Tattoo ideas

49,007 photos and flash · 24% Fine line, 17% Lettering · Forearm most common

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Black and white photo of a small fine line tattoo of a bow and arrow over a triangle on the upper back, near the shoulder blade.
Bow and arrow outline on upper back
Black and grey ornate teapot tattoo with floral scrollwork pouring a stream of bleeding hearts into a teacup on the upper back.
Ornate teapot pouring bleeding hearts onto a shoulder blade
Black dotwork lotus mandala tattoo centred on a person's upper back, with a vertical line of dots above and below it.
Lotus mandala on upper back
Close photograph of a fine line script tattoo reading With pain comes strength across the skin of the back in black ink.
Script quote reading With pain comes strength
Fine line script tattoo reading "do small things with great love" running vertically beside the spine on a bare back.
Script quote running down the back
Fine black script reading I could really use a wish right now across the upper back of a woman with long hair, lit by sunlight through blinds.
Script quote across upper back
Black and white photo of a woman seen from behind, with a small fine line cross tattoo on her upper back near the shoulder blade.
Small fine line cross on upper back
Colour tattoo of travel stamps for Barcelona, Athens and Marrakech, with a globe, compass star and suitcase, on the upper back.
Travel stamps and globe on upper back
Pale white line tattoo of a dragonfly with outstretched wings on the upper back of a person with shoulder-length blonde hair, styled in fine line.
Dragonfly outline on upper back
Black serif capital lettering reading PROME QUEEN runs vertically down the centre of a person's back in a lettering style.
Spaced capital lettering down the spine
Black ink mandala tattoo centred between the shoulder blades on the upper back of a woman with shoulder-length hair, photographed from behind.
Mandala tattoo on upper back
Ornamental lotus flower tattoo in black and grey dotwork shading on the back, with a dotted line running above and below it.
Ornate lotus flower on the back
Black and white photo of a bare back with a line of small black bird silhouettes tattooed from the upper back towards the shoulder, with hands visible at lower left.
Flock of birds across a bare back
Black and grey Buddha face tattoo covering a person's back, with clouds, two praying monks and cloud work extending onto the upper arms.
Buddha face and monks across a back
Woman seen from behind riding a longboard on a rural road, with tattoos across her back, arms, thighs and calves.
Tattooed back and legs on a longboard
Solid black blackwork tattoo across a man's back, with bold abstract shapes over the shoulders and circular motifs running down the spine.
Black abstract back tattoo with spine motifs
Back view of a large black and grey dotwork tattoo with a central spiral in a diamond frame, extending across the shoulders and down both upper arms and forearms.
Full back dotwork spiral with geometric sleeves
Fine line black outline of a sun with pointed rays on a forearm, and a crescent moon outline on a person's lower back beside jeans.
Sun and crescent moon outline tattoos
Japanese back piece in black and grey showing two guardian lion statues beside a pagoda and kanji, with coloured tattoo work on the upper arm.
Guardian lions and pagoda across the back
Black and grey fine line tattoo of three chrysanthemums and a leaf on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Three chrysanthemums on upper back
Black and grey fine line geometric tattoo of overlapping squares and circles forming a spiral across a person's upper back and shoulder.
Overlapping geometric spiral on shoulder blade
Black blackwork and dotwork tattoo on the upper back and shoulder blade showing silhouetted flying figures, a small fairy and a dotted trail of stardust.
Silhouetted flying figures and dotted trail on upper back
Realism-style tattoo of a snail with a striped brown shell and extended antennae, placed between the shoulder blades on a person's upper back.
Realistic snail on upper back
Colour botanical tattoo of yellow daffodils with green stems and a purple star-speckled wash across the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Daffodils with purple stars on upper back
Fine line black tattoo of a heartbeat trace running into an outlined heart on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Heartbeat line leading into a heart on the back
