Reviewed and Updated: October 28, 2022 by Jamie Wilson BA
To add that little something extra to your everyday look, all you have to do is choose this fantastic selection of owl chest tattoo ideas!
Rulers of the night sky, these regal creatures navigate discourses ranging from the Bible to pop culture.
Owls are species with a rich metaphorical meaning. Around the world, owls are hailed as symbols of dazzling intelligence, deep wisdom, and sacred knowledge.
Some Native American tribes consider the hoot of an owl to be an omen, as to them owls symbolize a journey into the afterlife. The Bible is rich in owl symbolism. They are depicted as wide-eyed birds with beautiful wings, drawn to the cool and calm energy of the moon. In contrast to Christianity, Celtic culture celebrates birds as fierce warriors and faithful guardians of honor and secret knowledge. Finally, with the release of the Harry Potter series, the owl symbol took on new meaning through Rowling’s characterization of the lovable and memorable Hedwig.
Folks, get inked with an eye-catching owl tattoo design to let your inner mystique and wisdom shine through your skin. From a classic outline of the bird to an intricate design that is specific down to the smallest detail, here we bring you an attractive collection of owl tattoos, each one paying homage to the royal spirit of the bird.
Colorful owl tattoo
This full size owl chest tattoo is stylistically redefined with an exclusive focus on the bird’s outstretched wings bathed in shades of brown, blue, orange and fiery red.
As well as being an explicit eye-catcher, this tattoo brings to the surface the bird’s transitional relevance within cultural discourse. The large, outward-facing eyes of the owl in the picture symbolize the clarity of thinking and seeing. Seeing through tricks and deceit is an attribute generally associated with owls, as their vision can pierce the dark.
Occupying almost the entire chest and part of the upper abdomen, the colorful tattoo is fun and profound at the same time.
Watercolor Owl Tattoo
With so many colors oozing into each other, it’s hard to tell these ones apart from a painter’s canvas! The hooked beak and brushed effect add dimension to the whole thing.
This tattoo can be inked on any part of your body but obviously the vibrancy demands exposure. The unique blend of serenity, soulfulness and style is something we notice in both owls and this owl tattoo.
If the owl is your soul animal and you never want to free yourself from the spell of colors, then this owl tattoo is just right for you!
Realistic owl tattoo version
If you are more into the haunting seduction and eerie allure of the owl symbol, then the realistic owl tattoo is for you.
This is a shade of light and dark tones that brings out the sharpness in the owl’s eyes with frightening precision. It weaves the demonic and mythical elements haunting different cultures in an owl into an owl chest tattoo that is subtle and scorching at the same time.
So hey, are you waiting?
Great Horned Owl Tattoo
The great horned owl is straight out of a picture book! With its long, ear-like tufts, deep howling voice, and glassy yellow stare, this deadly predator can take on anything and everything. Of all the owl tattoos listed here, this one is perhaps the most appropriate interpretation of the dynamism and almost swirling life force of owls. This is because it catches the bird in flight.
Another variation on the realistic owl tattoo theme, this one is a cross between the sublime and the savage. Once the owl tattoo is royally distributed on the chest, it turns you into an eye-catcher in no time at all!
Get this on your chest as a stunning shield to distract yourself from any negative energies and let your skin do the talking when it comes to style quotient.
Small owl tattoo on chest
This is a departure from the traditional realistic owl tattoo designs. The incorporation of manga effects alongside the bold application of strokes has given this chest tattoo design a stylish quality that lingers on the border between the whimsical and the avant-garde.
To be precise, this is the very small owl tattoo that unlike most owl tattoos can be adjusted in size and shape to your liking and inked anywhere on the body and not just on the chest. The fluidity in the design gives you plenty of room to experiment.
The aggressive expression on the owl’s face in this tattoo probably alludes to Chinese folklore, where owls share their ancestry with the legendary phoenix and represent ferocity and wisdom.
