125+ Grim Reaper Tattoo Ideas That'll Make You Look Mysterious!

I've been a tattoo artist for a little over a decade now, but I'm still surprised by how many different grim reaper tattoos there are. The range of possibilities really is endless, as you can either go simple and cartooney, or venture into realistic, tribal, or even add different concepts to it like clocks.

I actually had the pleasure of doing a reaper tattoo in the Japanese style earlier today, which just has to be my all-time favorite tattoo style: it's just so rich in colors! While sketching it, it hit me that I've done at least 5 different Grim Reaper tattoos this year. So, today, I thought about running you through all the different Grim Reaper tattoo designs out there.

What are the Best Grim Reaper Tattoos?

Here are all the best grim reaper tattoo designs that you can get.

Simple Traditional Grim Reaper

When you think of the grim reaper, you think of this skeleton figure in a black hooded cloak with a scythe in his hand. To start this list off, you can get a simple tattoo of the reaper, without any concepts or aesthetics added on.

Japanese Grim Reaper Tattoo

Whenever a client comes in wanting a Japanese-style tattoo, I get excited. It's a cool art style that has sharp black linework and shading, and super vibrant colors: it generally focuses around Japanese folklore but getting the reaper in it is definitely something you can do. Like I said, it happens to be my favorite tattoo style.

Grim Reaper With Clock Tattoo

Clocks are associated with time and often are linked to the circle of life. The combination of the grim reaper with a clock is a cool idea, as it symbolizes the idea it's only a matter of time before death comes knocking.

The artwork for this can be added anywhere you want, but I'd suggest that you go big with it - you want the clock to be really noticeable so that whoever sees your tattoo gets the message you're trying to say.

Grim Reaper With Hourglass

Similar to getting a reaper with a clock, you can get a tattoo of him with an hourglass. It pretty much has the same symbolism as the clock tattoo, as it represents an impending death that is yet to come.

Grim Reapers Ace of Spades tattoo

The ace of space usually is associated with luck, but it's also known as the death card in playing cards. So, seeing it with the grim reaper is an interesting concept.

The Reaper with the Ace of Spades was actually one of the first grim reaper tattoos that I did, and my client at the time said that she was getting it to remind her that life and death were controlled by factors that are out of her control.

Typically when it comes to this design, it's the grim reaper holding the ace of spade card. But there's also this alternative version with the reaper inside of the card/spade.

Grim Reaper Horse Tattoo

The grim reaper on a horse plays into the whole concept of the four horsemen of the apocalypse: one of them is supposed to be the Angel of Death, and he rides on a pale horse. So, the reaper noticeably fits into this design. If you're going for this, remember to include the scythe as people might confuse the reaper for just one of the horsemen otherwise.

Cartoon Grim Reaper Tattoo

The grim reaper is supposed to be this scary figure, but you can turn this around and make him a fun cartoon character. Cartoon-style tattoos generally are exaggerated, which can be a hit or a miss depending on the tattoo artist you're working with.

If you've ever turned on Cartoon Network, you might remember Grimm from the Billy & Mandy show. He's a good example of a cartoon-style grim reaper. Plus, you'd be killing two birds with one stone if you get a tat of him, as he may have been a part of your childhood.

Something I really like about cartoon-style tattoos is that artists get creative with them. I've seen sketches of different cartoon and movie characters combined together for a really fun custom piece. And you definitely can do this with the reaper too. Just take a look at the below examples.

Grim Reaper Smoking Tattoo

If you want to go more comical with the tattoo design, you can have the reaper smoking tattooed on you - think about it, he's this big-bad guy, yet he's stressed and having a cigarette. Plus, it's kind of ironic, as smoking kills, yet he has a cigarette in his hand.

Most tattoos of the grim reaper smoking are in the cartoon design that I touched on, so they're whimsical.

Instead of a cigarette, he can always have a tobacco pipe in his hand. I helped one of the tattoo artists in my studio stencil out the reaper smoking a cigar pipe once, and I thought it looked more his vibe than the ones I've seen with a cigarette.

But take it from me - tattooing smoke is not that easy. So, I'd suggest you speak to your tattoo artist before booking the guy.

Grim Reaper Santa Muerte

In Latin American culture, Santa Muerte is the female saint of death, and if you look up a picture, she's a skeleton wearing a cloak that's very reminiscent of the Reaper. She actually has several key elements of the Virgin Mary incorporated with her too. So, a grim reaper tattoo design combined with her makes for an interesting piece of work.

Santa Muerte is a pretty colorful character, with blue and red being her primary colors. So, you can ditch the plain black ink and go with a more colorful look if you want. Here are some examples:

Grim Reaper and Angel Tattoo

The grim reaper with an Angel is another tattoo design that's rich in symbolism. Angels represent guidance and light, while the reaper represents death and the end. So the juxtaposition of the two can be a twist on the concept of life and death.

Grim Reaper in Graveyard Tattoo

The grim reaper is the collector of souls, so getting a tattoo of him in a graveyard makes perfect sense. This tattoo can represent you not being scared of death, as it's inevitable, or as a reminder of the impermanence of life.

Grim Reaper Gun Tattoo

The grim reaper holding a gun, or having one behind him is another popular tattoo idea. People mostly get this tattoo to represent the war and destruction done by man. But personally, I'd just go with the tattoo as it looks cool - the reaper's made more relatable as he's ditched his scythe for something modern.

