Tattoo ideas

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

What will it cost? Try the tattoo cost calculator
Upper back tattoo of block lettering reading Clearly I have made some bad decisions, with red and black shading on the letters.
Block lettering quote across a back
Fine line black tattoo of a circular emblem with a crescent moon, stars and a stylised figure, placed on the upper back.
Circular moon and star emblem on upper back
Black and grey fine line script reading fri som en fågel with a small swallow on a person's upper back, placed between the shoulder blades.
Script lettering and swallow on upper back
Black script lettering of a short rhyming poem across a person's upper back, with a pink wall and posters behind.
Rhyming poem script across upper back
Two photos of a black handwritten script tattoo on a person's upper back, one fresh and red, one healed, reading a short message to a mum with a small outline heart.
Handwritten message tattoo on upper back
Colour tattoo of a cartoon ginger cat with large glossy eyes and a curled striped tail, placed on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Big-eyed ginger cat on a shoulder blade
Large Japanese-style back tattoo of a geisha with pink flowers in her hair, a red and green serpent, waves and chrysanthemums, shown across a person's upper back.
Geisha and serpent back piece
Black and grey blackwork tattoo of a bird in flight on a person's upper back, its wing blending into a bare tree and a leaf.
Bird in flight merging into a tree on the upper back
Pink and red floral heart tattoo with swirling vines, leaves and blossoms on a person's upper back near the shoulder blade.
Floral heart tattoo on upper back
Two solid black silhouette geckos tattooed on the upper back near the shoulder blade, with dark wet hair falling across the skin.
Two geckos on the upper back
Back and arm tattoo in Japanese style showing a fierce warrior with a sword, a koi on the upper arm and peonies, in colour against a black background.
Japanese back and arm sleeve tattoo
Small butterfly tattoo with black swirled linework wings and a pink and blue ribbon forming the body, on pale skin at the lower back.
Butterfly with pink and blue ribbon
Black and grey tattoo of cracked, fractured skin filled with handwritten words, covering the middle of a person's back.
Cracked skin with handwritten words on back
Small black and grey mountain peak tattoo centred on the upper back of a person with curly auburn hair, with black bra straps visible.
Mountain peaks on upper back
Black ink tattoo of a hummingbird filled with lace-style floral patterns, sitting across the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Lace-patterned hummingbird on upper back
Black and grey dragonfly tattoo with swirled wing veins and curling ornament on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Dragonfly with swirls on upper back
Back view of a person with long wavy hair, showing a small black fine line outline of an elephant tattoo on the upper back near the shoulder.
Small elephant outline on upper back
Fine line tattoo on the back of paw prints with the names kato, max, lucy and sammy, red hearts and the words The road to my heart is paved with paw prints.
Paw prints with pet names and red hearts
Realism tattoo of a leaping largemouth bass with a lure, dead tree stumps and a fisherman in a boat, across a man's back and shoulder.
Leaping bass and angler across back and shoulder
Back of a person with a blurred watercolour tattoo in green and grey shading over a thin black line running down the spine.
Watercolour spine line on a back
Full back tattoo of an orange and black tiger battling a red and cream snake among clouds, in Japanese style, with further tattoos on both arms.
Tiger and snake full back piece
Realistic tattoo of a mechanical eye with grey gears, filigree metalwork and a blue iris, placed across the upper back.
Mechanical eye with gears on the upper back
Seated man seen from behind with a large black tribal design across his back and coloured sleeves on both upper arms and forearms.
Tribal back piece with arm sleeves
Black and grey realistic hourglass tattoo with a skeletal figure and skull, shown across the back.
Hourglass with skull across the back
Woman seen from behind with her hair in a bun, showing colour botanical tattoos on her left upper arm and both shoulder blades.
Floral tattoos on a woman's back and arms
Two black ink mandala tattoos in a side by side photo: a sun with chain drapes on the chest, and a crescent moon with chain drapes on the upper back.
Sun and crescent moon mandala tattoos
Black and white geometric designs with diamonds, arrows, triangles and ampersands across a woman's upper back, in a geometric style on the back.
Geometric designs across a woman's upper back
Black and white yin yang tattoo of two cats in a circle, placed on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Yin yang cats on upper back
Small grey-blue fine line tattoo of the Deathly Hallows symbol, a triangle with a circle and vertical line, on the upper back near the shoulder.
Deathly Hallows symbol on upper back
Back of a woman in a black halter top showing a large black and grey lace-style ornamental tattoo running down the spine, placed across the back.
Lace-pattern back piece down the spine
Black and grey realism back tattoo of a large raven in flight with smaller birds, German text and a vertical brushstroke ladder motif.
Raven in flight across a back piece
Close view of a small black ampersand tattoo on the lower back of a person with shoulder-length wavy brown hair, in fine line lettering style.
Small ampersand on a back
Fine line infinity heart tattoo with two names in script and soft blue and purple wash, on the back.
Infinity heart with script names
Black and grey realism tattoo of a spiral clock face with musical notes and a dragonfly on a woman's upper back.
Spiral clock and music notes on upper back
Watercolour style Joker face tattoo with green hair and a red grin, with ink splatter and sketched lines, on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Joker face tattoo on upper back
Black and grey back tattoo of a skull breaking through cracked stone blocks, shown on a man lying face down on a white treatment table.
Skull and fragmented stone back piece
Black script lettering reading Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, with a solid black cross above it, on a person's upper back.
Cross and script quote across upper back
Black script tattoo reading Dream as if you'll live forever and Live as if you'll die today across the upper back, with a feather and beads on the right shoulder blade.
Script quote and feather across upper back
Black and grey realism back tattoo of an owl, gorilla, frog, leopard, elephant and giraffe covering the full back.
Animal collage across a back in black and grey
Black and grey dotwork mandala tattoo spanning the upper back and nape of the neck, with a partial mirrored design on the left shoulder.
Mandala tattoo across the upper back and neck
Colour tattoo of a large hare and a small hare under a crescent moon, with the words I love you right up to the moon and back in script, on a person's upper back.
Hares, crescent moon and quote on upper back
Black script lettering reading a four-line rhyming poem across a person's upper back near the shoulder blade.
Four-line poem in script across the back
Fine black French script tattooed vertically down the centre of a woman's upper back, below her hair bun.
Vertical French script down the spine
Black and grey realism tattoo of a wrecked sailing ship and a distant ship on rocky water, across a person's upper back.
Shipwreck and sailing ship across a back
Black tattoo of a feather with a flock of small black birds rising from its tip, on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Feather with birds on upper back
Black and grey wolf head tattoo across the upper back, one half drawn as realistic fur and the other half filled with ornate mandala patterns.
Wolf head with mandala back piece
Fine line black tattoo of a seated dog with a cat beside it, placed on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Dog and cat outline on the upper back
Woman seen from behind with a vertical black Roman numeral tattoo running down her spine and a partial tattoo on her upper arm.
Roman numerals down the spine

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