It’s no secret that we love tattoos: small tattoos, inner ear tattoos, wrist tattoos, the works. We’ve seen a lot of them—and watercolor tattoos are some of our absolute favorites. The bright colors, intricate details, and lighthearted designs make these works of art we never knew we needed. What makes watercolor tattoos particularly special is that there are so many different ways to decorate your body. Think adding washes of blue and purple as a backdrop to a delicate design (like these cool celebrity tattoos), bringing out the beauty in flower tattoos, or going the abstract route with a bursting swipe of colors. Scroll on for our favorite watercolor tattoo ideas, plus everything you need to know before you ink up.
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Delicate Flowers
The line work and miniature blossoms on this arm tattoo are flawless. The lovely thing about floral tattoos is that many flowers have symbolic meanings behind them.
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Dumbo
Animal tattoos aren’t as wild as they sound when you see they can look this cute.
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Floral Butterfly
This butterfly tattoo, which features lilacs and apple blossoms in its wings, is the more modern take on the ’90s trend.
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Swipe Right
Paint swipes look incredibly realistic, especially when they’re done by Georgia Grey, a tattoo artist at New York’s Bang Bang NYC. Her eye for detail means that people might mistake this for actual paint—and who could blame them?
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Fade to Black
Simple yet stunning, this detailed triangle by Joice Wang, a tattoo artist also at Bang Bang NYC, is a good option if you’re not up for a huge, intricate design.
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Aced It
Drips and splashes are a signature of watercolor. “It’s more freeform and allows you to work outside of the lines,” says Wang. In some cases, it doesn’t take as long as traditional tattoos since the artist doesn’t have to carefully fill in lines.
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Watercolor Triangles
Bring out your inner artist—no starving required—with the pretty array of colors.
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Bear
If you can’t decide on a color, stick with shades of blue, purple, and pink, says Wang. She tries to stay away from the yellow and orange families, since they can clash with some skin tones.
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Abstract Lines
Multiple colors require some planning. “There is so much to know about color,” says Wachob. “Some inks have to be avoided because of the potential for an allergic reaction, certain ones ‘bleed’ out in the skin more than others, and some whites will look yellow.”
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BeautyThe ‘Olsen Dip’ Is the Hair Trend Revival All the Boho Girls Will LoveBy Elle Turner
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Blue Whale
A tiny tattoo—and in watercolor? Sign. Us. Up.
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Prism Points
With watercolor tattoos, it pays to do your research. “There are people with very little knowledge of tattooing basics who attempt to do full-color work,” says Wachob, who had a traditional apprenticeship at a street shop. “There are so many extra intricacies in working with color; it takes a lot of practice and skill to apply solid, colorful tattoos that will last.”
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BeautyThe ‘Olsen Dip’ Is the Hair Trend Revival All the Boho Girls Will LoveBy Elle Turner
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Poké Ball
Congratulations, you caught a Jigglypuff!
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Wanderlust
All paths lead to obsessed.
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All Around
Going for darker shades is probably the simplest way to minimize fading. “I gravitate to using black and more darker-toned colors,” says Wang. “With a lot of the light shades, it’s hard to keep the details.”
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All Angles
Watercolor tattoos don’t necessarily take longer than traditional, single-ink versions. “It really depends on the size and location of the tattoo, as well as how much detail there is in the design,” explains Wachob. “A tattoo that is 10 inches in diameter is going to require more time—and potentially more sessions—than a tattoo that is three inches in diameter.”
