Small Tattoos

First tattoos, travel markers and quiet additions. A few clean lines, a small symbol, something that means a great deal and announces very little.

34 pieces from the Legian studio

Colour new school thigh tattoo of Obi-Wan Kenobi with blue and red lightsabers

Three stacked colour matryoshka doll tattoos down the shin

Colour traditional eagle tattoo in flight on the forearm, retouched

Colour tattoo of a magpie standing, on the calf

Small colour cartoon chick in a flower costume, tattooed on the ankle

Small black and grey tattoo of a tulip in a tin can, above the ankle

Fine line framed panel tattoo of a child and a wolf under the sun, on the forearm

Small dotwork mandala tattoo on a woman's upper arm

Small colour anime panel tattoo on the forearm

Fine line tarot card tattoo on the forearm in black and grey

Fine line leopard tattoo crouching on the upper arm

Dotwork mandala tattoo on a woman's upper arm

Fine line Japanese dragon tattoo on the forearm

Colour ukiyo-e style tattoo of a samurai with a fan, on the calf

Black and red tattoo of a dachshund with Japanese ornamental fill, on the ankle

Colour Japanese style thigh tattoo of a cat with a mask and koi

Colour calf tattoo of a scooter in front of the Colosseum

Upper arm tattoo of an eye inside a triangle in pink and black

Colour thigh tattoo of a kiwi bird among ferns

Colour cartoon character tattoo on the lower leg

Small forearm tattoo of a black cat holding a knife

Small colour tattoo of a robin perched, on the hip

Colour anime panel tattoo on the forearm

Fine line sun, moon, floral and script tattoos across both forearms

Fine line rose tattoo on a woman's forearm

Fine line French bulldog portrait tattoo in a geometric frame, on the thigh

Fine line leopard tattoo on the upper arm

Fine line calf tattoo of flowers with women's faces in the blooms

Fine line paper plane and anchor tattoos on the thigh

Fine line leg tattoo of flowers with women's faces, shown from another angle

Fine line forearm tattoo of a woman warrior with ornamental flowers and a compass

Four small dog portrait tattoos in a row along the inner arm

Colour crane in flight tattooed on the upper arm

Two cherub tattoos reaching toward each other across the upper back

A small tattoo is often somebody's first, and it deserves the same care as a back piece. The design is simpler but the decisions are not, because at this scale every line carries weight and there is nothing to distract the eye from a line that is slightly off.

The single most useful thing to know is that every design has a size at which it sits best. Below that size the detail starts to crowd and the tattoo will not read the way it does on paper. A good artist will tell you what that size is before you start rather than after, and will suggest a simplification if the design needs one.

Sized and placed well, a small tattoo stays as crisp as the day it was done. Wrist, ankle, behind the ear and inside forearm are all popular and all behave differently, so placement is worth a conversation.

Walk-ins are welcome for small work during business hours, though booking ahead means you get the artist you want rather than whoever is free.

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Small Tattoos

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