35 Dazzling Shooting Star Tattoos That Look Like Magic

“Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away,” the famous Perry Como song instructs us. Shooting star tattoos capture something so fleeting and magical that it’s a wonder they are not more popular than they are. They are unique designs that read as hopeful and inspiring; the sort of thing you want to send your wishes after. Shooting stars are a fairly common occurrence – though it might not feel like it. Space rock travels into our atmosphere all the time causing meteor showers and shooting stars.

No matter how common they technically are, we’ve always had a soft spot for them and think that shooting star tattoos are an excellent idea. We decided to round up some tattoo examples in all shapes and sizes for you to get a better understanding of the possibilities and limitations of these types of designs. You can big, small, black ink, or full color. There are endless directions for you to take your tattoo in. Now, it’s time to wish upon a star. Take a look at our favorite shooting star tattoos!

Tiny Shooting Star Tattoo

Micro tattoos are a huge trend today. These tiny designs can make a really big impact. This behind-the-ear tattoo is composed of just tiny lines and dots and although it’s simple, it does look very cute. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel with your tattoo design. Go with what feels right.

Minimalist Shooting Star Tattoo

Here is another very simple design that’s just a collection of small dots and thin lines. If you’re looking for a more understated design, something similar could be right for you. We like the placement near the wrist here but, at this size, you could put it almost anywhere that you like.

Vibrant Colors

Let’s gaze at our first example to use colorful ink. We find some lovely pastels here with the purple, blue, and pink contrasting with the pale yellow used for the star. If you want a shooting star tattoo that is more vibrant consider something like this or crank the color all the way up for an even more impactful design.

Ornamental Shooting Star Tattoo

Don’t you just love smart design? This shooting star tattoo is almost abstract but thanks to the way the lines radiate from behind the star shape, you can realize that it’s a shooting star. Sometimes sticking to black ink is the right choice but we’d like to urge you to try other colors if you’re not married to black. Red ink is especially nice for most designs.

A Humble Scene

When you see tattoos that have lines this fine, you should recognize that they have not been applied with a tattoo gun. Instead, the above tattoo is the result of the stick and poke method. A single needle is used to form the thinnest lines possible here with dots and dashes that are equally razor-sharp.

Galloping Forward

This one is for the horse girls out there. Yes, this is the only shooting star tattoo we encountered with a horse and we really enjoyed the pairing. It feels like the star and the horse are on a shared mission, dashing towards the same ending. It’s a very simple yet effective design.

Galactic Shooting Star Tattoo

Among shooting star tattoos, a popular design scheme involved filling the star and its tail with something colorful and interesting. In the above example, there’s a sort of galaxy effect inside that’s alluring, mysterious, and totally beautiful. If you like this idea, play with it with a tattoo artist you trust to make it fully your own.

Colorful Trails

For the stars in the above shooting star tattoo, we find that the artist has forgone using black ink and, instead, has chosen to use fun colors for the bodies of the stars and the trails that follow them. It’s a very unique design that feels very free and childlike.

A Memorial Piece for Dad

“This was a very special tattoo to remember a moment with a Dad gone too soon,” the artist who shared this image wrote. “It’s always an honor to be given the trust to create memorial pieces for lost loved ones,” their message concludes. If you have fond memories with a loved one of looking at the night sky, you can easily make your shooting star tattoo a memorial piece as well.

Revealing the Night Sky

Here is another one of the shooting star tattoo designs that has the shape of the star filled with imagery. This time, however, we see a night sky scene with a blue floating moon along with some romantic clouds that contain a touch of pink. What a dreamy example.

Over the Ocean

We are back to a more minimal shooting star tattoo design with this charming entry. Simple lines and delicate shading give this tattoo a touch of color without overpowering it. If you want something that seems to float on air, a design similar to this one could be perfect.

Flower In the Sky

The tattoo artist who completed the above tattoo designed it as part of a theme they call “flowers in the sky.” What this means is that they have combined flower and shooting star elements to make an intriguing hybrid. Find yourself an artist with a vision, and you could walk away with a shooting star tattoo that’s a work of art.

Cartoon Shooting Star Tattoo

Obviously, this shooting star tattoo is part of a larger scheme but we liked its simplicity and playful color. The above design was photographed shortly after the artist completed the tattoo. It still needs to heal and when it does the yellow parts will look far less orange and a more vibrant yellow. This one reminded us of a cartoon or comic book.

Blue and Orange

Choosing contrasting colors for your shooting star tattoo (or any tattoo for that matter) is a great idea because the colors will pop off of one another and really dazzle. We find cool blue and green contrasting with orange and yellow in this innocent feeling design. You can do the same with your preferred colors.

Twinkle Mountain

“Twinkle Mountain,” the person who shared this image wrote alongside it. The mountains meet the stars in this colorful tattoo with simple shapes and interesting shading. Again, you’re getting some great contrast with between warm and cool colors that make it appear so vibrant and full of life.

