Tattoo Ideas, Types and Meaning Behind Them

Tattoos have been prominent since the centuries and have evolved and upgraded over years. There are various reasons people like to get a tattoo. Either they find it cool, or they get it in some remembrance, or they get it for their loved ones and many more.

With so many designs and tattoo styles available in the market, we might get confused sometimes. To relieve you from that stress, we at StyleFundas, have listed some types, designs, and meanings of tattoos for you to get a better understanding of them and get one of your type!

Types of Tattoos

1) Geometric Tattoos

In ancient times, Geometric Tattoos were tied to religious and spiritual practices. However, today, they symbolize balance, symmetry, intelligence, mastery, and much more. These tattoos also carry specific meanings, which go from universal to extremely personal. Following are the types, designs, and meanings behind the Geometric tattoos.

1. Geometric Shapes

A circle symbolizes an endless cycle of life along with balance and harmony and a square tattoo represents the balance and stability on the earth. It represents truthfulness and a reminder of keeping you grounded.

A triangle represents strength. Any pressure put at it is evenly bearded on all three sides. The number 3, and the three sides of the triangle are associated with mystical properties. They represent the Christian faith and the Holy Trinity. The triangle is also the foundation of the Star of David, important in Judaism.

A line tattoo represents braveness. If not such a big fan of the line, you can always go for a line of other shapes to reflect braveness. You can also overlap the shapes and make a combination of these geometric designs.

2. Animal Tattoos

Elephants and owls are often used in tattoos to symbolize wisdom. They can also represent a friend or family member whose guidance has been valuable to you.

Bears are a great means of reflecting physical power and strong will in their ink. Both men and women can get them, but usually, men tend to veer towards them. A bear is also a good reminder to believe in your great inner power.

Lions portray courage, honor, and justice. They are true fighters, the king of the jungle. They’re also an easily recognizable animal, which makes them a great tattoo for geometric style.

A bird symbolizes freedom and therefore is a great tattoo for free-spirited people and travelers. A butterfly also symbolizes freedom along with growth and rebirth. They also represent different phases of life and therefore people get them to remember and appreciate their personal growth. They are easily adaptable to geometric shapes which makes them easier to update in shapes and sizes.

3. Diamonds & Flowers

Diamonds are a symbol of strength, purity, and endurance. They are also among the most common subjects for a geometric tattoo. Flowers are also often depicted in a mandala form. In these kinds of interpretations, the mandala represents the universe.

4. Hearts, Arrows & Nature

A heart tattoo is a nice reminder of your loved ones that you can carry around with you. You can color it in the traditional red, or experiment with color. And arrows symbolize the way you’ll always find your way, even during hard times.

2) Surrealism

Surrealism is undoubtedly the strangest and an impressive form of tattooing. It also takes a huge amount of creativity to think of such a design and a very skilled artist to bring that idea to life.

A Fallen Angel

Hummingbird

Watercolor

Polar Bear on Ice Glacier

Peace Sign Tattoo

3D Eye Tattoo

3) Realistic Trash Polka

These tattoo designs are often abstract and seem to tell a story. They look chaotic and also have the elements of realism. They were originated from Germany. They are confusing, and at the same time beautiful.

Deadly Vixen

Planes at War

Beautiful Rebellion

Juxtaposed

Haunting Vision

Joker

4) Blackwork

Blackwork art tattoo is for those minimalists who like to keep things unique and at the same time want to convey a story of their life. They are bold and mysterious. Only black ink is used while making the tattoo.

Dinosaur

Snake

Nature Inspired

Tiger Inspired Blackwork Tattoo

Angel and Demon

Tribal

Medusa Inspired Blackwork Tattoo

5) Classic Americana

These tattoos are recognized by their clean black lines, vivid colors, and minimal shading. It is one of the boldest and iconic styles of tattooing.

Swallow

Traditional swallow tattoos are one of the most common old-school tattoo motifs. Some believed that if a sailor dies at sea, the tattooed swallow will carry his soul home to heaven. Often, a sailor would get one swallow tattooed and upon his return home, would add the second to represent the successful end of the journey.

Anchor

At sea, the anchor is the most secure object in a sailor’s life. This security can be metaphorically also applied to important people in our lives, which is why you would commonly see “Mom” on the anchor.

shark

Getting a shark tattoo is more about what you overcome. A shark on your arm says you’re willing to stand your ground. It says you’re not about to become someone else’s seafood.

skull

Traditional skull tattoos carry a strong memento mori (remember your death in Latin) aspect with them. Given that we take our tattoos with us to the grave, skulls and other death themes are important in the tattoo world.

snake

Snake Tattoos represent potency and power, rebirth, and new beginnings. There is a strong representation of a don’t-tread-on-me mentality, which gives the snake totem a powerful message of warding off evil, misfortune, and potential brawls.

6) Realism

Realistic tattoos are inspired by the realism art movement which spawned in France in the 1850s. It was a response to the dramatic and emotional styles like romanticism that preceded it. They look very realistic like a real-life 3D object or a photograph.

This fusion of ‘Realism’ & ‘Geometric’ Tattoo styles just catches your attention! To add more life to it, you can always get the eyes of the wolf colored blue.

7) New School

New School tattoos are basically graffiti quality tattoos with bright colors and a 3d design. This is the least stick style of tattooing.

8) Japanese

Before World War 2, they have used to depict the social life status of people. They were also used as a charm for protection and spirituality.

9) Biomechanical

This tattoo reflects the human body like mechanical parts and is originated from a contemporary kind of art, ‘biomechanical’. This style of tattooing has various styles which make it very unique.