What is a minimalist tattoo?
In our mind, a minimalist tattoo has clean details, isn’t overly complicated, and in a way, gets to the point.
The beauty is in simplicity.
We found that the realm of “minimalist tattoos” online is a little… muddy. We wanted to create a comprehensive gallery of minimalist tattoos across a variety of subjects and styles, and 6 hours later, we've finished the list.
Line Art Tattoos
The line art category encompasses many of what we love as minimalists–smooth lines, illustrative silhouettes, and crisp, clean edges.
Because of this, it’s our largest category.
Believe me when I say we had to hold back.
Blackwork with negative space scribble
Circle portions on wrists
Curved lines
Full body single line
Illustrative smoking
Illustrative profiles
Line art couple
Line art faces
Line from forearm down thumb
Lines down length of arm
Negative space through scribble
Partial silhouette
Scribble
Single line down forearm and hand
Single line posed body
Single line profiles
Smoking silhouette
Nature & Animal Tattoos
The nature category settles into an attitude of fondness.
Animals, flowers, general outdoorsy vibes. Tributes to a favorite pet are common yet always endearing.
A mountain here and there also makes a refreshing hike sound mighty good right about now.
Flowers into a face
Illustrative flower
Koi fish
Mountains and sun
Pearl in shell
Single line flower
Snake around collarbone
Snake sternum
Sunset
Water
Waves
Cat illustration
Cat kisses
Dog and flower
Doggos
Single line cat and face
Geometry Tattoos
Something is satisfying about a tattoo focused on shape, with very minimal details.
Special shoutout for disconnection and negative space, adding extra impact without additional elements. We’re all about that.
Chest and hand circle
Disconnected circle on feet
Dotwork circle on palm
Fibonacci Seqeuence
Four solid squares
Intersecting lines
Negative space circles
Solid lines
Three dots sternum tattoo
X with dots
Typography Tattoos
Minimalist typography tattoos are an elegant way to make a statement.
Simplicity is king here for maximum effect, with clean type and an uncomplicated word or phrase.
Amore
Calm
Her
I am the storm
Perspective
Inhale exhale
Karma
Love
Object Tattoos
This is a wide-open category, with room for items that hold a special memory, art, shapes, reminders, and much more. If you have tattoos, you know they don’t always need a specific meaning, so a lot of simple random pieces exist happily in this category.
Cherries with color patch
Eyelashes
Line camera
Paper airplane
Simple heart
Single line anchor
Tiny Tattoos
Tiny tattoos are pretty popular right now.
They are often a little smaller than your typical flash tattoo, and are a great option to keep things simple and subtle.
They also allow for more variety because there’s no need to commit to a full piece that takes up a lot of space.
Flame
Happy face
Lightning bolt
Mati
Moon and dots
Moon and stars
Semicolon
Minimal ship tattoo
Small V
Tiny airplane
Tiny hearts
Palm tree
Red heart
Wishbone
Matching Tattoos
If I’m being honest, I feel that matching tattoos can be a little cringy.
After digging, finding some options that don’t give off a “live laugh love” vibe was refreshing.
Connecting lines on legs
Filled in and empty snakes
Keyhole and key
Two circles
Two parts of the same circle
Ornamental Tattoos
Ornamental tattoos include many styles, from geometric designs to heavier blackwork designs to delicate details.
Often these are made up of an arrangement of “separate” pieces that work together as one.
We’re looking at the small decorative markings here, with fine lines and lovely understated details.
Delicate ornamental fingers
Fine detail sternum ornamental
Moon and eye
Twinkle ornamentals
Miscellaneous Tattoos
Here are a few random minimalist tattoos that caught our eye. They didn’t quite fit into the categories we were looking at, but we wanted to include them anyhow.
Creation of Adam
Ear lines
Greek head statue
Heart carving
Universe inside
