55 Butterfly Hand Tattoo Ideas That Soar Above the Rest

Butterfly hand tattoos are wildly popular these days with many people getting them inked across their fingers. Nature is endlessly inspiring so it’s no surprise that butterflies would be one of the main subject matter for hand tattoos. From black ink to a rainbow of colors, there is a myriad of ways to make your own butterfly hand tattoo really stand out. If you’re in need of inspiration, you’ve come to the right place!

We wanted to get a better understanding of the trends, possibilities, and boundaries of this genre of tattoo so we turned to social media to get the latest and greatest tattoo designs to share with you. Tattoos are all about self-expression and in the following tattoos, you will see all the different ways people have gone about showing their true colors. These inspired designs are brand new a represent the latest butterfly hand tattoos in the wild. Check them out to get ideas for your very own butterfly hand tattoo.

Take Inspiration From These Butterfly Hand Tattoos!

Black Ink

The most classic direction to go in with your butterfly hand tattoo is black ink. Tried and true black is going to result in sophisticated and understated designs.

With Botanicals

A popular pairing for butterfly hand tattoos is to include other elements from nature. In the above example, we find a vine that snakes through the fingers as if following the butterflies.

With Eyes

Here’s a whimsical take on a butterfly hand tattoo that finds eyes in the wings. Work with a tattoo artist you trust to conceive of new possibilities. Your imagination is the limit!

Stylized

You don’t see butterflies like this out in the wild. What a handsome design with pointed tips on the wings which look mysterious and intriguing.

Big Red

Red ink is amazing. It can make an everyday tattoo seem truly extraordinary. These butterfly hand tattoos are rather minimal but the red really gives the overall look an extra boost.

Bold & Black

There is a ton of black ink in the above butterfly hand tattoo. If you want the boldest tattoo possible, consider doing something similar.

Part of a Sleeve

Perhaps you want your hand tattoo to be an extension of an existing sleeve tattoo. Your artist can help you integrate the new design into the old making it a seamless transition.

The Whole Hand

The most popular way to get a butterfly hand tattoo is to have multiple creatures. But, it pays off to just focus on one butterfly. Doesn’t this one look so stunning?

Do It Your Way

We tend to favor the butterfly hand tattoos that look least like actual butterflies. They show the most creativity and originality. This is an example that finds the wings covered in a cool pattern.

With Full Color

Experiment with color to express yourself even more. Colorful designs like this one are surprisingly rare for these tattoos today. Buck the monochrome trend and let that tattoo really dazzle.

Feeling Blue

The black and blue butterflies look so light and delicate thanks to the fine line work. The butterflies have just a blush of color which is very appealing.

Do It with Dots

Tattoo artists are playing white ink more than ever before. We find it employed to make these whimsical little dots around the butterflies. This is such a sweet look!

Rainbow

If you want every color of the rainbow, you get every color! How fun is this rainbow butterfly hand tattoo? We like the addition of flowers and that bit of ornamentation that’s across the middle finger.

Shared

Sisters share these matching butterfly hand tattoos. Each part makes a whole when the two come together. That’s some beautiful symbolism to go along with these tattoos.

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With Ornamentation

Go ahead and add some swoops and other ornamentation to your butterfly hand tattoo to make it look more established and fancy. Classic lines will serve you well in this regard.

Redder

We find more red butterflies this time with some dots and stars to create a sense of atmosphere. If you’re wanting a single color that’s not black ink, this is proof that red’s the way to go.

Smoke?

Avert your eyes from the finger tattoos and instead, look to the hand with a smoldering butterfly on it. We don’t know why the ghostly butterfly seems to be steaming, but it certainly looks cool.

Monarch

Monarch butterflies are gorgeous symbols of migration as they travel thousands of miles each year. The orange and black looking just as stunning as a tattoo as they do in nature.

Fine, Fine, Lines

We find even more red ink butterfly hand tattoos but these are remarkable for how fine the lines are. We’re talking razor-thin! We’ll look at some other butterfly tattoos that are also all about the line.

Tiny

If you’re in the market for small butterfly tattoos, here’s the case for micro tattoos. These small beauties are perfect for the person who does not want a huge commitment in terms of cost and pain endured. These look as if they’ve been applied using the stick and poke method which is ideal for micro tattoos.

Minimalist

Here’s another rather small design that looks like it’s a single-line tattoo. If you’re after something petite and sweet, something similar would likely serve you well.

Take Flight

Here’s a butterfly hand tattoo that accomplishes movement by the addition of those motion lines around the butterfly’s wings. It’s a super cute look that’s still understated.

Traditional

You do not have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to your tattoo. Many tattoo artists have “flash” which are pre-designed tattoos that you can choose from. See if the artist has any butterfly flash, which they likely will, and request one of the artist’s original designs!

The Blues

These blue butterflies alternate between a navy and a pastel blue. They are keeping it monochrome but experimenting with color which looks refreshing and new.

Cause a Scene

From finger to forearm, these butterfly tattoos climb all the way up the arm getting larger the further from the finger they get. Black butterfly hand tattoos are the most popular and it’s easy to understand the attraction.

The Finger

For your butterfly hand tattoo, you can pop just one butterfly on a finger and call it a day. If you’re not after something huge, a cute finger tattoo could be the perfect option.

A Secret

We love a good peekaboo tattoo and this hidden butterfly proves one of the more successful we’ve encountered. Fine lines like these are likely the result of the stick and poke method which is applied by hand using a single needle.

