COVID-19 and pandemic-related tattoo art has been a huge hit amongst collectors.
Most often they are used to display black humor against the coronavirus, while for others they commemorate beating infection or praising the work of essential workers.
Some COVID tattoo designs utilize common technical and application styles to bring a variety of pieces to life, ranging from simple depictions of the virus – a ball-looking thing with pustulent suckers on it – to more stylized versions of the famous plague doctor from the 1500s.
COVID tattoos run the breadth of tattoo designs, so it’s really a matter of personal choice what kind of design type suits best. The following collection of 65 COVID tattoo ideas will help provide you with pandemic inspiration.
1. Bat Themed Tattoo Ideas
2. Facemask Tattoo Designs
3. Forearm Tattoos
4. Health Worker Tattoo Art
5. COVID Tattoos for the Leg
6. Simple Tattoo Ideas
7. Small COVID Tattoos
8. American Traditional Style Tattoos
9. Upper Arm Tattoo Ideas
Why do people get COVID tattoos?
People use a variety of reasons to get COVID tattoos. Some collectors aim to use black humor to commemorate what has been a difficult period in human history, while others take a pop culture approach regarding masks, sanitizer, and even vaccines to their body art.
For others, their reasons are different but no less serious, either showing that they have overcome the coronavirus, memorializing lost loved ones, or showing support and appreciation for the health care workers that have been at the forefront of fighting the pandemic.
What are the most popular COVID tattoo themes?
The most popular depiction of COVID tattoos is a depiction of the virus, which looks like a ball covered in pustulent suckers.
Other popular design themes include:
- Facemasks and sanitizer
- I survived COVID-19 tattoos
- Bats (where the coronavirus originated)
- Health care workers
- Memorial tattoos
- Contemporary riffs on the plague doctor of the 1500s
What do plague doctor tattoos mean?
When the bubonic plague ravaged Europe, doctors and self-proclaimed physicians donned an eerie uniform intended to shield them from the deadly miasma.
Adorned in long dark robes and tall hats or heavy hoods, plague doctors wore beak-like masks stuffed with pleasant-smelling herbs, spices, perfumes, and dried flowers that would “filter” and ward off the stench of disease.
As surgical and medicinal knowledge advanced, such a costume was eventually deemed impractical, but these macabre costumes live on in kick-ass tattoo art, especially now with COVID and the pandemic.
What style COVID tattoos are most popular?
For a new tattoo phenomenon, there are a lot of different application techniques that can be deployed for a COVID piece.
Popular styles include:
- Small and simple linework or black ink pieces
- American traditional tattoos
- Humorous neo contemporary COVID ink
- Photo realistic black and gray art
Whatever style and budget you have can be incorporated by tattoo artists to bring your COVID-19 concept to life.
How much do COVID tattoos cost?
Simple linework and black ink pieces can cost a collector less than $200. The smallest/simplest work costs the shop minimum.
For larger and more complex pieces the rate for an established professional starts at around $150-$200 per hour.
Specialists, such as single-needle tattooists, neo, and American traditional stars, etc… can have hourly prices that start at $300+ per hour, and long wait times for those wishing to work with them.