35 Sunflower Tattoos & Sunflower Tattoo Ideas

Sunflowers mean a great many things to a great many people which is why sunflower tattoos are so wildly popular today. The subject of an ancient Greek myth, sunflowers have come to symbolize affection and loyalty. According to FTD, in China, sunflowers represent longevity and good fortune.

In many Native American traditions, sunflowers represent the harvest, bounty, and plenty because they provide seeds, pigment, and much more. We think the way they look is the reason people choose sunflower tattoos. They’re big, bold, beautiful flowers that are many people’s favorite to look at. We wanted to get a better idea of the types of sunflower tattoos people were getting these days to get sunflower tattoo ideas and inspiration. You’re going to love all the flower ink we found!

Check Out These Warm Sunflower Tattoos for Sunflower Tattoo Ideas!

Half & Half

The half butterfly, half flower design is a popular option today. Here we find not one but two sunflower tattoos that incorporate butterflies. Charming, right?

The Text Stem

Another popular way to get a sunflower tattoos or any other floral design is to turn the flower’s stem into text. You will find other examples of this on this list, but we particularly loved the message “you are my sunshine” found here.

From a V

The person with this flower tattoo shared that it’s an addition to a previous tattoo she already had of the letter “V.” The unique placement made this design a real standout.

Black & Grey

You will see a lot of full-color sunflower tattoos on this list but we also found plenty in just black ink for those closet goths out there. The superb lines and minute details of this design really make it remarkable.

A Party

Why get just one type of flower when you can have several? Here is a lovely bouquet that is bursting with orange, pink, and purple. More of the same, please!

Stick & Poke

Here is a tattoo that’s been applied using the stick-and-poke method which involves the artist tattooing freehand without a machine. The method results in ultra-fine lines and the potential for tons of tiny details. It almost looks like pointillism, right?

Graphic, Bold, Black

There is not a ton of detail here just a simple outline with some shading details in the petals on on the leaves. These sunflower tattoos prove that it doesn’t have to be over-the-top to make a statement.

Placement

Let’s talk about tattoo placement for a moment. In general, the best thing to do is to place larger tattoos on larger parts of your body with a similar overall shape. The upper thigh makes for an excellent spot for a giant flower bud like this one!

Placement Part II

You see how the bud of this flower is placed on the widest part of the calf with the stem tapering off down at the ankle? That’s money. We love how this design almost look like the flower has an eye.

Tiny

Another example of a tattoo that’s been done by hand are these tiny little sunflower tattoos, leaves, and a butterfly which all seem to be floating in air. This is truly unique and unlike any of the other sunflower tattoos on this list!

Bees & Berries

If you would like more of a portrait or motif look, the addition of other objects, be they natural or not, are going to help you tell a fuller story with your tattoo. How stunning did the addition of fruit and a bee make this design?

In the Stem

Here’s a better view of a trend we told you about earlier in which the stems of the flowers are turned into words or even line drawings like this one. Beautiful, right?

Watercolor

Watercolor tattoos are huge right now with artists getting more and more creative with how they apply them. See how the “splotches” of ink make this design look painted on?

A Picture Lasts Longer

This little polaroid tattoo showing a couple of sunflowers is genius. It’s a simple frame that instantly makes the design feel nostalgic and sweet.

Mandala

Mandala-inspired designs have been one of the biggest tattoo trends of the last several years. Here we find the classic geometric shapes replace with the petals of a sunflower. The contrasting black and yellow really pop.

More Black and Yellow

Black and yellow are colors we most closely associate with the sunflower. However, you can ask your tattoo artist to get loose with their interpretation. We love that the color has been removed from the flower and used as a glowing background for this unique design.

Initials

You can instantly make any tattoo feel more personal with the addition of a date or even initials. Sunflower tattoos are no exception as they too look great as part of tribute tattoos.

Complimentary Shapes

The perfectly circular look of the sunflower makes it a prime subject matter for some circle-treatment. As you can see in this design, the artist has added a ring of dots to mimic the roundness of the flower. It’s so pretty!

Keep Playing with Color

There are a number of ways to get weird with color for these sunflower tattoos. As you can see here, the artist has chosen to block the color in interesting ways for an unconventional design.

Think Tiny

Micro tattoos make ever design look and feel so very special. This little banger near the ankle looks smart with its gentle yellow, green, and brown colors. We will share a black ink micro tattoo with you later on the list!

Americana

If you love a particular genre of tattoo or a particular iconic artist, you should let your tattoo artist when getting a consultation about your tattoo design. This harkens back to classic Americana tattoos in such a fresh way. You can do the same!

Dripping

We find beads of water held by the center of these sunflower tattoos. Check out that cute little bee having a sip! The dots used to give the petals texture look very nice here and the artist knows how to illustrate light.

Trig

For reasons unknown to us, graphic design has featured a lot of triangles both in marketing and other forms of illustrative art. It’s clear those three-sided shapes aren’t going anywhere because we stumbled across a number of sunflower tattoos with triangles around them.

Line on the Neck

This is wild! This super vibrant tattoo of a sunflower sits right on the neck. If you think you’ve get what takes, consider a bold placement for your tattoo as these designs are beautiful enough to decorate any part of your body!

RELATED: 35 Big, Bold Neck Tattoos We Love But Could Never Pull Off Ourselves

Mandala Part II

We find another mandala-inspired design. This one’s a big one! We love how the sunflower is at the center of the action with the more decorative aspects beaming from it. What a dream!

Too Real

Of all the sunflower tattoos on this list, this is the one we could stare at the longest. The details, the shading, the scale, the color, just everything looks spot-on. If you find an artist who can do something similar, never let them go!

Astrology

Here’s another one watercolor-style tattoo that really leans into color. We’re not great with constellations, but we believe there is a reference to Libra along with the flower. Interesting choices here, no doubt!

Take a Backseat

Sunflower tattoos can be expressly concerned with the flower or they can expand into something a little more interesting. We find a sunflower springing from a face along with pieces from games. This feels so special and personal.

Put It on Ice

This is one of the stranger sunflower tattoos we encountered. We do not know why that flower is growing from a cube of ice but we’re not mad about it. Feel free to express yourself the truest way that you know how!

Really Big, Really Bold

Do you have no fear? This sunflower tattoo is huge and covers the entire part of the upper arm onto the shoulder. The deep, rich, black ink looks so fantastic, really making a statement.

Color Scheme

This person chose to only use warm colors with plenty of orange to adorn their sunflower and feather tattoo. This is wild but we imagine it appeals to many people.

Delicate

The delicate lines of this tattoo make it look soft and romantic. We’re not sure what else gives this more of an ethereal look than the other sunflower tattoos on this list, but something very cool is going on!

Contrast

The blue and green butterfly looks completely lost in a sea of black and grey flowers. It’s an interesting look that certainly does not skimp on drama.

T-I-N-Y

We promised you a little black micro tattoo of a sunflower. Thank you for your patience! How cute is this micro-micro tattoo? We love the placement as it looks completely understated and sweet. Going small pays off in big ways for some!

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Just a Fine Tattoo

We share with you this very handsome sunflower tattoo with the finest of fine lines to illustrate that there is no wrong or right way to go about getting sunflower tattoos. If you just want a beautifully tattooed flower like this one, don’t overthink it and just go for it! We imagine few people would be disappointed in something like this.

There you go! We hope you feel inspired by these sunflower tattoos and got some sunflower tattoo ideas to put in your back pocket. Remember, it’s important to express yourself and your point of view. Create your own unique and individual work of art by working with an artist you trust and you will not regret it! Now, go get that sunshine ink!