange flame accents, coiling through blue stylised waves, as a tattoo design.
Silver dragon with blue waves and orange flames
Small black and grey fine line tattoo of a curling wave inside a circle on the inner forearm, in a Japanese woodcut style.
Wave in a circle on a forearm
Colour Japanese style full back tattoo design showing a pig-headed figure in a patterned robe, surrounded by orange flames, clouds and a snake.
Pig-headed figure in flames, Japanese back design