40 Stunning Butterfly Tattoo Designs to Inspire Your Next Ink

Close up of an arm with a butterfly tattoo — @joannamroman / Instagram

There's a reason why so many people sport butterfly tattoos: these ethereal winged wonders are not only stunning, but they are also powerful symbols of transformation and freedom. And, just as in nature, the variety of butterfly designs is endless—they can be simple or super detailed, bold and brightly colored, or delicate and monochromatic. The classic style also makes for a great first-time tattoo design or one to get with your best friend.

Whatever your reason for wanting a butterfly tattoo, the most important part is to be sure of what you want it to look like. If you’re still searching for that perfect something, keep scrolling for 35 butterfly tattoo ideas that will help you design your next piece of ink.

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Knee Butterfly Tattoo

Butterfly tattoo idea on knee — @jt_tattoo

The shape of the butterfly’s wings looks great around circular bones like the knee. Keep the design otherwise simple to play up the shape.

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Minimal Butterfly Tattoo

Butterflies designs are great because they can be stylized in a number of ways. If you prefer a minimal tattoo, stick to a few lines—maybe even just one.

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Playful Butterfly Tattoo

Behind the ear butterflies tattoo — @tatstemple1 / Instagram

Placed behind the ear, butterfly tattoos gain a sense of playfulness, as they can only be seen from certain angles or when longer hair is pulled back. The white detailing adds to the whimsical feeling as well.

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Line Art Butterfly Tattoo

Because butterfly wings tend to be intricate, line art is a really interesting and creative approach to the design. If you plan on adding a lot of lines, keep the other decoration and coloring simple.

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Dynamic Butterfly Tattoo

Dynamic blue butterfly tattoo on forearm — @soniatessari

Butterflies come in a variety of colors and designs, so they can easily match any aesthetic. This butterfly tattoo uses subtle shading and white ink to create a dynamic sense of light and dark.

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Shoulder Butterfly Tattoo

Realistic butterfly tattoo on shoulder — @jacksontattooart

The shoulder is a great location for a butterfly tattoo, as the amount of surface area means you can make it any shape and size that you’d like. The extra space also allows you to add more drawn-out details, like the shadow under the butterfly in this design.

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Arm Butterfly Tattoo

Tattoo of three butterflies on arm — @tattooist_gaon

The more the merrier. Placing a few butterflies along the arm gives the impression that they’re flying upward. Using a fine line style guarantees a sense of daintiness, and spacing out the butterflies adds to the weightlessness.

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Red Butterflies Tattoo

Close up of a red and purple butterfly tattoo on the arm — @giahi / Instagram

Butterfly tattoos don’t have to be super minimal or super maximal—feel free to play around with elements to find your perfect design. Here, the intricate butterfly line design is customized with a gradient of red and purple ink to add visual interest.

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Colorful Butterflies Tattoo

Colorful butterfly tattoos — @miryamlumpini / Instagram

Can't decide on just one color for your butterfly duo design? This rainbow combination makes the fliers feel fun and youthful.

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Shattered Butterfly Butterfly Tattoo

Butterfly tattoo on back of arm with different wings — @ghinkos / Instagram

Geometric designs work well for butterfly tattoos because of the ornate designs that normally appear on their wings. Sharp, straight lines don’t ruin a butterfly’s image—instead, they add a sense of contrast that feels organic. We love the duality of this design that features a traditional wing on the left and one with sharp jagged edges on the right.

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Natural Butterfly Tattoo

Butterfly tattoo with natural details and leaves — @positively.energized.tattoos

Rather than opting for a straight butterfly design, why not combine it with another natural element? Here, the butterfly is combined with florals, giving the tattoo delicately powerful energy.

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Weightless Butterfly Tattoo

Close up of a blue butterfly tattoo with shading — @winchestertattoo1 / Instagram

If you want a more realistic tattoo, butterflies can be designed to look as though they’re about to fly off your skin. With details like a large, properly placed shadow and the dynamic shading on the wings, this butterfly is ready to take flight.

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Thick Butterfly Tattoo

Butterfly tattoo with flowers and thick line detailing — @avenuetattooreno/@cool.hand.luke.69

Butterfly tattoos don’t have to be small and minimal. Adding heavy shading or bright colors can add some bold personality to the popular design choice.

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Pastel Butterfly Tattoo

Close up of purple and pink butterfly tattoo — @kylieroyart / Instagram

Try playing around with different tattoo styles with your butterfly design. This tattoo uses pastel coloring and a technique that looks like the wings themselves are overlapping.

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Blackwork Butterfly Tattoo

Close up of orange and black butterfly tattoo — @sideshowjane / Instagram

Thanks to the heavy black that naturally occurs on butterflies, blackwork tends to work well in these designs. Rather than feeling heavy, the black offers bold contrast, elevating the brighter, more delicate details.

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Chest Butterfly Tattoo

Red butterfly tattoo on chest — @circles.777

Placing a butterfly in the center of your chest makes a statement. Going for a red, smudge-y color calls even more attention to it, making for a truly unique ink piece.

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Delicate Butterfly Tattoo

Close up of butterfly design along the ribs — @mnsantanatattoo / Instagram

A collection of butterflies along the ribs feels very chic and delicate because of the curves of the body and the movement of the design.

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Add-On Butterfly Tattoo

Wrist sleeve tattoo with butterfly near hand — @ink.carolw

Thanks to their ability to be any size without losing detail, butterflies are great add-ons to existing tattoos. If you’ve already got ink and are faced with filling an empty space, a butterfly can be just the thing to do it.

