These stunning and legendary creatures have close ties with mythologies around the world, from European lore and Middle Eastern tales to Asian influences.
While many collectors choose to have a huge dragon looming over their shoulder or on their back, small dragon tattoos serve as a symbolic mark that doesn’t bring too much attention.
The mighty dragon symbolizes one’s subconscious and inner mediation as well as representing physical and mental strength, power, wisdom, masculinity, and the forces of nature and the universe.
For those who wish to achieve inner peace through spiritual practices, the dragon is a famous insignia for such a purpose.
A dragon tattoo is ideal for powerhouses and flexible thinkers, and the great thing about small dragon tattoos is you can put them just about anywhere on the body, as these top 50 tattoo design ideas showcase.
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1. Asian Style Small Dragon Tattoos for the Arm
See more about - The Top 51 Awesome Small Tattoo Ideas
2. Heavy Black Ink Small Dragon Tattoos
3. Chest Small Dragon Tattoos
4. Small Dragon Tattoos for the Lower Leg
5. Contemporary Western Small Dragon Tattoo Ideas
6. Heavily Detailed Small Asian Dragon Tattoo Concepts
7. Small Dragon Tattoos for the Hands and Feet
8. Black and Gray Asian Traditional Small Dragon Tattoos
See more about - Top 101+ Best Dragon Tattoos
What do small dragon tattoos symbolize?
Dragon tattoos come in a whole variety of portrayals whether it be the European-based frightening fire-breathing monsters with bone-crushing claws or Asian-based elegant and ribbon-like creatures that seemingly swim between clouds.
See more about - Top 101+ Best Dragon Tattoos
There are also different styles of dragon tattoos such as minimalistic, geometric, tribal, or if you want to get creative, integrated designs with other creatures.
What are cultural and historical perspectives on dragons?
There are dragons incorporated into many of the world’s mythologies.
In European lore, dragons are depicted as giant evil serpents that must be slain by brave and noble knights, their physical characteristics determine (horns, claws, color etc) determine some of the symbolism of the tattoo
In Asian culture, the meaning of a dragon is varied depending on the elements involved into its design, but the water dragon is the most requested style. Japanese and Chines dragons are very similar with sinuous serpentine bodies, however Chines dragons are usually etched with five claws, and the Japanese just three.