Dragonflies have long been known to signify changes in life. Whether it is an age change, a fortune change, a change of heart or an inner awakening, dragonfly tattoo meaning can show of these changes in beautiful tattoo art.

The dragon fly is considered to be of two separate elements; water and air. As such they take us beyond what we are to what we could be.

Today we are checking out Dragonfly tattoo design and what deep meaning this insect tattoo inspires in tattoo lovers. Perhaps you will find the best expression of dragonfly symbolism to add permanently right here.

1. 3D Tattoo Dragonfly Designs

3D tattoo can make this dragonfly ink look like the image is going to fly right off your skin! They are visually stunning and you will get immediate interest by anyone who sees it. Whether you choose a colorful dragonfly or keep it black with shading, 3D tattoo is attention-getting.

The skill is in the shading for these tattoos to look completely realistic. Dragonfly tattoos are a perfect way to describe special meanings and with a 3D dragonfly tattoo rendering, the awakening of your inner spirit will be visible to absolutely everyone!

Dragonfly tattoos designs are not limited to just realistic color – they can be wildly vivid tattoo art. You can also keep it simple but very detailed by focusing on the veins that run through the Dragonfly wings. They are intricate and can calm you if you focus on the patterns. This tattoo idea can help whenever you are getting stressed by changing your attention to something mesmerizing such as the vein details.

3D Dragonfly tattoos

 

2. Black and Gray Dragonfly Tattoo

See some more butterfly tattoo designs here.

Black and gray Dragonfly tattoos can make just as much of an impact as an insect displaying more color. By removing the color from a cute dragonfly tattoo, you force attention to the image itself. The body section’s detail can be brought out with subtle ink shading, meaning more attention can be given to the head and the multifaceted eyes.

If you are wanting a small dragonfly tattoo, you can just focus on the dragonfly wings and abdominal sections. A small dragonfly tattoo does well placed in discrete areas such as behind the ear, back of the neck or even as a ring – they’re a great option for cute tattoos.

Dragonfly symbolism, such as change or development, can be quiet or loud depending on what kind of change you are making. Your reaction to it will be uniquely you and that is what you will want your beautiful dragonfly tattoo design to do for you.

3. Colorful Dragonfly Tattoos

Adding color to your tattoo will make it stand out more than the black and grey tattoos. There is also a lot of meaning in colors as we will see below.

A red dragonfly is associated with fire, passion, and love. Orange is the color for joy, sunshine, the tropics, and warmth. Yellow brings to mind happiness, intellect, and energy. Green symbolizes nature growth, harmony, and fertility. Blue often brings images of stability, wisdom, faith, trust, confidence, intelligence, and truth.Purple represents royalty, ambition, power, and luxury. White is renowned for signifying purity, cleanliness, faith, and safety.

Black is always classy and is associated with elegance, power, death, and mystery. Choosing the right color for the tattoo artist to bring out the statement you want to make is just as important as the subject matter.

4. Delicate Dragonfly Tattoos

For those who wish to be more subtle, there is the option of a more delicate dragonfly tattoo. This kind of tattoo whispers rather than shouts from the mountain top. The casual eye may pass it by but to the right people, it will speak volumes about the inner you.

Thin, ethereal, elegant lines speak of a quiet depth to your spirit, while the lightest of shadings will bring contrast to your Dragonfly and display a strength of character found in very few. A good artist can bring intricate dimensions to the image making it a good conversation starter.

5. Dragonfly Tattoos with Flower and Leaves

There are as many combinations of Dragonflies with a flower tattoo and leaves as there are people that want ink. The trick is to figure out what works for you. The dragon fly and flower tattoo arrangement you choose will help establish the perfect piece of art you are creating.

In 3D black and grey, a dragonfly resting on a cherry blossom would look spectacular! You can also go for a watercolor dragonfly tattoo with a lotus flower or daisy, and come up with a tattoo idea that would look right at home in a French Master’s painting!

6. Dreamy / Surrealistic Dragonfly Tattoos

This kind of tattoo design suspends reality, let your mind fill in the blanks deliberately left out of these images. They suggest to the mind and let it fill in the rest of the nuance. They can also look like a Rorschach Inkblot Test (a personal favorite of mine), or watercolor dragonfly painting.

There are a lot of surreal images out there that can really jazz up a dragonfly tattoo idea. They can be light and lacey, exquisitely simple or bold, giving your mind just a hint of what the rest of the dragon image is.

7. The Geometric Dragonfly Tattoo

Geometrics in any art form signifies an ordered mind. Someone innovative, confident and fearless. When the Dragonfly is presented geometrically, it brings the change and good luck of those sporting the look.

