Deciding to get a tattoo is a big decision. You need to consider what type of design you want, its potential placement, and find the right tattoo artist for your vision. With so many decisions, it can feel overwhelming. But there are plenty of timeless tattoo ideas that you can look to for inspiration, such as the lotus flower.
While the exact meaning varies between cultures, it generally symbolizes beauty, purity, rebirth, and spiritual awakening. It’s peaceful and calm, and it helps that lotus flowers are also aesthetically pleasing. In short, it’s perfect for those looking to find peace in their ink.
So, if you’re considering getting a tattoo and want to get some lotus flower tattoo inspiration, we’ve got you. Below, we share 40 of our favorite lotus designs to get your creative juices flowing. Plus, we spoke to two professional tattoo artists to further explain the symbolism behind this design and share a few things you should consider before booking your appointment.
Orange Lotus Flower
According to Berlin-based tattoo artist, Rachael Ainsworth, minimal, fine-line lotus designs seem to be very popular, as well as small micro-realism lotus designs. But hyper-saturated, over-the-top lotus flowers are also stunning in their own right. Orange or red ink is a great alternative to basic black if you’re looking to make your tattoo pop.
Realistic Lotus Flower
This lotus tattoo was done in a realistic style, aided by the gradual shading and close details (like the stamens in the middle). The black outlines stand in contrast to the shading, and the petals are drawn in a way that suggests movement.
Triangle and Lotus Flower
If you want to make your lotus flower tattoo feel personalized, add different elements to customize it. This one has a geometric background with vertical lines and circle detailing.
Bold-Lined Lotus Flower
This takes the basic lotus flower tattoo idea and adds a bit of simple flair to make it seem like a more intricate design. The flower is highlighted as the center of the ink, but the decoration makes it feel more designed. “If you decide to go for a symmetrical design, then I would advise picking a fairly symmetrical part of the body: forearm, tricep (above the elbow), back of ankle, sternum, or chest,” says Ainsworth.
Ankle Lotus Flower
This tattoo is a minimal design, but the tapered and delicately rounded petals make it feel realistic. The simplicity of the outline makes it pop, and its placement above the ankle isn’t super prominent but makes for a nice surprise when the legs are on display.
Finger Lotus Flower
Prefer a smaller reminder of a lotus flower? This finger tattoo is simple enough not to overwhelm the small space but bold enough to be interesting.
Stemmed Lotus Flower
A lotus flower doesn’t have to float on its own. Utilize negative space in your design by adding a long, slender stem (and a small leaf, if you’d like)—the contrast will make your tattoo feel dainty instantly .
Egyptian Lotus
The Egyptian lotus tattoo is based on the Sacred Blue Lotus of the Nile, which is referenced a lot in ancient Egyptian culture. Their petals are a little thinner and more pointed. “Not only are they such a beautiful flower, but they were also seen amongst ancient royalty, in art with deities such as Osiris, and even used in burials,” Toronto-based tattoo artist, Brittany Randell, says. Lotus flowers are also said to have some healing powers for certain conditions such as anxiety and insomnia.1
Hindu Lotus Flower
This lotus flower tattoo mimics a Hindu design style with the dotted lines and the shape of the petals. This makes sense, considering the lotus flower is related to several Hindu gods, so it does have religious significance.
Our Tips
Before getting a lotus flower tattoo, you can find out what a lotus design means in different cultures and religions to make sure it’s in keeping with your idea. Even if you’re getting a lotus design purely for aesthetic reasons, it’s still very important to research the design and make sure you’re happy with the style you’re going for.
Elemental Lotus Flower
Align your lotus flower tattoo with the elements by getting their geometric symbols inked around the flora. By keeping the design basic and using the same line thickness for every part of the design, the tattoo feels minimal and chic.
Buddha And Lotus Flower
The lotus flower isn’t just a beautiful thing to look at; in Buddhism, it holds significance as a symbol of purity and beauty. Connect the flower and the religion by getting a small Buddha tattooed right next to the flora.
Fingernail Lotus Flower
Love the idea of tattoos but want something a little less permanent? This lotus flower tattoo was inked directly onto the fingernail. It’s an almost painless process and grows out with your nail.
3D Lotus Flower
Give your lotus flower tattoo a realistic look with thin line detailing on the petals and the addition of stamen in the center of the design. The contrasting darkness of different areas also gives the illusion of light on the 2D ink.
Back Of The Arm Lotus Flower
“The tricep (above the elbow) is a popular placement but not just for lotus designs, [for] small tattoos in general,” says Ainsworth. A lotus flower tattoo on the back of the arm is meant to be seen outwardly by the world rather than by the person getting the ink, emphasizing its importance to everyone. The overlapping lines and dots add elements of design.
Armband Lotus Flower
Instead of a simple flower, why not incorporate the lotus flower into an armband of sorts? This design uses the entire width of the forearm, making it seem like part of the body. The mirroring of the lotus flower makes it feel balanced as well.
Shaded Lotus Flower
Add depth to a lotus flower tattoo with a shaded effect. This design uses just one color (black), but the lighter hues and simple outlining make it appear almost three-dimensional.
