19 Intricate Micro Tattoos To Impress Ink Lovers

Many of us have likely heard the saying “the bigger, the better” applied to just about everything. When it comes to body art, however, tiny and intricate tattoos just may be a stunning exception to the guideline. There’s certainly nothing wrong with a grandiose tat that covers half of your body. I’m totally in awe every time I see a full sleeve or a massive back piece. That said, micro tats just seem to blow my mind a little more. I imagine that it takes some serious 20-20 vision to pack detail into such a tiny work of ink, so my hat's off to all the artists who accept such a challenge.

Tiny, intricate ink honestly has a ton of benefits for tat lovers. For starters, you can easily conceal smaller designs, hopefully eliminating some of those emotional stages of getting a tattoo. Small tats also leave plenty of real estate on the body for more ink, should you get addicted. But the real beauty of detailed, micro tats is that they hold their own against large-scale pieces. For a talented artist, realistic shading and a myriad of colors don’t have to be sacrificed when downsizing a tattoo. These 19 precious but detailed tats prove that large masterpieces aren’t the only way to go.

1 . Finger Elephant

The tiny highlights of white ink are what make this elephant all the more impressive.

2. Tiny Taco

This taco looks to be smaller than a quarter, but it's fully loaded with ingredients. Yum!

3. Under The Sea

It may be small, but this mini seahorse deserves to rock its full variation of color.

4. Mini Pup

A tiny dog honored by an even tinier tat.

5. Quarter-Sized Skull

The fact that it's smaller doesn't make it any less intimidating.

6. Star Wars Cast

I'm not sure what's cooler: The idea of getting this character lineup inked on your knuckles, or the fact that they're each so realistic.

7. "6 God"

This is a micro tat that Drake could surely appreciate.

8. Delicious Red

The size of this red apple doesn't stop it from being incredibly vibrant.

9. Hydrangea Bouquet

A bundle of hydrangeas looks even more delicate and beautiful on a smaller scale.

10. Creepy Crawler

As someone who's deathly afraid of bees, I find the realism in this tiny tat to be spot-on in all the right, frightening ways.

11. Lovely Rose

A rose of any other size wouldn't be as sweet.

12. Finger Portrait

There's no way you can't be impressed by the shading and detail in this micro portrait.

13. Beautiful Butterfly

The artist nailed this butterfly, all the way down to its tiny shadow.

14. Sneaker Fever

You can literally see the tiny stitches in this lone Jordan sneaker.

15. Matching Boots

These matching tats draw me in with their amazing shading; not once, but twice.

16. Cartilage Tat

Kudos to the amazing artist and the patron who sat through this painful tat.

17. Little Ladybug

It's almost as small as the real thing, and just as beautiful.

18. Pointalism Tat

All of the tiny dots it took to form this globe make it an impressively intricate micro tat.

19. Palm Tree

The same can be said for this palm tree, composed of dozens of tiny lines.

The next time you find yourself wandering into a tattoo parlor, don't think that you have to go big or go home. A micro tat can be just as realistic and captivating, if not more jaw-dropping.

Images: Courtesy lnzylootattoos/Instagram (1)