Grim Reaper Skull Tattoo

You can go simple with it and only get the grim reaper's skull tattooed on. The artwork can either be small or big, it's really up to you.

Realistic Grim Reaper Tattoo

On the flipside of the cartoon style that I talked about earlier, you can go with a super realistic-looking reaper tattoo instead.

Realistic tattoos have an extra dimension to them that makes them come to life, so you'd be looking at death whenever you look at your tat - I'd say this is one of the more intimidating tat designs on my list.

The thing with realistic tattoos is, not everyone can nail them. Some of the other artists at my studio actually send their clients to me whenever they have to do hyper-realistic pieces because they know they can't nail them.

The artwork for the tattoo can be the whole reaper or just a headshot - this usually is the most common route people take. A lot of the artwork I showed for the reaper skull tattoos can work here.

Grim Reaper Wicked Tattoo

When I think of the grim reaper, I think of this scary, intimidating figure. So, you can amp this up and get a tattoo of him looking super intimidating. There are really so many ways you can do this, but having him reach out is a must.

Like I said earlier, making him realistic also adds to the intimidation factor. However, you generally want him to look angry. This tat design will send a message to people not to mess with you.

Grim Reaper Scythe Tattoo

One of the first things that pop up when I (and probably you) think of the grim reaper is a large scythe. You can pay homage to him and just get his scythe tatted on. It's less in your face, and is great if you only want a very simple grim reaper tattoo.

Funny Grim Reaper Tattoo

Why not get a funny grim reaper tattoo? It'll show people that you have a sense of humor about death. Plus, you'll get a chuckle out of whoever sees your tat, which will almost always be an ice-breaker.

I think the reaper smoking design I talked about earlier falls well into this category, but there definitely are other routes you can take with this.

Tribal Grim Reaper Tattoos

Tribal tattoos are designs inspired by indigenous cultures. There are probably hundreds of tribes globally, so tribal tattoo designs can vary. But they mostly consist of black lines and geometric patterns.

Many indigenous cultures view death as sacred, as they cherish their connections with their ancestors. So, the grim reaper in a tribal style is a fitting choice. The tattoo would be ideal if you're someone who has a deep connection to their ancestors.

But also, a reaper tribal tat would be great if you want something that's more minimalist: the design style uses thick black lines and very minimal shading.

Female Grim Reaper Tattoo

Who's to say the grim reaper is not a woman? This tattoo design oozes feminine energy as you turn a character that's almost always a male into a powerful female. This tells people that you're someone who's all about girl power, while also someone who's mysterious and not afraid of death.

Small Grim Reaper Tattoo

A lot of grim reaper tattoos are kind of big, so I understand it if you'd rather get a smaller tattoo. It's really up to you what you do with the design. I wouldn't go with anything that detailed when getting a smaller tattoo, though, as there's not much space to work with.

Grim Reaper Sleeve Tattoo

You can have the grim reaper be a part of a sleeve, along with other characters and details in there: these other details can be elements of the designs that I talked about, like clocks and hourglasses, but it really can be anything you want.

Since you have such a large space to work with, keep in mind that you're going to be getting a lot of detail-work done, so the whole piece will likely be divided into sessions across multiple days. In our studio, we typically try to finish a sleeve off in around 3-days.

If you're not feeling like getting a whole sleeve, you can always get the reaper as a part of a half sleeve. It sounds exactly like you might've guessed - you'd only be covering half of your arm, starting at the elbow and going to the wrist, or in reverse. You'd have enough black space to go with some other designs if you ever want.

Grim Reaper Hand Tattoo

If you're not afraid of flaunting your reaper tattoo, you can always get it on your hand. But remember that there's a stereotype that only people on the fringe of society get tattoos here. For someone who's job hunting, or has a job where appearance matters, this might not be the smartest move.

I also have to say that getting tattoos on your hand can hurt - there's just a lot of thin skin there, which is why it's one of my least favorite places to tat on newbies.

Grim Reaper Chest Tattoo

The chest area is a large canvas so it'll work great if you have a more detailed grim reaper design in mind. Just remember that getting tattoos anywhere near your chest hurts- there's a lot of thin skin here. The chest also works great if you don't want everyone seeing your tattoo, like if you work in corporate.

You can either have the tattoo on a single pec like the below options.

Or you can have it on your full chest. I think the best move would be to make the whole chest tattoo into a story and have multiple elements in there.

Grim Reaper Arm Tattoos

The grim reaper generally is this thin, long figure, so he'd fit perfectly in the width of your arm. You can pick whatever style or design you want for a tat here - a few months ago, I got to do a tattoo of the reaper in the Japanese style for a client here.

FAQ

Answered below are some popular questions.

1. What Does A Grim Reaper Tattoo Mean?

It really depends on the message you are going for. However, a grim reaper tattoo is supposed to represent death and aspects of it, like how death is impending, or how brief life is.

2. Why Does the Grim Reaper Hold a Scythe?

So, a scythe is a tool used in agriculture to harvest crops. The reaper uses it as his tool of choice to harvest souls before taking them to the afterlife.

Final Thoughts

There are a bunch of different grim reaper tattoo designs out there, so picking the right one can be tricky: I'd recommend going for whatever has the most meaning to you.

Nonetheless, the list I ran you through is in-depth and will provide you with enough references to make the right decision. All in all, I hope that you found all of my points and suggestions useful for your next tattoo!