The Shower

If you want multiple shooting stars, this is one way to go about it. We’re back to black ink here and it’s been applied so that the tails of the shooting stars fade. It’s simple and elegant and an excellent shape for the placement on this part of the arm. You’ll need to find an artist with plenty of good shading in the portfolio before requesting something similar.

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Sparkles

You can go all out with a variety of tiny star designs for a magical effect. Isn’t this just a blast? This looks like another stick and poke design due to all of those super fine lines and tiny shapes. Sometimes going small will make the biggest impression.

Finest Shooting Star Tattoo

This is definitely a hand-poked shooting star tattoo. There’s simply no other way to get lines these delicate and fine. You’ll need to find yourself an artist skilled in this style and they are not terribly hard to come by. We loved this tattoo because of all of the movement created by the lines and shapes that follow the star element.

Smooth Shooting Star Tattoo

Here’s a very offbeat take on a shooting star and we share it with you to encourage you to think outside the box with your design. Work with an artist with a unique point of view and you could walk away with something that is completely original and that only you will have.

Stylized Star

Here’s one of our favorite shooting star tattoos that finds a star inside a diamond shape with a golden tail following it. Blue and orange work beautifully here in this design that reminds us of contemporary painting. The shape are all fairly simple but the composition as a whole really knocks it out of the park.

So Much Detail

We’re looking at a mesmerizing black and grey color scheme for this shooting star tattoo. The flames look so real with some parts even looking like liquid as well. This is such an arresting design and one of the most dramatic tattoos to make our list.

Nicely Framed

We find a slice of the night sky for this shooting star tattoo that is housed inside a repeated rectangular frame. Cool colors at the top fade to warm pinks and oranges near the bottom. This creates a gentle ombré effect that’s just delicious.

Rainbow Shooting Star Tattoo

If you like a touch of whimsy, pair your shooting star tattoo with a rainbow tail. The colors are just so fun. It’s your tattoo so you get to make the rules. That means getting a little weird with it and not taking things too seriously.

Harmonious Color

In this design, we find some amazing purples and pinks together. This almost looks like a watercolor tattoo thanks to the way the inks have been so masterfully blended. We especially love these colors but you can choose whatever hues you enjoy most for something similar but still your own.

Happy Shooting Star Tattoo

We find another one of the more youthful shooting star tattoos in the above example. It’s our first star with a smiley face. Whenever a smile is involved, things get instantly cuter. For something silly like this, we love an ankle placement.

Magical Hand

This is not the best shooting star tattoo on the list but we absolutely adored the concept. It’s giving somewhat witchy vibes thanks to the hand with an eye in it. Shooting stars can be found in illuminated manuscripts from centuries ago and we imagine some of the more primitive designs looked a little something like this.

Texture

Take a close look at all of those teeny-tiny dots that have been used to give this shooting star its unique texture. It is a shading technique that’s similar to stippling in other forms of visual art. The result is breathtaking and completely pronounced.

Understated Shooting Star Tattoo

This is a near-abstract take on a shooting star. A red dot is the form that’s meant to be the star with organic shapes in cool purple in blue as the tail. If you’re looking to take your own path, you can get as creative and interesting with your design as your time allows. It will always pay off.

Crank Up the Color

Here’s one of the most colorful shooting star tattoos on this list. It’s filled with a watercolor effect that makes the colors look as if they’re bleeding into one another. There are also tons of little shapes that surround the main part of the design that bring so much energy and life to the design.

Rainbow Part II

This is another one of the rainbow shooting star tattoos. This person has chosen to go with more movement in the tail with a swirling shape that’s very pleasing to the eye. If you’re all about that color, something that blends a bunch of them together like this could be a great option.

One of a Kind

Wow. We see influences from Asian art in this distinct shooting star tattoo. It’s both simple and complex and the artist has managed to balance the ethereal with the concrete. There is expert shading on display here, especially inside the cloud element and the tail of the shooting star. What a dream!

Delightful Dots

This is one of the smaller shooting star tattoos in color on our list. If you’re looking for something dainty and cute with a kiss of color, this sort of design would work out well. We love those tiny little dots that add texture and a sense of whimsy to the overall design.

Black and White Shooting Star Tattoo

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we find a larger design here that utilizes both black and white ink. You get the highest contrast when you pair them together. We love how ethereal the white dots inside the star shapes look. There’s also like a reverse glow going on with the shading around the star shapes that’s very unique.

A Vivid One

If you want to let the color talk, skip any black outlines for your tattoo and request just color. The blue and pink above look radical next to each other and the shading with the blue is stunning. We think we would have liked this one more without those little star shapes around the shooting star but it’s still a great example for you to see what’s possible.

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Band Shooting Star Tattoo

Take a close look at the upper band tattoo and you will see a tiny shooting star sailing across the night sky. Band tattoos really took off several years ago and we expected that trend to stay but we see less and less of these tattoo bands these days. It’s an excellent way for you to express yourself and for a cool effect that wraps around your arm (or other appendages).

There you go! We hope enjoyed these shooting star tattoos and that you feel inspired to get your very own. If you liked these designs but still crave more ink inspiration, you’ll be seeing stars with our list of Space tattoos.