Left & Right

Why get just one butterfly hand tattoo when you can have two? We find contrasting butterflies on these hands that look dramatic in black and grey with a hint of white ink for highlight.

From the Wrist

For placement, one of the most attractive spots for a butterfly hand tattoo is found where the wrist meets the hand. If you’d like a butterfly tattoo that just kisses the hand, something similar could be perfect.

Radiant

A dark and moody butterfly tattoo is made even more evocative with radiating lines that seem to radiate from the center of the butterfly. It’s a cute scheme that really pays off with this placement just below the wrist.

In a Web

Another way to radiate is with spider webs. The traditional butterfly hand tattoo in the above example is made more visually interesting with the inclusion of a web that seems to radiate from the butterfly.

Shared

We find more shared butterfly hand tattoos in this example that have a pretty blue color. If you’ve got a bestie, you know what to do.

Perfect Placement

One of the best placements for a butterfly hand tattoo is to have the wings line up with the “webbing” between the thumb and index fingers. It will look like the wings of the butterfly are moving as you open and close your hand.

Orange You Glad?

Some of the most beloved butterflies out there are monarch butterflies which are a symbol of migration. Their warm, golden color proves an excellent fit for the skin, especially with black ink.

Coming Together

As opposed to being shared with another, you can go halfsies on yourself. Put one butterfly wing on each hand for a handsome overall design when your hands are placed together. This grey and black color scheme is almost haunting.

A Duo in Red

More tattoos for best friends! Red ink will really do it won’t it? A couple of butterflies on a couple of friends will be cherished by both for years to come.

Big & Impressive

This colorful butterfly hand tattoo looks fantastic next to some orange florals. If you’re interested in getting full hand coverage, consider something similar for your own tattoo.

Macabre

The skull butterfly hand tattoos are a big hit today. Here’s a very creepy black and grey one with a touch of white to make it pop. There’s more to butterfly tattoos than just pretty. You can get moody with it!

Perched

We see so many butterfly tattoos with both wings splayed open. But, you can get a tattoo of a butterfly in profile for a tattoo that looks like it’s about to take flight.

Smokey

One of the most interesting butterfly hand tattoos we stumbled across comes in the form of a smokey, almost ethereal design. Work with a tattoo artist with a point of view and you could walk away with a one-of-a-kind design like this.

Black Beauty

There’s no denying the virtues of a classic black ink tattoo. It not only looks bold fresh from tattooing. Black ink ages extremely well in relation to other ink colors.

With Initial

We find a minimalist butterfly hand tattoo in this example. Pair something similar with an initial for a personalized and meaningful design that doesn’t take up a ton of real estate.

Touched by Magic

We love the butterfly tattoos with little stars or twinkles. They help to sweeten these special designs even more. Black starbursts with white centers make these babies look magical.

Half Flowers

It’s not the first time you’ve seen it on this list, but an interesting take, we find a butterfly that’s half a wing and half florals. If you get something similar, you will be in very good company. This sort of design is just about played out today.

Catty

Well, did you expect to find a butterfly with a cat face on it? We did not either! We were pleasantly surprised when we saw this delightful cat-meets-butterfly creature. Get weird and it will pay off folks!

Creepy

It’s clear this person has got a thing for all things skeletal. We find a couple of skulls in this butterfly’s wings as well as some other mysterious object in red ink. We’re not exactly sure what’s going on here but we still think this tattoo looks fantastic.

Stripes of Color

We were hard-pressed to find colorful butterfly hand tattoos. You’re more likely to see black ink, three to one, colorful ink butterflies. We were pleased to find this colorful butterfly with bands of color going through it in an interesting way. If you want to stand out from the pack, go with color!

The Specimen

Look closely and you will see pinheads in the wings and body of this butterfly. It’s meant to look like a specimen pinned to a board. It’s one of the most interesting takes we encountered among these butterfly hand tattoos.

White Sparkle

Here’s another example of butterflies that have been improved with a sparkling element. Again, black and white are used to create the illusion. If butterflies make you see stars, consider something similar for your design.

Beautiful & Blue

This handsome butterfly hand tattoo is awash in blue ink. We love the way it looks paired with the black outline of the wings. Choose your favorite color and go to town with it for your own ink.

Black Metal Butterfly

One of the most “metal” butterfly hand tattoos we encountered finds a butterfly with wings that form sharp angles. Let your imagination be your guide and get something unique for maximum self-expression.

Take Flight

These very basic butterflies are simple and that simplicity has proven blissful. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel with your hand tattoos. Classic shapes done with minimal detail will turn out great.

Stylish Flutter

This butterfly hand tattoo is supposed to look like a butterfly fluttering flight. The overlapping lines help bring movement to the design. It’s one of the most unique tattoos on this list and we think it’s a real winner.

Drama

The most dramatic skull butterfly hand tattoo on this list finds wings stretching over each hand, containing the facial elements of a skull. It’s a dark way to take things but if you’re so inclined, it could be a great idea for your own tattoo.

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Bold Will Hold

“Bold will hold” is a saying that tattoo artists use to explain the virtues of more traditional styles of tattooing. We find a neo-traditional design here that marries elements of old-school tattooing to newer shapes. That orangish-red background makes this winged creature really pop!

There you go! We hope you feel inspired by these tattoos and you will consider getting a butterfly hand tattoo yourself. Always remember that other people’s tattoos offer inspiration and are not meant to be copied. Work with a tattoo artist who can share your vision for a one-of-a-kind design that only you can claim!