You will get some attention with this kind of tattoo. It goes over really well with steampunk crowds. If you are going for a specific balance of Dragonfly and Geometry, let’s take a look at some of the most common shapes.

The square is used to invoke feelings of trust, honesty, stability, and stability.

Triangles have long been associated with strength, purpose, power, and progression of the maturity of the spirit.

Round shapes are said to bring feelings of harmony and protection.

Spirals represent the continuity of life. The transformations of fertility, life, death and the transformations that occur at each stage.

Change is not always death, but growth. A new direction that you decided to pursue, a job, a change of heart, or just letting go of old pain.Combining geometric images with the Dragonfly can make a powerful, bold statement. Which is, of course, what you’re after.

8. Large Dragonfly Tattoos

The large Dragonfly tattoos, for the most part, are usually placed on the upper back, is very detailed and looks like you have the wings, very cool, and can be colored or not as you choose.

The surrealistic Dragonfly also works well for this because you have room to get in all the subtle or extravagant colors that you want to. You also have room to incorporate whatever symbolism you want.

You could go with blue for faith and confidence in the change or transition you are embracing, with some spiral shapes to draw on the continuity of life to ensure a smooth transition from where you are to where you want to be.

The large Dragonfly does not have to be on the back. It can just as easily be on the arm, thigh, buttocks (yes, the image is just mind-boggling. Don’t you just love that idea?), chest, or anywhere else that you want to sport it.

9. Ornamental Dragonfly Tattoos

With filigree, geometric, crystal dangles, your ornamental tattoos can be the centerpiece of a dynamic display of color, with just enough information that the mind has to fill in the rest.

If done skillfully enough, even you should be able to study it; seeing different aspects of the image every time you study it. It can feature native American symbols such as mandalas, dreamcatchers, feathers or be the piece that bridging two tattoos to bring about a whole new picture.

You work hand in hand with your tattoo artist to come up with exactly the right design for you. This is your statement, make it sing!

10. Realistic Dragonfly Tattoos

Realistic Dragonfly tattoos can pop out or hide, waiting to be seen by like-minded individuals. These tats are made to look like you have a Dragonfly insect sitting right on you. They can be in a cluster or individually displayed.

Keep in mind your tattoo artist may not be able to get a large very detailed tattoo completed in just one sitting. That is something you want to talk to them about before you get started. Keep expectations real.

Everybody thinks that is is all about how much you can take in one sitting, but you need to keep in mind that your tattoo artist has limits too. They are usually bent over, stretching in unnatural positions that wear on them just as much as the pain wears on you.

11. Tiny Dragonfly Tattoos

Tiny tattoos are ideal if you need to wear your ink discreetly. Some professional jobs frown on tattoos and this is a tasteful way around that little challenge. They can be made so small that they might be confused with a natural skin blemish.

On the wrist works, if you wear bracelets, some can be worn as rings.It is not just to please a dress code, there are those among us who like having that tiny reminder that no-one else can see.

I suppose it is like painting a picture of a boy playing in the tree and then fill in the painting with leaves. The boy is no longer visible to anyone else, but You know that he is there.

I like this analogy because I like hidden meanings. Perhaps you do as well. Concealed or not tiny tats are fun to do, take very little time and most of the time you can do a buddy tattoo with your best friend, whether they are your sibling, significant other, or just best bud.

12. Traditional Dragonfly Tattoos

The traditional Dragonfly tattoos tend to stay in the medium size, show some good detail, and use black ink or grayscale shading. They go well behind ears, wrists, forearm, or even as a cool shoulder tattoo.

Now, this does not mean that your tattoo can’t have any color in it, it is just a tradition of tattoos in general. They were conceived in places that didn’t have access to colored inks.

If you are all about tradition and symbolism, a tribal dragonfly tattoo or more restrained black ink piece with the shape of your choice incorporated into it. Or, as the dragonfly is also popular in Asian cultures, a Chinese, Japanese, or even Filipino tribal tattoo may do the trick.

The rest of us might not be able to read any more of it from here, but you will. I could spend days, and have, going through tattoo galleries just to admire the sheer artwork displayed there.

What do dragonfly tattoos symbolize? 

Dragonflies have long been known to signify changes in life. Whether it is an age change, a fortune change, a change of heart or an inner awakening, dragonfly tattoo meaning can show of these changes in beautiful tattoo. 

Did you find the dragonfly tattoo idea for your next tattoo? If not, click on the links below for more tattoo art designed to inspire your imagination.

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