Check Out These Amazing Space-Inspired Tattoos That Are Totally Out of This World!

Pink Rocket Ship

Not your typical vehicle to life off in, but this whimsical space tattoo is just so fun! Check out how the tattoo artist has managed to make the flamingo look like its metallic. Very nice!

Van Gogh’s World

Here we find a planet comprised of elements seen in Vincent van Gogh’s starry night. The impressionist’s world is orbited by little planets and other celestial bodies which make it almost look like a piece of jewelry.

Astro-Nuts!

Astronauts are all the rage right now and you are looking at one of the finest tattoos of one we have ever seen. Take a look at all of that minute detail! Paired with the moody pinks and purples this design is a real success.

Aligned

Here we find the planets of our solar system in tattoo form. With an almost art deco-look, the fine lines of this tattoo really look sharp and stylish.

Psychedelic Space Trip

We have no idea what is exactly happening here but we love what we are seeing. The cool color scheme looks great! The parallelogram at the center of the piece is the only thing with straight lines and helps everything else contrast.

Galaxy Melt

Who has ever had a day that felt like this? We love the this strange design that imagines the galaxy in the form of liquid. A truly inspired and beautiful design!

UFO, Tho!

Do you think they are out there? A lot of people do and this cool UFO tattoo is such a fun way to express that curiosity. We think it’s a matter of time until we figure out that octopi are actually from another planet entirely!

Waning Crescent

Our moon is such an inspiring and comforting presence in the night sky. It’s gentle glow and phases help remind us of the passing of time and the phases our bodies go through. Amazing!

Rocket Ship of Love

Here’s a fun rocket ship that looks retro and sort of crossed with a sea ship. We love the heart and anchor on the side! You can still get very creative will expressing your love for space, as you can see here.

Secrets of a Diamond

We love moody and colorful tattoos like this one. We saw a number of these diamond shapes with the night sky or even the milky way like this one. We are here for this trend!

Micro Moment

Micro tattoos are amazing options for people who do not want a huge commitment or something that’s hard to hide. These cute little planet and star shapes on the ankle are the perfect dainty detail!

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Space Bunny, Hunny

Like we said, the weirder the better! Take a look at how this bunny’s fur catches the glow of the stars. How long until we put the first bunny in space?

Cosmic Girl

Here’s a tattoo that feels like it has a narrative to it. We see a “cosmic girl,” as the person who shared this image referred to the character, ascending into space. No need for a helmet, she’s at home.

Jupiter

The biggest planet in our solar system makes for a stunning tattoo, don’t you think? We think the rich, earthy (ha!) reds mixed with the col blues makes for the perfect swirling combination.

A Rift

Here’s a rift in space. We find some very sharp lines on display in this tattoo design. It looks so wild! Would you jump through the spacetime continuum? This looks inviting!

Far, Far Away

How fun is this style? We love the retro comic book feel! Tattoos that employ a frame like this always seem to be a success. It’s like blue circle wants to hold the scene, but it’s clear the UFO is leaving and traveling to another destination. Later!

Lift Off

Tattoos that use an ombre effect feel so new and fresh today. The way artists are able to transition from one color of ink to the next and blend it all flawlessly blows the mind!

High Drama on the Moon

In this photorealistic tattoo, we find an astronaut in the pull of a mysterious force. The reflection in the helmet is jaw-dropping. There’s an entire other scene contained inside of what looks like the surface of the moon with another astronaut. Just, wow!

Captain

We need more women in the space program to reach parity! This lovely tattoo of a female astronaut looking slightly up is both inspiring and remarkable.

Highway to Heaven

We told you tattoos with frames look excellent! Here’s another example with a road leading to a mountain underneath what looks like Saturn. The road looks like it’s going nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

Realms of Possibility

Here’s an imaginative representation of the planets. Do we understand why? No. Do we care? No. Be as creative as you want and find a tattoo artist to collaborate with for the most original and intriguing designs. Clearly, it pays.

Minimal

On the other hand, you can go completely the opposite direction and go for adorable tattoos of the moon, planets, shooting stars and more. This looks like a stick and poke design, which is done without a machine but instead manually with just ink and a needle.

Cats in Space

We all knew this dad would come eventually! Take a look at this Cat-stronaut! What a cutie!

Space Sleeve

Wow! This full sleeve space tattoo has it all. Drama, color, different styles, plenty of visual interest, it’s not short on anything. A tattoo this size will take multiple sittings and hours of work to complete, but if you really love space, it’ll be worth it!

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Magic in the Sky

In what looks like globs of pant applied to a canvas, we find planets, a moon, and stars twinkling inside. This tattoo is so unique and well done that it barely looks real. Put us on a rocket!

There you go! 25 space tattoos that bring all the beauty, mystery, and weirdness that space has to offer. We think the rover missions to Mars right now are fueling the recent craze for space tattoos and we are all the better for it. Human ingenuity and our hunger for knowledge is an endless source of inspiration. Keep on getting those planets, astronauts, and more tattooed folks, because they are cosmically cool!