One of the hardest things about being a tattoo artist is thinking of new designs. Finding tattoos you like can help you find inspiration and even develop your own style.
Whether you’re looking to find some fresh ideas - or you’re just interested in the different types of designs that are out there - you’re in the right place. Here’s a gallery of some of the most popular tattoo designs:
Music Tattoos
Music-inspired tattoos don’t have to just be centered around music notes and treble clefs. Different music icons, instruments, dance styles, movie scores, and more can all be the subject of musically inclined tattoos.
Skull Tattoos
Skull tattoos are some of the most popular designs in the industry. A great way to make yours stand out is to choose a unique style and add unique surrounding elements.
Faith-Based Tattoos
Some people like to wear their beliefs on their skin. We’re fans of focusing on not only the battle between light and dark in the subject matter, but also using lots of highlights and dark shadows in these tattoos to add extra depth.
Animal Tattoos
When dealing with a popular subject matter - like lions - you can keep your work unique by going for a more original version of the “roaring lion” tattoo.
Scorpion tattoos are considered to be a symbol of strength. Their tails are so universally recognizable that you can make the design as realistic or illustrative as you’d like without losing the symbolism.
Phoenix tattoos reflect the story of someone “rising from the ashes,” which is why they’re so popular.
Most often found in traditional Japanese tattoos, dragons have made their way into all different tattoo styles.
Wolves, like lions, tend to be a meaningful tattoo design for most people because they represent strength and resilience. However, you can make a wolf tattoo more personal by choosing a style that is done less often.
Birds are at the top of the list of most-tattooed animals. However, unlike lions or wolves, there’s less of an expectation when it comes to a bird’s facial expression, which is why birds make a great subject for any tattoo style.
Popular Tattoo Symbols
One of the most well-known tattoo designs in the world, rose tattoos are often associated with Sailor Jerry and his traditional tattooing style. However, rose tattoos have evolved a lot since then, ranging from mystical to hyper-realistic.
Lots of tattoos revolve around royalty, but crown tattoos let you experiment with different tones, whether you want to go for a goofy, feminine, or serious look.
Capturing the awe and wonder of the universe is often the focal point of some of the best tattoo ideas.
Whether they’re representing the life of a traveler or someone’s moral character pointing toward “True North,” compass tattoos are very popular design ideas.
Arrow tattoos do a great job of working with the flow of the body, because they can be tattooed right along one of the many lines of the body.
Moon tattoos let tattoo artists play with the idea of contrast - whether they’re playing with light in their designs or juxtaposing a hollowed-out crescent moon with a circular sun.
A design centered around queens and royalty will give you a timeless tattoo design. Here’s a few of our current favorites:
Most tattoo artists will tell you that feather tattoos are really popular - and overdone. However, incorporating a new style can help you create a unique feather design that feels fresh.
Floral designs create some of the best tattoos because they’re easy to read, can be molded to fit on any part of the body easily, and fit any color palette.
Small Tattoos
Small tattoos are very popular. We recommend placing small tattoos on smaller areas of the body (where you would normally wear jewelry).This includes near the wrists, ankles, hands or ears. To learn more, check out our Tattoo Placement Guide.
Family Tattoos
If portraits or name tattoos aren’t your style, going with imagery that represents family members is a great alternative.
Name tattoos can be a great way to keep someone with you, no matter where you go. However, name tattoos are the most popular type to get removed or covered up. We only recommend these family tattoo ideas for family members who have passed, children, or pets.
A great way to memorialize a family member to get a meaningful tattoo that reminds you of them. If you don’t want to go with a traditional portrait, you could use symbols (like an angel), a picture that represents their personality, or something that belongs uniquely to that person, like their handprint.
Instead of choosing tattoos that represent specific family members, some people opt for tattoos that represent their wider family or culture with family crest tattoos or tattoo styles that originated in different regions of the world.
Disney Tattoos
One of the best things about tattoos of iconic characters is that they remain recognizable, even when you experiment with different styles or add pieces of your own personality.
Discover Tattoo Design Ideas
Ready for more? Click on the design ideas you’re interested in to learn more from our professional tattoo artists.
Tattoo Flash Ideas
As a new tattoo artist, you’ve probably been told to draw tons of “flash tattoos.” These are smaller tattoo designs that you’ll usually see displayed on the wall of a tattoo shop. If customers come in without an idea for a custom piece, they can pick a flash design. Usually, flash sheets will have popular …
What is a Flash Tattoo? Plus 40 Flash Tattoo Design Ideas
A flash tattoo is a pre-made design that can usually be tattooed in one sitting. Flash designs are typically displayed on the walls of tattoo shops or in flash books on 11” x 14” pieces of paper.As a tattoo artist, flash designs help you in two ways:They give options to clients who don’t have an …
Halloween Tattoos: When Spooky Meets Ink
Leave Thanksgiving and Christmas behind; for spooky season lovers all around the nation, October reigns as the ultimate month. With its chilling movies, spooky vibe, and thrilling horror events, it builds up to the grand spectacle of Halloween.Halloween, horror, and tattoos have intertwined for ages. That’s precisely why numerous horror conventions, like Spooky Empire, attract …
Biomech Tattoo: Your Ink, Evolved
Biomech tattoos combine man and machine – with big, bold designs full of depth. We’re taking a look at why biomech tattoos work so well, and why they’re never boring to look at.
...What is a Fingernail Tattoo? Everything You Wanted to Know About Fingernail Tattoos (And Were Too Afraid to Ask)
Fingernail tattoos come in a wide variety. Some people use tattoos as temporary nail art, and others go a bit more…extreme. Here’s how some people are putting tattoos beneath their nails.
...Everything You Need to Know About the Jagua Tattoo
Tattoo ink made from fruit? Whether you’re looking for a temporary tattoo or want to use the jagua style as a model for a tattoo design, we’ve got the info you need here.
...Everything You Need to Know About Wrist Tattoos for Men
You can design small wrist and forearm tattoos without making them delicate. Here’s our favorite wrist tattoo ideas for men to help inspire your next design.
...4 Best Side Boob and Under Boob Tattoo Ideas
Floral, text, mandala, or skull tattoos – here’s our best tattoo ideas for working with curves instead of against them.
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Nice info Nathan . Of you could drop the payment plan down to 40 I would be able to join . I always wanted to be like you . Your tattoos are awesome . I follow you alot and learning from you ..thank you
Amazing
Please help me get the hand with arrow through it … I need that stencils so I can follow along. I’m so stressed trying to find it. Says on your video I could follow along but can’t find the download