The line tattoo is a popular choice by minimalists all over the world. Not only is its simplicity an attractive quality but the amount of directions you can go when getting inked only using lines and minimal shading (if any).
The line tattoo fits the person who enjoys the simple things in life. Some tattoos can be extremely gaudy but when working with simple lines, you will never be accused of trying to get attention. The beauty of these tattoos is in their simplicity. However, these lines can be thick and bold as well.
In this post, we want to review some examples of line tattoos. These tattoos can be as simple as a few straight lines, a line that creates an image of an animal, or some writing. Whatever you choose as your line tattoo, people will appreciate the subtlety of the tattoo.
Many people are fans of the three-line tattoo. This tattoo has significant meaning to the people wearing it. Three thick, bold black lines around a leg, arm or any other part of your body can signify the uniformity and symmetry that one sees in nature. Three lines can also be any three things that have significance to you.
You might get the three lines to represent your children or significant moments in life. These can also be colored differently to represent moments of your life. In truth, the three lines can mean different things but through our research, we have found they usually represent important things in groups of three.
The solid armband line tattoo is another version of the line tattoo we tend to see. The meaning of this tattoo will depend on the particulars of the tattoo but many times they will represent a lost loved one or friend. These line armbands will carry the memories forever in one simple bar. Traditionally, the armband tattoo has been worn to represent the mourning of somebody. This could be in the form of a tattoo or jewelry and cloth.
In addition, black armbands were worn following the loss of a loved one. Many times, this was done in tattoo form to last forever. It has multiple meanings as the complete circle represents eternity as well as the ink on your skin.
Fine line tattoos are another popular type of tattoo. These can be worn in many ways to represent the feelings of the tattoo subject. Below are some popular fine-line tattoos that we see.
The floral fine line tattoo. Just like the flower itself, this tattoo is simple yet beautiful.
The Lotus flower tattoo represents understanding, knowledge, life and enlightenment. This is the short version of the meaning of the lotus flower as it holds a specific meaning based on the culture.
Another floral line tattoo you can get is a rose line tattoo. The rose is very popular with flower enthusiasts. Add their simple beauty and you have a perfect combination for a line tattoo of a rose. The rose represents beauty and love in this culture. It also has other meanings including new beginnings and hope. If you add the thorns from the stem, they can add extra meaning as well.
People also get line tattoos of animals. This goes for any animal as well. A clean and simple outline can mean just as much as a giant realism piece.
If you were going to get the outline of the bear on your body, you might use it to represent multiple attributes including strength, protection, courage, motherhood and confidence. The bear is a powerful animal that is respected throughout the animal kingdom.
They have no predators other than humans, so these majestic beasts are king of the forest. Getting a tattoo of a bear with minimal lines is a bit of an oxymoron as the lines seem so thin and simple, but it’s the meaning behind the tattoo that matters.
Yet another way to get a line tattoo would be in the shape of a fingerprint. In fact, a fingerprint is a collection of thin lines to form a pattern that is unique to everyone. This also means it is a great way to memorialize a loved one. It might be one of the best ways to show your love for a person because when someone sees the fingerprint tattoo, they will likely ask you whose print it is.
A fun fact about fingerprints is that gorillas, koalas, and chimpanzees are the only animals that have fingerprints like humans. So, if you have a pet chimpanzee, you can also get a fingerprint tattoo for them.
We’ve also seen the line tattoo in the form of a cityscape. What better way to represent where you came from than a tattoo of the cityscape on your body? The line tattoo representing your city is such a cool-looking tattoo that people will stop and look and ask you more about it. So, not only are you representing your city, but you are bringing awareness to that city by having it tattooed for everyone to see and wonder about.
As you can see, we could probably talk about all the different ways a line tattoo can be inked on somebody all day. Because the line tattoo can be portrayed in so many ways, it’s difficult to pin down one meaning to the style of the tattoo. Therefore, we try to explore multiple ways this can be done and let you decide what it means to you.
The important thing when looking for a shop or artist is to make sure they have experience with this style of tattoo. It takes a steady hand to complete some of these line tattoos and one slip-up can really be evident in a simple tattoo like these. If you need some help in deciding what artist to go see, let us know so we can help. We can match up tattoo requests with the right artist so you don’t have to worry.
In addition, scroll through the pictures below to help spark the creative juices. We hope you took something from this article and if we can help, let us know.