101 Fairy Tattoos
“I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?”
– John Lennon
Fairies manifest magic and wonder, dreams, and sometimes even nightmares. Old wives’ tales, the Brothers Grimm, and modern takes by Disney show fairy stories are as old as time, nuanced, and never ending.
Fantastic fables of fairies, elves, and mythical creatures with magical powers are taught to children from the crib, staying on with people as they grow up in a world all too often lacking the innocence and wonder felt as a child listening to bedtime stories. These creatures are supposed to live in the closet, under your bed, in the forest, or at the bottom of your garden.
Fairies are favorites in the tattoo world, representing magic, freedom, and the carefree spirit people look for in body art and wider self-expression. They can be colorful, careful, crazy, or cool, but they’re individual symbols of wonder depicted in a wide variety of styles and themes.
Read on to take a closer look at 101 examples you can sprinkle into your tattoo ideas as you plan the perfect fairy tattoo design.
1. Black and Gray Fairy Tattoos for Women
This classic does well balancing a simple fine line black outline with flatter black fill in the strawberry she’s holding and her . The concept is cool but some of the patterns and shading in the look a little cramped and hurried. The ‘s dress is a highlight, utilizing strong short lines for ruffles and pleats.
An effective of a forlorn . The shades are spare dotwork accents smartly placed into the , and the use of white ink dots and runnels in the main image adds quality. The white ink on the outside, however, gets lost by itself; if the added black to help color the small crosses, it would look more visible on the skin and fashion the framing more effectively.
This is a deft and elegant . Her are beautifully etched in black with white flourishes that contrast against her black hair and even finer features. The has created breadth and depth with the bell-like flowers and the branch she rests on while smelling a .
A well-crafted Disney sprinkles to cleverly create the name Scarlett. It’s cleanly delivered, flowing nicely down the subject’s arm with a mix of white speckles and gray shadow to represent the swirling around the letters. It’s a sturdy that doesn’t do anything truly outstanding from a technical perspective.
Here’s an interesting . This piece differs from most by focusing on the back of the pixie rather than the face and front. The concept is excellent and the delivery is useful, especially the abstract quad sticking into her back like shards of glass. There’s not a lot of gradient shading, which may have been achieved by threading through the ‘s hair and skirt with more grayscale.
This is an excellent lower leg and foot . The curvature of flowing black line is a tremendous technical choice. The , too, are well inscribed with peacock feather-like effects threaded in.
This is fantastic. I love the magical white dot highlights sprinkled through the image like pockets of fairy dust. The tarot card style border works brilliantly to frame the piece, helping the cursive font’s boldness by utilizing negative space. Putting the clean, sharp stars both inside and out of the wider creates a unique effect, while the hybrid dotwork and graduated gray shading are well worked.
This sassy is a little beauty. I love her funky hair and fine facial features. There’s not a lot to it; however, the line work/shading is deft and professional.
This minimalist is a killer small piece of black ink. It’s crisp, clean, and fresh looking despite being placed on the awkward foot surface. The clarity of fine black line makes the flowing abstract body look brilliant – like an extension of the pixie’s hair trailing behind her like a wedding train.
2. Color Fairy Tattoos for Women
This links tremendously around a beautiful, purple main image with a sweet color palette. I enjoy framing the concept of love for books with the map of the world and the wondrous watercolors contrasting against the fuzzy globe shading. The is the star, though, her diaphanous shape stretching up towards the globe like a ballerina in a music box.
These versions of the are weird but make for a cool . The scheme of solid colors works as a means to differentiate each character. They look a little like a girl’s dolls come to life. The pink one’s a little scary, though; she reminds me too much of that evil witch Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter universe.
This lower leg is amazing, mixing superb with classic realist elements of the frog and snail. Her are as good as any you’ll ever see, the gentle rainbow effects are elegant, wonderful snatches of shimmering color. The cherry blossoms help frame the long and fashion a better sense of scale and shape.
This is a delicate yet spectacular small wrist of a . The use of color is flat to allow the artist’s amazing technical skills to show through in shading and line work. Her beautiful are an amazing feature, as if they’ve been lifted straight from a and placed on her skin.
I love this . The Inception concept of a tattooed within a is good fun and delivered with style. The artist’s brilliant depiction of the imp’s and hair is subtle, inked cleanly with solid color and curving, clean lines of curving black. I also like the flush of color on her face, making her seem like a blushing bride or sunburned tourist.
This shoulder has the depicted like a waif wandering disconsolately through a relationship breakup. The concept is clear but the technical application needs work, as the right wing shape seems odd and the white highlight shading isn’t strong enough to counter the flat black of the ‘s dress.
This vibrant, almost anime watercolor is astonishing. The artist’s ability to draw maximum color from the ink and surround cleanly effective lines and squiggles take it to another level. The are boss-level cool, built with a haystack technical effect of wild straight lines fuzzed with vivid pink.
Is this a succubus or a ? Either way, sticking her in the top of a bottle of poison seems excessive. This is a good depiction of American Traditional style; the colors are muted but well crafted and the image is weird enough to bring back the good old days of alienation and rebellion.
I’m here for godmothers dive bombing in formation on a wrist . The subject is a big Disney fan, and the piece jibes excellently with the background castle and charm bracelet. The three fairies are inscribed strongly, using clean linework and their trademark colors to craft the ink. Their flying shape is the coolest part of the . My only issue with it is the very faint trail of yellow ink used to depict the ‘s . It needs a touch-up at the very least and maybe a strengthening line added to bring the effect through with more clarity.
I love the vibrant watercolor effects of this . They look like small paintball explosions on the skin, mixing brightly to create an outstanding backfill for the more subtle, understated -winged central to the . It’s a classy concept and a strikingly well-delivered piece of .
3. Delicate Fairy Tattoos for Women
This finely etched black and gray is elegant and brilliant. There are numerous technical applications fully expressing the tattooist’s skill in crafting unique, fine line shading. It’s a light piece but one built to last with its intricacy and crisp defining outlines. The ‘s dress in particular looks amazing, meshed with interconnecting cross-work stitching that contrasts against the deft negative space found in the arms and petals.
This one’s a delicate yet strong concept and . Depicting this as a faceless imp seems strange — because clearly, she looks like — but works within the presentation of the ink. I love how she sits demurely on a cloud, encased mainly in negative space and small flourishes of light ink shading. Choosing to match her dress and shoes in light green works as a technical touch as well.
This is a lovely piece of classical sketch-style tattooing. Framing shape or contrasting colors – think ground and/or air effects – added to the effective black and gray ink would really send it to the next level.
Here are more of these , including dark Maleficent. These are executed in various styles and techniques.
4. Dreamy/Surrealistic Fairy Tattoos for Women
5. Fairy Tattoos with an Animal for Women
6. Fairy Tattoos with Butterflies for Women
7. Fairy Tattoos with Flowers for Women
8. Fairy Tattoos with the Moon for Women
9. Fairy Tattoos with Stars for Women
10. Large Fairy Tattoos for Women
11. New School Fairy Tattoos for Women
12. Silhouette Fairy Tattoos for Women
13. Tiny Fairy Tattoos for Women
14. Traditional Fairy Tattoos for Women
15. Fairy Tattoos for Men
16. Fairy Tattoos for Men or Women
