Lord of the Rings Tattoos: Ideas, Examples, and Photos

I love tattoos and have been writing about the topic for several years.

Fantasy Tattoos and The Lord of the Rings

Because The Lord of the Rings is probably my favorite series of all time (the film adaptations are also among my favorite movies), I wanted to check out what types of tattoos are out there in connection to the franchise.

What surprised me was there weren't as many as I thought there would be, and the most popular tattoo I found from the series was the Elven script called Quenya, which is a fictional language spoken by the high-elves of the J.R.R. Tolkien universe.

The script created was so stunningly beautiful that many consider it an art form in itself. This is probably the reason it's the most popular Lord of the Rings tattoo (this is my unofficial observation).

I included a musical interpretation of "Into the West" in which someone translated the lyrics into Quenya, in case you've never heard it before. It's pretty well done!

Lord of the Rings fans are just like any other fans—they're committed and have been for decades in some cases. And those that were exposed to the story for the first time via the film series quickly became rabid fans as well.

For fans, tattoo designs associated with The Lord of the Rings are more than just tattoos; they're part of the legend and lore of a story that will remain popular far into the future. The fans will make sure that's the case without a doubt.

Black Line Gollum Tattoo

This tattoo of Gollum really captures the way he was portrayed in the film version of Lord of the Rings. Other than his eyes possibly being a little too friendly (although there was a brief time when that was true), I think it's a great likeness and interpretation of him. The tower with the moon behind it in the background looks awesome.

Tattoo of J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien was the creative genius behind the Lord of the Rings world, language, and mythology. It's fitting to see this tattoo made in his likeness. It's pretty unusual in that most tattoos are of characters created by authors, not the of the authors themselves. This one is possibly the most recognizable photo of Tolkien smoking his pipe.

Great Aragorn Tattoo

The likeness of Aragorn is about as good as you can get with a tattoo, and it captures almost exactly who he is and what he represents (along with actor Viggo Mortensen).

I like how the shadowing on the face gives the sense of the weight that Aragorn always bore up until he finally decided to become the man he was meant to be—the man the Elven king exhorted him to be.

Nazgul Tattoo

I really like this Nazgul tattoo. The Nazgul are some of the major characters on the side of the shadow in the story. The body and wings of the creature he's riding look great, and the inclusion of the rider adds a sense of the deadly combination that searched for and sought to destroy the Hobbit heroes in the battle between good and evil. They are probably among the more memorable bad guys in film history.

Another Bad Guy Tattoo: An Orc

Hey, this isn't any old orc; this guy is recognizable and done very well by the tattoo designer and artist. If you're looking for an orc tattoo from Lord of the Rings, this guy would be tough to beat. The detail on the face of the orc is extraordinary, conveying the pure evil and hatred that inhabits their dark hearts.

Memorable Gandalf Quote Tattoo

Of all the many important lines and saying in Lord of the Rings, this may be the one most remembered and liked by fans. It's. very cool that someone had it tattooed in this form. It says, "I will not say do not weep. For not all tears are an evil."

Saruman Tattoo

There are some really good tattoo artists working on the Lord of the Rings tattoos, and here Saruman is captured fantastically. Saruman became the arch-nemesis of Gandalf and the fellowship of the ring before his demise in the film. In the book, he was finally defeated much later.

As Gandalf once said about himself, he had become what Saruman was meant to have become. Maybe this was a time before he turned to the shadow.

Tattoo of Mines of Moria Entry

I really like this Mines of Moria tattoo, but I wonder what's up with the Greek words below. Too bad the decision to show the lettering lit up like in the movie wasn't made, as I think it would change this from a good tattoo to a great one. But still, it's a nice tattoo design depicting one of the crucial moments associated with the Lord of the Rings films.

Frodo Falling at the Inn

This is a must-have tattoo when it comes to any Lord of the Rings tattoo gallery, as it's one of the more important events in the entire story. It's really effective how the artist brought the gold of the ring out on the black and white background. The almost invisibility of the hand in the front is also very powerful. This is a tremendous tattoo.

Great Quality of Lord of the Rings Tattoos

I was very impressed with this collection and gallery of Lord of the Rings tattoos. Being a huge fan myself, I'm sure some of my personal biases came through. But by any measurement, these are really good tattoos, and they don't even come close to revealing the large number of characters in the film and book series.

Comments

Kaan on March 28, 2012:

is there a meaning of the Elven script under the tree? I would be happy if you know the meaning and answer.

radagast from England on May 04, 2011:

Hi there your is a good hub, it was interesting reading.

As you are a fan of lord of the rings, i thought you may want to look at my new hub which features my own lord of the rings tattoos

Phil on April 27, 2011:

Aragorn looks like hes having a stroke.

laura jalowiec on December 22, 2010:

your'e tattoos were the coolest ever seen love yea middle

earth

Christian on August 24, 2010:

some of the work here is amazing. I have two LOTR pieces, one was actually put on my arm about a week ago. Ive got a picture of one of them on my facebook and the other will have a picture up soon.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/photo.php?pid=3212222&fbid=259945026066&op=4&o=global&view=global&subj=624853371&id=575601066

That's a bad picture of it, but its somethin

Mark Bruno from New Jersey Shore on August 13, 2010:

Awesome Tattoos, makes me want to get mine

LeahPutz on August 02, 2010:

Wow these tattoos are amazing! They make me really excited to get my sleaze done because it's going to be completely lord of the Rings themed!

aisha1257 on January 10, 2010:

Wow the first picture is the tattoo i'm getting! Excellent Hub to!

Kari Poulsen from Ohio on July 05, 2009:

Those are extraordinary tattoos, the eyes on Aragorn are uncanny. The song was lovely in Quenya. Thanks for sharing!