Incredible Octopus Tattoo Ideas To Get Inspired

To help you with your research for your next tattoo design, we went on a hunt through Instagram to find the best octopus tattoo ideas.

Take a look below to check them out all:

In the pop culture, especially movies and books, the octopus is seen as a large animal.

The reality is quite the contrary, as many octopus species are actually quite small.

So it’s no wonder many people actually want to get a small octopus tattoo. In the hands of the right tattoo artist, a small octopus tattoo can look just as alive and vibrant as its large version.

For maximum detail we shouldn’t expect tiny tattoos, but just look at these amazing examples that are under 4 inches!

The red octopus tattoo is inspired by its real life version red octopus species.

The normal color of this octopus is red or reddish brown, even though it can change its colors rather quickly – in a fraction of a second!

When interpreted by a tattoo artist it can the actual red octopus type, or the red ink would be used to draw the outline of the octopus.

Usually this tattoo covers a bigger space such as forearm or thigh, but not necessarily so.

The deep reds and browns make it perfect for a realistic tattoo that will amaze everybody.

The octopus has fascinated people for thousands of years which makes it a very old visual symbol.

Naturally, as sailors were the most common to get tattoos that they would relate to an octopus tattoo.

The sailor Jerry tattoos often feature octopus in their tattoo flash folders, given the deep meaning of this maritime motif.

The traditional octopus tattoo can be done in solely black ink, as well as in strong reds and blues, especially in the neotraditional tattoo style.

In traditional Japanese folklore, the octopus often symbolizes transformation and regeneration, and healing powers.

The octopuses ability to change color has been fascinating to the Japanese people leading to them writing stories and tales of this shapeshifting creature.

This transformative nature of the octopus is portrayed wonderfully in the Japanese tattoo art where the octopus glows with red color.

Its tentacles are contrasted and intertwined with other common Irezumi tattoo elements such as waves and other sea animals.

Lady Octopus is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily as an enemy to the superheroes Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider.

However as seen in the examples of the lady octopus tattoo below this fusion of animal and feminine has been fascinating too many tattoo artists and tattoo lovers alike.

This surreal mix has been done in many tattoo styles from fine line to realism.

The combination of a gory villain creature and the beautiful female face has also been seen in the likes of a medusa tattoo. For women getting them it’s a sign of strength and regained power.

Tattoo sleeves come in different levels of complexity and an octopus sleeve tattoo definitely falls among the more complex ones.

Some choose to have only the octopus and its large tentacles wrapping around the arm or leg, whereas others choose to back it up with a dark background from the depths of the ocean.

It’s definitely a bold choice that will gardener you a lot of attention, and in a good way.

For those that do not want a dark tattoo, you can play with bright and vibrant colors such as blue, orange and red for fun sea tattoo.

The octopus hand tattoo is one that carries a lot of meaning, as well as it looks cool.

As octopuses are capable of limb regeneration, getting one of them tattooed on your hands means that you are capable of overcoming adversity and growth.

For the design you can choose which way you would like the octopus to be positioned, with its tentacles either traveling down the fingers or up the forearm.