Realistic Owl Skull Tattoo
When it comes to realistic owl tattoo ideas, we can never run out of ideas! Social media is flooded with designs like this, further adding to your confusion. But don’t worry, we’ve curated everything here just for you.
The owl is a mystery. Its symbolic meaning changes with cultural and geographic change. But aside from the symbolic interferences, even as a bird it possesses certain qualities, such as the ability to switch and adjust vision from telescopic to microscopic in a matter of seconds, which sets it apart. This is how the owl tattoo design pasted here has created its eyes out of focus.
The skull tattoo motif that we find in his claws has a special meaning. In many Indonesian, Hindu, Roman and Celtic lineages, the owl is considered the “angel of death”. It is sometimes believed that the human transition from this life to the next is guarded by the owl. Thus, the skull tattoo is a reminder that the nocturnal bird has an influence on death.
Owl clock tattoo design
An owl has an intimate and inseparable relationship with time. The phases of the moon and the rise and fall of the tide also affect the movement of these nocturnal species, according to many ornithologists.
An owl symbol with a clock in its claws symbolizes the role played by the bird in relation to the metaphorical passage of time. This owl tattoo is uber cool in the approximation it takes to make the connection between an owl and time.
The mix of metallic blue and bright black is both heady and bold, as the watch has a spiral shape that gives it a surreal touch.
Owl Neck Tattoo
The owl tattoos are a great way to experiment with colors and designs as they vary so much in shapes and patterns. What we have for you here is a majestic realistic owl full face tattoo that spreads its fuzzy and golden aura across and onto the chest making it a neck and chest tattoo at the same time.
The neck tattoo can be inked alongside each arm tattoo, accentuating the nuances with sharp precision. The owl’s sharp yellow eyes and white shading along the line of its beak contrasts with the blurred, out of focus technique used to paint the rest of its body, which when explored metaphorically, imply the day-night duality can, with which an owl is invested.
Owl chest piece tattoo
The majesty of a life-size front profile of an owl, with its majestic wings spreading behind it in an attitude of devastating ferocity, exudes regal and animalistic energy that is highly contagious.
Unlike traditional owl tattoo designs, this one does a commendable job of highlighting the features of the bird using only black ink. The spiraling contours of the owl’s deep-set eyes represent them as an all-knowing pair of eyes steeped in ancient wisdom and unfathomable depth.
The idea is to add some psychedelic effect to this owl tattoo design to make the chest it adorns appear more toned and fit.
Avant-garde owl tattoo design
Out of all the owl tattoo designs listed here, this one is a sui generis. Aside from skull and clock symbols, these birds’ large eyes, which seem to pierce right through you, best represent intrinsic knowledge and wisdom.
The idea behind this owl tattoo design is to capture that hypnotic and mystifying gaze of an owl. The gaze is unspeakable and unfathomable. Meant to make sense without reducing the mystique, the focus of these tattoos is entirely on those eyes.
The owl tattoo designs associated with this particular one are avant-garde in the sense that they dare to focus the entire essence of an owl in their eyes and don’t hesitate to experiment with colors as bold as these.
In summary, an owl tattoo is a manifestation of those very qualities in you that make you unique. Patience, wisdom, calm, prudence, and the ability to remain still contribute to the process of your transition from child to adult. The answers you seek, the destinies you seek, the darkness you are asked to fathom, and the light that often blinds you with its terrifying clarity bring you closer as a being to the owl.
Getting inked with any of these owl tattoo designs above means offering your worship to the eternal and transitional forces. Whether day fades into night or life fades into death or memory fades into oblivion, against the eternal tapestry of time all things fleeting and ephemeral play out.
An owl tattoo celebrates this lightness of floating around the threshold.
Aside from the owl tattoos included in this list, you can also check out other variations and designs related to the theme such as:
- Traditional owl chest tattoo
- Geometric owl tattoo design
- Mandala owl tattoo design
- Tribal Owl Tattoo Design
- Stencil owl tattoo design
Featured image from Pinterest