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Word Butterfly Tattoo

Words tattoo on the collarbone with butterflies — @tr4dem4rc_tats / Instagram

Placing a word or phrase next to a butterfly tattoo will enhance the tattoo’s symbolism. While butterflies often represent change, endurance, or life itself, adding your own quote will give it a meaning that’s important to you.

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Simple Butterfly Tattoo

Close up of a simple line design butterfly on the middle finger — @joannamroman / Instagram

Because butterflies can be easily identified when broken down to their basic shapes, they look really good in a line art style. Making the lines feel more sketched out gives the otherwise simple shapes a sense of personality.

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Shaded Butterfly Tattoo

If you want to add some intricate detailing without a lot of color or excess lines, opt for light shading to add depth to the wings. Keep any additional details thin and light to keep the design ornate, but not overwhelming.

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Floral Butterfly Tattoo

Close up of a floral tattoo with butterflies on woman's back — @ghinkos / Instagram

Butterflies are a perfect complement to a floral tattoo. Both occur in nature, have beautiful energy, and can represent life. Pairing them bolsters these attributes.

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Overlapping Butterfly Tattoo

Matching butterfly tattoos on two people's pointer fingers — @ziixuu_tatt

Butterfly finger tattoos don’t need to be simplified to keep them from overwhelming the finger. Feel free to add extra loops or overlapping lines to add visual interest while keeping it well-spaced.

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Series of Butterflies Tattoo

Set of three pink butterfly tattoos on back of shoulder — @dirtyinktattoostudio

To play up the movement that comes naturally to a butterfly tattoo, go for a design featuring a series of butterflies. Place each butterfly’s wings into a different mid-flight position to make them seem like they’re flying away.

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Butterfly Wing Tattoo

Because the body of a butterfly is dominated by its beautiful wings, a design without the actual body can still make an obvious impact. In this tattoo, the wings almost feel more weightless without the body, as it conjures up the image of delicate dried wings, rather than live ones.

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Contrasting Butterfly Tattoo

Close up of butterfly tattoo on back of arm — @lucassmansilla / Instagram

Rather than focusing on the inner wing of a butterfly design, try pulling attention to the blackwork complexities of the wing. The white details create a striking contrast while managing to feel natural.

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Aesthetic Butterfly Tattoo

Close up of butterfly design with daisies in the wings — @oooooatmeal / Instagram

Butterfly tattoos don't all have to look the same. Try going for a more playful design that’s more about the overall aesthetic than a specific style like this adorable flower-adorned version.

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Balanced Butterfly Tattoo

Large butterfly tattoos don’t have to feel any heavier than tiny ones, as butterflies always have a fair amount of negative space in their design. This naturally pushes the thicker lines to the inner and outer parts of the tattoo to strike the right balance.

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Womanhood Butterfly Tattoo

Butterfly tattoo on arm with sparkles and moon — @jasetattoos

Because butterflies are often associated with women and “femininity,” they pop up in designs featuring other such images, like florals or the crescent moon. Other delicate details including sparkles and dot work pair just as well.

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Wings Butterfly Tattoo

Butterfly wing tattoo with Kuromi design — @teddyxtattoo / Instagram

As long as you keep the general shape of a butterfly’s wings, you can customize the design in any style you want. Here, the wings feature a Kuromi cartoon design and in the place of a body, there's an unexpected black heart.

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Personal Meaning Butterfly Tattoo

Arm tattoo with butterfly and phrase "Resiliencia" — @liditattoo

Adding a word or a phrase to a butterfly tattoo can underline its meaning, whether personal or symbolic. This design uses the word “resilience” to emphasize the butterfly’s representation of hope and continuation.

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Butterfly with Eyes

Close up of tattoo above the knee with eye design — @blackninked / Instagram

This original blue and black butterfly featuring wavy lines and eyes with lashes proves that even though it's a popular tattoo design, you can make sure that yours is truly unique.

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Realistic Butterfly Tattoo

Realistic blackwork butterfly tattoo on forearm — @jezhuot

If you’re going for a more realistic butterfly design, that doesn't have to mean using col. Instead, go for a tattoo that uses varying line thicknesses, smooth and light shading, and small bits of blackwork to give the illusion of depth and light.

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Calf Butterfly Tattoo

Close up of butterfly tattoo below the knee — @moss.meadows / Instagram

Because the calf is such a resolute, straight part of the body, placing a butterfly tattoo there creates a contrast that makes it pop.

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Matching Butterfly Tattoo

Butterflies are a great idea for matching tattoos. Because butterflies have such a foundational design, you can be sure they’ll look the same. Plus, they can be customized to any shape, size, and style, so your matching tattoos are unique to the pair of you.

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Hand Butterfly Tattoo

Close up of butterfly tattoo on the back of the hand — @hunter.schuon.tattoo / Instagram

Butterfly designs make for great hand tattoos because of the movement innate to both the insect and the body part. The wing shape of the butterfly also fits well with that of the hand, so the two elements harmonize with one another well.

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Flapping Wing Illusion Butterfly

Close up of an arm with a butterfly tattoo that looks like the wings are flapping — @fleurnoiretattoo / Instagram

If you look at this trippy butterfly tattoo for too long, it actually looks like it's moving. This type of illusionist artwork requires a specific tattoo artist, so if it's what you're looking for, be sure to do your research.

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Tarot Card Butterflies

Close up of tarot card and butterfly tattoo — @teddyxtattoo / Instagram

Being that monarchs have some mythical-ness to them, it makes sense that they'd be incorporated in a tarot card tattoo design such as this one.

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White Ink Butterfly

Close up of a tiny white butterfly tattoo on the wrist — @little.tattoos / Instagram

You have your black ink and colored ink to choose from, but an often overlooked option is a white tattoo. This tiny white butterfly design is perfect for someone who's not trying to call attention to their ink.

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