Delicate flowers are beautiful and can make stunning tattoo ideas. They also come in many different shapes, sizes, colours and styles to suit any taste or preference!
Whether you want a simple drawing of cherry blossom petals on your skin, or vibrant complete plants with flower buds and stems in vivid detail. There are perfect flower tattoo ideas for everyone somewhere, both men and women!
Choosing The Right Flower Tattoo Design
Whether it is your first time getting inked or something new that you would like added to existing tattoos, choosing the right design is vital. You will be living with it forever, so you don’t want to make any mistakes.
Choosing the right flower can be tricky but I have scoured our archives for 50 small floral tattoo ideas that could inspire your next design.
What To Remember When Choosing A Flower Tattoo
Collect Tattoo Ideas
Below you will see many flower tattoo ideas I have collected together. I would suggest you do the same before making any permanent decisions. Don’t worry, you’ll find plenty of options in this article.
Collect as many different examples as you can to start with. You can go through them properly afterwards.
Fill up a journal or scrapbook with pictures of contrasting styles of tattoos and different flower pictures. Compare them side-by-side. You could think about a detailed hibiscus flower tattoo or a simple rose tattoo. There is no decision that is right for everyone.
A lotus flower tattoo can look amazing in the right situation but it can be difficult to make such a bold design look delicate. You could find out what your birth flower symbolizes to see if that might guide your decision.
Ask Yourself The Question ‘What Does My Dream Tattoo Look Like?’
Gradually narrow your choice down. This will give you a clearer view of what you like best in terms of size, colour or style. Maybe something will jump out at you immediately. If so, put it on one side. It may well be your final choice, but it shouldn’t stop you from continuing to look. You may find a different tattoo that suits you better or offers other inspiration.
It may be that a classic rose tattoo is just what you want and you find one that you are happy with, but think about the colours that will suit your style best too. Rose flower designs are the most popular of all but some are very different to others. A daffodil flower represents new beginnings so you might consider that. Other flowers can have a symbolic meaning like good luck too.
Cherry blossoms can create stunning tattoos and can easily be adapted to fit in most places on the body. A lotus flower tattoo can make a great statement piece and a beautiful lily tattoo curling around your arm can look fantastic.
Keep looking until you are left with a design that gives you everything you want. If that doesnt happen, choose several different designs to show the tattoo artist. You might have a picture of a flower that is the right size and colour but want it tattooed in a different style. A good artist will be able to combine the designs to draw up what you want.
Choosing The Right Placement
Maybe you will choose a stark, minimalist flower bud. Maybe a complex detailed flower like an orchid. Think about the style of the design as well as the image itself. It may be you find the perfect flower, but want it drawn in a different way that represents you better.
A Good Artist Will Work With You
A good tattoo artist will be happy to work with you to make sure the tattoo is right for you. When you have settled on a design you need to consider where you want the tattoo. Not all tattoos fit in certain places. The shape of the tattoo should complement the shape of the area the tattoo is to be done.
For some people the tattoo is something that makes them unique. They want it on show all of the time and will choose an area of their body that isn’t covered by clothes so much. For other people, having their tattoos visible may not be as important. They may be more concerned with being able to cover it when needed.
Don’t Regret A Rash Decision
Tattoos are a very personal thing. Too many people spend time regretting rash decisions when they get tattoos. It’s important to make sure you are making the right decision.
Remember, there is no such thing as the right place or the right tattoo that will fit everyone. A small simple rose tattoo might look perfect on the inside of your wrist, but it might look wrong on your forearm. Whereas a detailed lily tattoo might work much better on your shoulder.
Time spent making sure it is the right design for you, in the place you want it, can save years of heartache later.
Don’t Get A Tattoo When You Are Drunk
Whatever you do, don’t make that decision when you are drunk. Any professional tattooist will simply refuse to do the tattoo if you arrive at the studio drunk. This isn’t just a matter of avoiding people making poor decisions.
Alcohol thins the blood, so will cause more bleeding, which will effectively dilute the pigment in the inks. Colours will never be as vivid, and can look washed out and old very quickly if there is too much alcohol in your bloodstream.
Finding The Right Tattoo Artist
Finding the right tattooist can be difficult, but as tattoos have become more common and acceptable, there is a much bigger choice of tattoo studios.
A professional artist will not shy away from questions. They should happily show you examples of designs and help you make the right choices. He or she should also be able to show you examples of the work they have done before.
Don’t Be Frightened To Walk Away
If they can’t or won’t help, walk away and find another artist. Do some research online. Good artists are likely to have a loyal social media following and although they are likely to be biased, they may be able to help with some of your questions.
Find an artist who specialises in the style of design you want. Asking a traditional tattooist to do a watercolour tattoo or someone who specialises in watercolour tattoos to do a complex ‘Black and Grey’ design, you are unlikely to get the best results from them. If you want a Black and Grey tattoo, finding an artist who specialises in Black and Grey will always give you the best outcome.
The Effects Of Time and Ageing On flower tattoos
Another thing to consider is the effect time will have on a tattoo. Some areas of the body shed and replace skin much faster than others. So although the tattoo is there forever, you must understand it will not always look like it does when it is first done.
If a tattoo is done on the hands or elbows for example, the design is likely to fade much faster. Any colour even black will become less vivid very quickly.
Think Carefully About How Time Will Affect Your Tattoo Designs
The design itself can also make a huge difference over time. However good the tattooist is, even when the tattoo is done perfectly, over time, lines will spread and colours will fade.
What was once a beautiful, complex and detailed fine line tattoo can become blurred look more solid. As the lines spread, the gaps between lines become less defined. Light colours will fade faster than dark ones but all colours will fade.
Detail is great, but should be balanced against the knowledge that the lines of all tattoos will spread over time to a certain extent.
Imagine What Your Tattoo Will Look Like After 10 Years
Imagine what the design you have chosen will look like drawn with a blunt pencil instead of a sharp one. This is what your tattoo is likely to end up looking like after 5 or 10 years.
I have seen many tattoos that were originally a dark but very detailed design end up just looking like a dark splodge of ink. As all the lines spread and fill any gaps it can just end up looking like a blob of undefined colour. This can be particularly bad if a poorly trained tattooist goes in a little too far with the needles.
The Effects Of Going Too Deep!
The aim of the tattooist is to place the ink in the layer of skin called the dermis. This is the 2nd layer of skin down in your skin. It sits underneath the outer layer of skin which is called the epidermis.
The epidermis is the outer waterproof layer of skin that you see. The ink is placed below this to trap the colour so it lasts longer. If the tattooist doesn’t go in far enough, although the colour may initially look vivid, it will fade very quickly.
The Worst Mistake
On the other hand, below the dermis, is a layer of subcutaneous fat. The pigments in tattoo ink will slowly dissolve in this fat. If the tattooist goes too deep and the ink enters this layer, any detail in your design will be lost very quickly. The ink will just spread in the fatty tissue.
This is bad news and can be difficult to cover. It can also leave scar tissue from the excess damage caused to the outer layers of skin where the needles have gone in too far.
Take Your Time When Making Decisions
Remember to take your time when making the decision. You will be living with the tattoo for a long time. Make sure it is the right flower tattoo for you.
Scroll down for more delicate floral tattoo inspiration or follow this link to see more.
Browse our selection of other Tattoo Ideas And Inspiration.
There are butterfly tattoo ideas and feather tattoo ideas as well as some fantastic mandala sleeve tattoo designs for women.
And our other art related tutorials, ideas, and inspiration too.
