Orchid tattoos are some of the most popular flower tattoos amongst women, and plenty of guys get them both for their looks and their meanings. These tattoos come in many different styles and they can look absolutely amazing on the skin when done by an experienced tattoo artist.
On this page, we are going to take a look at why the orchid tattoo might be a great choice for you and some of the ways that you can get these tattoos designed.
One of the most beautiful and delicate flowers found around the world, the orchid is a diverse bloom with tens of thousands of species, each as stunning as the last. Orchid tattoos are becoming more and more popular not only because of their meanings, which we’ll get to but also because there are so many different species to choose from for your design.
Sure, many of them have similar appearances, but you can find a shape and color that you find the most attractive and meaningful and chances are you’ll end up with a unique flower tattoo.
Some orchid species are incredibly fragrant, like the vanilla plant, but they are all unique and vibrantly colored. Their unique petal structure allows them to stand out from many other floras, increasing interest in them. If you do plan on getting some type of orchid tattoo, you will want to choose the one that you like based on its color and the petal structure. Some will be easier to design, while others might take a more skilled hand.
Their beauty has been noted in hundreds of cultures and has been used as a national symbol in many countries. What you’ll end up seeing is that different cultures attach different meanings to the flower. The great thing is that you can pick and choose any of those meanings as long as they make sense for you. Of course, if you are getting an orchid tattoo to honor your culture, it’s probably a good idea to only use the meanings that they have attached to the flower.
Anciently, orchids were a symbol of fertility to the Greeks and later the Romans. The orchid was thought to have begun to bloom when Orchis, half satyr and half nymph, committed an atrocity and was killed, afterward transforming into the Orchid flower as a symbol of his newfound humility. Those who are into Greek mythology might actually choose to include Orchis in their designs, though these can be quite large and very expensive tattoos.
In Chinese culture, the orchid is revered for its unusual shape and petals, making it the symbol of perfection and elegance because of its structure. Anyone who wants to get a flower purely based on its beauty will often choose to get the orchid tattoo. It has been revered in Chinese culture for a very long time, but people from around the world look at it as one of if not the most beautiful flowers on the planet.
A rare and tiny white orchid, sometimes known as the Japanese Wind Orchid, was anciently cultivated by Samurai in Japan, a symbol of their skill and expertise. You will sometimes see these orchids in large Japanese tattoo designs, though they can be included in any type of tattoo.
As you probably guessed, there are a lot of great meanings that you can attach to orchid tattoos. That doesn’t mean that all of them have to make sense for you; quite the opposite, in fact. You can pick and choose any of the meanings that work for you and forget about the rest. Of course, later on, if you find that another meaning happens to work, there’s nothing stopping you from also attaching that meaning to your orchid tattoo!
Some people see the orchid as being the ultimate symbol of beauty. That’s one of the reasons why these flower tattoos are usually quite large. Owners of orchid tats proudly wear them on their skin and they know that people who see them will understand why they chose them over all of the other flower tattoos that are out there. As we pointed out earlier, orchids really are widely seen as one of the most beautiful flowers on earth.
The orchid also symbolizes innocence and purity, which are two meanings that plenty of people are looking to get from their tattoos. While these meanings can be taken literally by some people, in most cases they simply mean that the owners are proud of the innocence that they still have and they will not let it go.
Some of the other meanings that can be attached to orchid tattoos include strength, fertility, royalty, and harmony. As with all other tattoos, you don’t have to use all of these meanings, but you certainly can if they make sense to you.
Orchid tattoos are often large and ornate because the intricate detail of the flower requires a significant area to render realistically. If you were looking to get a large back tattoo or the type of design that you can wrap around your arm, then you might want to consider an orchid design.
Orchid tattoos are almost always designed as realistically as possible in order to capture the beauty of the unique flower. This does mean that they might cost a bit more than some other flower tattoos, but most people find that extra cost totally worth it once the design is on their skin. It’s a flower tattoo that you get for the looks as much as for the meanings, so you really do want to have it look as nice as possible.
Less often, they are designed in greyscale, allowing the focus on the piece to rely on the structure of the flower rather than the color. This is a great idea if you aren’t a fan of color in tattoos or you are trying to match other ink on your body. You still get to have all of the details of the flower, but the design just doesn’t have the natural colors found on that specific orchid.
More often, color is used to highlight the intense tones and patterns of the flower’s veins. With almost countless variations of orchids, any color scheme can be used. A lot of people will take the overall structure of one orchid species and then fill it in with their favorite colors.
In less realistic designs, swirling and swooping line work is added to add to the image and create a more feminine appearance. This is a great idea if you like the look of abstract flowers, though you should make sure that the final design is recognizably an orchid tattoo.
With any type of style of design, butterflies or hummingbirds can be incorporated to emphasize the natural habitat of the flower. On top of these creatures looking great in orchid tattoo designs, you also get to include any meanings attached to them as well. For example, including a butterfly in the tattoo will add in “transformation” as one of your meanings.
Also, orchids can be added to any design to invoke a feminine and classic aura in any piece. While in most cases you will find that orchids are at the forefront of their designs, sometimes people will have their orchids in the background or as one of many images in a larger piece.
Orchid tattoos are the types of flower tattoos that people should definitely hire great artists to make. As we pointed out earlier, there is a lot of detail found in these flowers and people generally want to make them look as realistic as possible. A good idea is to look through some artists’ portfolios to find the one that has made the best flower tattoos in the past.
As you can see, there are a lot of great meanings to use with orchid tattoos and some amazing ways that you can get them designed. If you are thinking about getting one, take your time when choosing a design and a place to put it on your body and then find an experienced artist to make it for you.