Blue and black mandala-patterned elephant tattoo across the upper back of a woman seen from behind.
Mandala elephant on upper back
Black tribal-style sea turtle tattoo with a pink plumeria flower at its centre, placed on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Tribal sea turtle on upper back
Realistic red feather tattoo with dark grey shading and a soft cast shadow, sitting on the lower back near the hip.
Red feather tattoo on lower back
Black line tattoo of a rose inside a keyhole outline with a circle below it, placed in the centre of a woman's upper back.
Rose in a keyhole on the upper back
Black and grey realism back tattoo showing a tiger head above a woman's profile with closed eyes, with a skull held in a hand on the side of the body.
Tiger and woman full back piece with skull
Two black and grey puzzle piece tattoos on upper backs near the shoulder blades, one with a swirling ornament and one with an ornate key and heart.
Matching puzzle piece tattoos on shoulders
Realism tattoo of a graveyard, crosses, skulls and bones under a red lightning sky, covering a full back.
Graveyard and skulls across a full back
Colourful realism-style tattoo across an upper back, showing a winged fairy built from cartoon characters including Bambi, Dumbo and Pinocchio, with a sparkling wand.
Disney characters forming a fairy on a back
Back view of a woman in a patterned open-back dress showing a large black and grey tattoo across her upper back and spine.
Large back tattoo seen at a market
Back tattoo of a dark grey tree with pink blossoms and red leaves trailing down the spine, in a botanical style on the back.
Blossom tree with falling leaves across a back
Colour tattoo of swirling flame-like shapes with small white star sparkles across a person's upper back.
Colourful swirling flame tattoo on upper back
Back view of a woman with blonde hair looking out over the sea, with a small black fine line tattoo between her shoulder blades.
Small fine line tattoo on upper back
Small solid black stag head tattoo with antlers on the upper back near the neck, shown in a black and white photo.
Stag head silhouette on upper back
Black and grey shaded roses with Never give up Never back down script tattooed across a shoulder and upper back.
Never give up script with roses on shoulder
Three black and grey photos of fine line sun rays with script lettering reading You are my sunshine and My only sunshine, placed on the upper back and shoulder blade.
Sun and script lettering tattoos on the back
Black ink ornamental tattoo of stylised flowers and scrolls centred on the upper back, with the wearer's face not shown.
Floral ornamental tattoo across upper back
Black and grey shaded cross tattoo with red baseball stitching and a number 5 in the centre, placed on a person's upper back near the shoulder blade.
Baseball cross on upper back
Black silhouette tattoo on a person's upper back showing a flying boy, a fairy with a dotted trail, a girl in a flowing dress and a pirate ship with a rowboat below.
Peter Pan silhouette scene on upper back
Colourful puzzle piece tree tattoo with a dark shaded trunk and roots, placed on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Puzzle piece tree on the upper back
Script reading The heart of an Indian beside a profile headdress tattoo on the lower back, mostly black and grey with small red accents.
Script lettering and feathered headdress on back
Two black ink tattoos of the lyric phrases "You are my sunshine" and "My only sunshine", each with a small sun motif, on a person's upper back and a second area of skin below.
Matching sunshine lettering on the back
Black and grey realism tattoo of two birds perched on a bare branch, placed on a woman's upper back near the shoulder blade.
Two birds on a branch across a shoulder blade
Black script lettering reading I solemnly swear that I am up to no good, with dark footprints, tattooed across a person's upper back near the shoulder blade.
Quote and footprints across upper back

Ideas by style

Fine line Traditional Blackwork Japanese Dotwork Neo-trad Realism Lettering Botanical Geometric

Ideas by placement

Forearm Upper arm Shoulder Back Chest Ribs Thigh Calf Ankle Hand Neck

Popular subjects

Flower 8,605 Script 6,821 Leaves 6,438 Rose 4,399 Heart 4,105 Lettering 3,720 Bird 3,605 Feather 3,392 Quote 3,385 Swirl 3,253 Star 3,037 Dot 3,012 Text 2,685 Mandala 2,563 Wing 2,537 Word 2,200 Circle 2,163 Hand 1,970 Skull 1,900 Cat 1,806 Petal 1,805 Stem 1,695 Triangle 1,678 Outline 1,574 Arrow 1,573 Ornament 1,552 Banner 1,537 Eye 1,508 Woman 1,494 Moon 1,451