As one of the most prominent body parts to get tattooed, beyond the face, the finger is a placeholder for a meaningful message that the individual wants to communicate to the world. The fingers are almost always on display, despite the clothing worn and tattoos placed there will be a part of the first impression that one leaves.
Finger tattoos are generally small symbols, ring tattoos that hold a variety of meanings (like wedding ring tattoos), or letters that create a word when each finger is aligned. Some of these tattoos sit hidden between the fingers, some can wrap all the way around a finger, and some add to other tattoo designs on the hand.
Knuckles tattooed with individual letters are usually received by those who have extensive tattoo work already done and desire a word or phrase that conveys a theme of their pieces and therefore their personality or life experience. Some people decide to get letters that spell out names such as those who are close to them, while others might get letters that work with another tattoo near that location.
Couple’s tattoos are often placed on the finger because of its prominence but also because of the ability to intertwine fingers with a partner, bringing the images close together. Matching symbols are chosen that represent the relationship shared between two people, married or otherwise such as rings, names or initials, significant dates, crosses, hearts, or other minute images.
Multiple fingers are tattooed with various images in order to convey a theme such as nautical symbols, religious icons, small words on the insides of the finger, celestial symbols, jewels, animals, or any other variety of images. Obviously these won’t be the most detailed images in the world, but they can look great when combined with other tattoo designs.
Images that represent sequences or graduation from one state to another are also used. Examples of this include like waning or waxing moons along the fingers, a rising or setting sun, the evolution of the human, and geometric shapes. The truth is that you can come up with any types of sequential images if you put your mind to it. These can often be extremely meaningful finger tattoos to the owners.
Henna tattoos are often done expanding from the back of the hand but can reach up to the fingers, or only the fingers will be tattooed with this type of line work. There are thousands of henna designs that you can choose from, so it really comes down to the style that you like and the colors that you want on your fingers. It’s also important to think about whether you want it to be just a finger tattoo or a whole hand tattoo.
One of the most popular finger tattoos is the heart tattoo. Since hearts are simple designs and can be made in just about any size, they can both look good and get a clear message across to everyone that sees it. You can have a series of hearts running down your finger, or you could decide just to get one single heart on any part of your finger. You can get the heart to represent romantic love or to just show that you have love in your life. The heart tattoo is one of the most popular tattoo designs in the world for a reason.
Another finger tattoo design that is blowing up is the single-word tattoo. If one word means a lot to you, then getting it as a finger tattoo might be the best choice. People often get words tattooed on their fingers when they want to remember someone close to them or when they want to use that word as a constant inspiration. What’s great about these finger tattoos is that they say a lot without saying too much.
Believe it or not, animal tattoos can be finger tattoos too. You shouldn’t plan on getting an extremely detailed animal tat on your finger, but most tattoo artists don’t have any issue with putting your favorite animal on the inside or outside of your finger. One cool design style that people like to get is the outline of the animal or a simple black/shadowed image of the animal.
Just about every shape in existence has a bunch of great meanings that work for most people, which makes the simple shape tattoo a great one to get on your finger. You can easily fit a small circle, a triangle, a square / box, a trapezoid, a pentagon, or any other shape anywhere on one of your fingers. Just be sure to check out the meanings for all of the shapes you’re interested in before committing to one. Of course, you can always get multiple shapes if their combined meanings work for you.
The sun, moon, and stars are also fantastic finger tattoo ideas. You can get one, two, or all of them and still have space for plenty more designs. In fact, it’s not uncommon at all for people to use their fingers and other parts of their hands to create fantastic galaxy tattoos. All of the elements mentioned above have their own meanings, so you can usually get a very meaningful tattoo regardless of how many designs you use on your fingers.
Similarly, some people like to get specific constellation tattoos on their fingers. Again, this is an extremely simple design of dots and lines that can also hold a significant meaning to the owner. When done correctly, though, you can have a “wow” piece for the rest of your life that only took a few minutes to create. You can make it pop a bit more if you decide to throw in some color, but many people like to keep these finger constellations as simple as possible.
Speaking of dots, you can stick with a simple two or three-dots tattoo if any of those meanings work for you. If you think about it, you can do a lot with dot tattoos. You can create a colon, an ellipsis, an asterism, and many other designs simply by putting a few dots next to each other. Believe it or not, these simple dots tattoos can have extremely deep meanings to their owners. These are often very personal tattoos that are worn on the side of the finger rather than up top.
If you were looking for a great location for a cross tattoo, you might not find a better place than the finger. Since it can be an extremely simple design, you can get a small one down the side of your finger or you can even cover the entire topside of a finger. This isn’t usually a great location for a heavily detailed cross tattoo, but what’s great about it is that it loses no meaning when you keep it simple.
If you want to get a flower tattoo but don’t want a large one, why not get it on your finger? You can even get it colorized if you want to, though most people will keep their flower tattoos as simple as possible when they get them on their fingers. All you have to do is find a flower tattoo meaning that you like and then decide if it would work as a mini tattoo. A skilled tattoo artist will be able to fill in some detail to make the flower pop a bit and make it obvious what type of flower it is.
Because of the incredibly small surface area, finger tattoos are difficult to complete and simple designs are used to ensure a satisfactory tattoo. However, a skilled and experienced tattoo artist is able to render more detailed and complicated designs leading to portraits and intricate line work. You might think that anyone can make a small finger tattoo, but the truth is that some finger tattoos are tougher than the more elaborate ones that are done on arms, chests, and backs.
If you’re thinking about getting a finger tattoo, there are a few things that you should go over before committing to one. Be sure to get a design that works on the finger, and also pick a location that you’ll be happy with for the rest of your life.
