Tattoo ideas

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

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Black solid stars and fine swirling vines tattooed on the side of a torso, with small gem-like studs set into some of the larger stars.
Black stars and swirls on a side torso
Close photograph of a bold solid black tattoo of a fluted, spiked crown-like shape with a wavy line rising from its left side and a curved hook on the right, on skin.
Bold black crown-like tattoo on skin
Black ink tattoo of a vertical column of small characters down the centre of a woman's bare back, photographed from behind.
Vertical characters down the spine
Blue and black tattoo of Hokusai's Great Wave inside a golden ratio spiral grid, on the inner forearm.
Great Wave with golden ratio grid on forearm
Black and white photo of a fine line tattoo of two simple abstract figures on the outer ankle, with flip flops on the foot and a railway track behind.
Small line figures tattoo on an ankle
Colour tattoo of a cartoon cat in an orange and black tiger-stripe costume with a red bow, on the forearm.
Cartoon cat in tiger costume on forearm
Black ink line drawing of a four-line ribbon banner with hand-drawn lettering and hatched shading on the folds, shown as a flash design on textured paper.
Ribbon banner with four lines of lettering
Two muddy hands cupped together around a pale object, showing green banded tattoos with dot details on both wrists.
Green banded wrist tattoos on muddy hands
Small black cross tattoo on the inner wrist of a pale hand, with a striped woven fabric and a dark green plaid sleeve in the background.
Small cross on the inner wrist
Fine line botanical tattoo of wildflowers and leaves running along the inner forearm near the wrist, shown in three stacked photographs.
Fine line wildflower sprig on a forearm
Black and grey botanical tattoo of stems, leaves and flower heads running up the inner forearm, in fine line with dotted shading.
Botanical stems and flowers on a forearm
Two matching black ink tattoos on the lower legs, each showing an ornate shield motif with dotted detail, a hanging line and teardrop shapes, on a calf.
Matching ornate drop motifs on two calves
Black and white yin yang style design of two cats curled together inside a circle, drawn as a bold solid silhouette.
Yin yang cats design
Close-up of a small fine line pineapple tattoo in dark ink on the outer thigh, with white lace underwear visible.
Small pineapple tattoo on a thigh
Black and white photo of a serif quote tattoo reading I'm the hero of this story across the side of the ribs, with a grey knit top draped below it.
Quote tattoo reading I'm the hero of this story
Black and grey tattoo of a dog head in profile on a shoulder, with solid black ink forming the ears and head and the muzzle left as bare skin.
Dog head tattoo on a shoulder
Realistic colour half sleeve on an upper arm and shoulder, showing a swirling nebula and starry sky above a tree on a path with a silhouetted figure.
Galaxy and tree half sleeve on upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a lion's head inside an ornate scrolled heart frame, centred on the upper back.
Lion head in an ornate heart on upper back
Fine line black tattoo of a heart-shaped key with a small letter k on the inner wrist, beside a pink polka dot bracelet.
Heart-topped key tattoo on the wrist
Neo-traditional flash design of a pair of spread wings framing a unicorn head, two roses, a key and crossed swords, in teal and cream.
Winged unicorn, rose and sword design
Small black dots arranged like a star constellation in fine dotwork on the inside of a forearm, with two thin bracelets worn below it.
Dot constellation on a forearm
Black and grey realism tattoo of an eagle with spread wings on the side of the ribcage.
Black and grey eagle on the ribs
Black cursive script tattoo reading Philippians 4:13 across the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Scripture verse in cursive on the shoulder
Close-up of a small black fine line geometric rose tattoo on the back of a hand, near the base of the thumb, with a silver ring on the thumb.
Small geometric rose on the back of a hand
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of peonies and a mandala across a woman's forearm, with a partly visible second tattoo at the lower right.
Floral mandala forearm tattoo
Black tribal-style gecko tattoo with patterned linework on pale skin, shown in a black and grey photograph.
Tribal gecko tattoo on skin
Neo-traditional colour tattoo of a snarling wolf head merged with a bloodied sheep head on a calf.
Wolf and sheep head on a calf
Small red hearts with black outlines on the inner wrist, one plain and one enclosed in black parentheses.
Two red hearts on inner wrist
Fine line tattoo of two bird silhouettes on a blossoming branch under a crescent moon, with the script words to the moon and back, on the side ribs.
Birds on a branch with moon on the ribs
Black fine line drawing on cream paper of two dogs' heads beside poppies, leaves and star-shaped flowers, a tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Two dogs with poppies and flowers
Black linework lace-style tattoo across the underbust and ribs, with a central ornate panel and small dotted drops below.
Ornate lace-style underbust tattoo
Black and grey realism tattoo of armour plates, a winged Celtic cross and chainmail across a man's upper arm and shoulder, with a torn skin effect at the edges.
Armour and Celtic cross on upper arm and shoulder
Black lettering reading 'We are what we pretend to be' with a small asterisk below, tattooed on a person's upper back near the shoulder.
Handwritten quote tattoo on the shoulder
Black and white flash design of an ornate planchette with a central eye, sun, moon and stars, lettered OUIJA and AS ABOVE SO BELOW.
Ouija planchette with eye and celestial motifs
Black and grey line drawing of praying hands with the number 6 above them on a white background.
Praying hands with the number 6
Black and grey photograph of two paw print tattoos on the side of a ribcage, each filled with ornamental blackwork patterns.
Two paw prints on the ribs
Black fine line fern sprig tattoo curving across the upper arm of a woman seated on a bed, seen from behind.
Fern sprig on an upper arm
Black line drawing of a fish with interlaced Celtic knotwork across its body and scale-like circles along its side, shown as a tattoo design.
Celtic knotwork fish design
Black ink drawing of seven moon phases stacked in a vertical column, each filled with floral linework, on a sketchbook page beside a fineliner pen.
Seven moon phases with floral fills
Realistic colour tattoo of a hummingbird in flight on a woman's upper back near the shoulder blade, seen from behind.
Hummingbird tattoo on upper back
Black script tattoo reading Stay Strong with a feather above the letters, placed on a person's upper chest near the shoulder.
Stay Strong script with feather on shoulder
Black lettering tattoo in a typewriter-style font reading I was a drizzle and she was a hurricane, running diagonally across the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Quote tattoo across upper back
Small solid black cross tattoo on the neck behind an ear, photographed from behind with the hair pulled into a ponytail.
Small cross tattoo behind the ear
Fine line black tattoo of an arrow passing through two circles, with a small triangle and dots, on an upper arm.
Geometric arrow with circles on an arm
Black script lettering runs along a woman's forearm as she holds a camera up to take a photo of herself.
Script tattoo on forearm in a selfie
Black and grey tattoo of two butterflies on the side of a torso, one solid black with pale markings and one detailed with hatched wing linework.
Two butterflies on the side of the torso
Black and grey traditional style flash design of a tattooed mermaid holding an artist's palette, with a squirrel playing a guitar and a banner reading she's a rose, she's a pearl, set against stars
Mermaid with palette, squirrel and banner
Dark mandala-style sun design with a central spiral on the upper back, close to the shoulder blade, in a geometric style.
Mandala sun on the upper back near the shoulder

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