Koi Fish Tattoo Designs
Carp climbing waterfalls, pairs circling, single fish in fine line. The koi is one of the few designs where the direction it swims is part of the drawing.
Every tattoo image on this site is a generated illustration. None of it is work by this artist and none of it records a client result.
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Blackwork koi
Design idea. A drawing the artist can make for you.
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Koi and cherry blossom
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Koi, downstream
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Koi at the Dragon Gate
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Geometric koi
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Koi and lotus
Design idea. A drawing the artist can make for you.
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Koi, few lines
Design idea. A drawing the artist can make for you.
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Koi yin and yang
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Koi and lily pads
Design idea. A drawing the artist can make for you.
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Koi and crescent moon
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Koi and maple leaves
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Koi and peony
Design idea. A drawing the artist can make for you.
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Koi and waves, on an upper arm
Design idea. A generated rendering of this design on skin. Not a client and not healed work.
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Fine-line koi, along the spine
Design idea. A generated rendering of this design on skin. Not a client and not healed work.
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Tiny koi, on an ankle
Design idea. A generated rendering of this design on skin. Not a client and not healed work.
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Blackwork koi, on a calf
Design idea. A generated rendering of this design on skin. Not a client and not healed work.
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Leaping koi, on a thigh
Design idea. A generated rendering of this design on skin. Not a client and not healed work.
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Dotwork koi, on the ribs
Design idea. A generated rendering of this design on skin. Not a client and not healed work.
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Koi and petals, on a shoulder blade
Design idea. A generated rendering of this design on skin. Not a client and not healed work.
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Geometric koi, on a forearm
Design idea. A generated rendering of this design on skin. Not a client and not healed work.
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Koi fish tattoo designs with meaning
Almost every koi meaning comes from one story, the carp that swims up the falls at the Dragon Gate and becomes a dragon. These six show how the layout changes which part of that story you are telling, and which additions are recent.
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Koi at the Dragon Gate
The end of the story: the carp that cleared the falls, halfway to a dragon. Perseverance that paid off, and one of the oldest koi meanings there is.
The koi, and the rules people argue about Send this design with your enquiry
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Koi and maple leaves
Swimming up through rough water is the struggle still going on. That direction rule is a convention among Japanese tattooers rather than an ancient one, so agree what yours says before it is drawn.
The koi, and the rules people argue about Send this design with your enquiry
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Koi, downstream
Swimming down is usually read as a struggle come through. The same convention as upstream, read the other way, and some artists read it the opposite way round.
The koi, and the rules people argue about Send this design with your enquiry
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Koi yin and yang
Balance, or two people. The yin and yang symbol is Chinese and is not two fish; the koi version is a later overlay that is now how almost everyone reads it.
The koi, and the rules people argue about Send this design with your enquiry
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Koi and lotus
Two old readings in one piece: the koi's perseverance and the lotus rising clean out of mud. Putting them together is a modern choice, and they suit each other.
The lotus, and the water lily it is not Send this design with your enquiry
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Koi and cherry blossom
The cherry blossom carries the Japanese sense of how briefly things last. Next to a koi it also sets the season, which is part of how Japanese work is composed.
Worth knowing before you choose
Upstream is usually read as a struggle still going on and downstream as one come through. That is a convention among Japanese tattooers rather than an ancient rule, and artists disagree about it, so decide it on paper. The guide on this site covers the rest.
Read before you choose
More design ideas
- Japanese Tattoo Designs 24 designs
- Dragon Tattoo Designs 24 designs
- Lotus Flower Tattoo Designs 28 designs
- Back Tattoo Designs 24 designs
Or describe what you actually want
None of these has to be it. Say what is closest, what you would change, where it goes and roughly how big, and the drawing comes back before anything is booked.