Multi-Shade Lotus Flower
Instead of adding a singular color, opt to get outlines done in a darker shade of the hue rather than black. This makes it feel more artistic, as does the additional shading on the petals and below the flower. Or ask your artist to use various shades, for a watercolor effect. “Watercolor is a difficult technique, which you should only trust someone to do if they have lots of experience in this style. Generally, color can take a long time and therefore could be more expensive than other designs with no shading, color, or details,” says Ainsworth.
Blackwork Lotus Flower
Want a blackwork lotus flower, but don’t want it to look simple? This ink adds inner lines, light shading, and varying thickness of outlines to give whimsical detail to the larger overall design.
Colorful Lotus Flower
Just because a tattoo is colored in doesn’t mean it can’t have dimension. By using different shades of the same hue, the flower gains a realistic sense of light, dark, and shape. “If you decide to go for a more organic design that looks more like a real lotus, then your artist should be able to make it flow and sit well on almost any placement you choose,” says Ainsworth.
Cartoonish Lotus Flower
A small tattoo with a bold black outline and lighter color tends to pop because of its bold appearance. The gradient from dark to light blue gives it a cartoonish but fun effect.
Whimsical Back Lotus Flower
Add a bit of whimsy to a back lotus flower tattoo with swirling details and thick dot shading. The flower feels more cartoony than realistic, and the location makes it intimate.
Geometric Lotus Flower
This lotus flower design takes the flora and breaks it down to its simplest shapes. By creating the flower out of a number of petal-shaped elements that show their intersection, a geometric element is added to the minimal design.
Multi-Style Lotus Flower
Add some angles to your lotus flower by going with a design that blends whimsy with a traditional mandala design. Although the petals are inked in their classic shape with a watercolor effect, the lines over the top create the basic shapes of the design.
Delicate Lotus Flower
Using very delicate outlines, this lotus flower tattoo appears delicate, as if touching the ink would crumple the design. The thick petals contrast against the thin stem.
Mulberry Lotus
Mulberry is a deep magenta pink and a nice way to get creative over black and red tattoos. This color also matches the vibrant and positive lotus flower symbolism.
Abstract Lotus Flower
Just because the design is of a lotus flower doesn’t mean it has to look realistic. This ink takes the general shape of the flora and translates it into abstract squiggles.
Chest Lotus Flower
The overlapped petals and the variety of thicker and finer lines make this a unique lotus flower design. “There are an unlimited amount of lotus tattoo variations which can be created,” says Ainsworth. “There is no reason to copy another artist’s work or somebody’s personal design.”
Cleavage Lotus Flower
The curly line decorations and dots give an artsy vibe to this chest lotus flower tattoo. Although it’s a small design, its vertical details make it noticeable.
A Fine Line Lotus Flower With a Halo
We love how this fine-line lotus flower tattoo takes up a majority of the person’s forearm but still manages to look quite dainty. We also enjoy how the dot work at the top of the lotus looks like a halo.
Koi Fishes With a Lotus Flower
You’ll often find lotus flowers in koi fish ponds so it makes total sense to pair these two elements together in a tattoo design. The dark shading, placement of the flower between two koi fishes, and the water droplet detailing help this tattoo stand out.
Tiny Lotus Flower
Even though this lotus flower is quite tiny, it still features fine detailing. We love the placement of this tattoo on the ankle and we think it’ll make a great addition to someone’s outfit when sandal season rolls around.
Blooming Lotus Flowers
A blooming lotus flower symbolizes one’s spiritual journey and a fully bloomed flower represents enlightenment. These three lotus flower tattoos represent the beauty of one’s spiritual journey at every stage.
Blue Lotus Flowers Composition
The beauty of this blue lotus flower’s composition tattoo is that it looks like it was painted onto the person’s skin.
A Black and White Lotus Flower With a Rainbow Halo
We love how this tattoo depicts a fully bloomed lotus flower under a rainbow. The lotus flower being in black and white ink stands out against the colorful rainbow halo and probably signifies something meaningful to the person who dons the design.
A Lotus Flower With The Om Symbol
The Om symbol represents a sacred sound, symbol and mantra in the Hindu religion. We love how the Om symbol is beautifully incorporated into this lotus flower tattoo composition.
Nape of the Neck
Nape tattoos make for the perfect peek-a-boo moment. To unveil your lotus flower ink, simply throw your hair up into a bun and let it shine.
Watercolor Lotus Tattoo
Get creative with your tattoo design and opt for a colorful lotus flower. We love the splattered paint appearance of this one—a true work of art.
Ankle Lotus Flower
An ankle tattoo is the perfect placement for those looking to commit to ink without making too big of a statement, and we love how dainty this small tattoo looks.
Sternum Lotus Flower
This one is for the brave of heart. Sternum tattoos are undeniably one of the boldest places you can get ink, and as such, make a huge impact.
Thin-Lined Lotus Flower
Lotus flower tattoos can be full of detail, like this design. Although the outlines are thin and light—as if they were drawn with a pencil—the differing opaqueness and petal detailing make this ink feel realistic.
