World Map Tattoos that will blow your mind. My favorite is the guy who shades in a country when he visits. World Maps. I get all misty eyed over the things, I really do. Ever since I was a small kid, I’ve loved the world and been fascinated by images of it. I always had my nose in an Atlas or spent hours staring wondrously at a globe. World maps were often spread out on my bedroom carpet. You might call me a geek – a lot of people did so you’re not alone – but for my geekiness there was a time when I could name all of the capital cities of the world. Seriously. Of course, I grew up, and chasing girls and drinking booze became more important than the capital of Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou, by the way). Such is the way of the world. I also became interested in getting inked, too. And then it hit me! Why not combine my love of tattoos and maps? A no-brainer, obviously. And so I did, with a small silhouette of my home country on my calf. It’s pretty cool. It’s not a world map tattoo, though, and that’s what we’re discussing here. But what about others with world map tattoos? What are they? Well friends, they’re right here and between them they’ll show you the coolest world map tattoos that you’ll ever see.
The Coolest World Map Tattoos Ever:
Ancient Pirate World Map
This girl’s back looks like an old parchment (no offense to the girl of course… I’m sure it’s a beautiful back… I mean the color) and the map of the world looks like a pirate map. Love that it’s all faded too, making it look old. You have to look closely at her back to study this map, which I suspect is the idea. That makes it a very intimate tattoo, too. Also love the fact that New Zealand isn’t even on her back – it’s on her left arm. How cool is that?
Multicolored World Map Tattoos
This one is not as detailed as the previous map, but still interesting in it’s own right. Sitting on the inside of the forearm, it’s obviously a lot smaller but the colors are intriguing. What do they mean? Or do they mean nothing? And why is there a big splodge of orange off the northeast coast of Brazil. What’s up with that?
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An Even Cooler Multicolored World Map
And talking of colors…. oh my. This is exquisite. You just know that this is one cool chick. Love love LOVE the colors in this one, and also the flowers in Africa and Asia, and that bird, too. Amazingly cool.
Compasses & Postal Stamps World Map
The thing about these world maps is just how original you can make them – how much you can funnel your own vibe and personality into them. I mean anyone who has a world map tattooed onto them obviously conveys some spirit of adventure to start with, but adding the compass and the postal stamps really give you the impression that this girl is a true wondering spirit.
West Is West & East Is East World Map
And here’s another great use of a compass. This time in the middle of the map. Great handy hint here too, telling us which way is west and which way is east. Thanks for that dude!
Half-Finished World Map
This one obviously isn’t finished yet. She’s got the Americas done… the Western Hemisphere… but still need the Old World done. You know, Europe and Africa. Once that’s done this might be one of the greatest full back tattoos ever. Or is that just me?
Compass, Quill & Telescope World Map
You can really only see Europe and Asia here… with some Africa too, but if you follow this sleeve tattoo all the way down to around the elbow, you’ll get a glimpse of the Americas, making this a true world map tattoo. America will wrap around the dude’s arm. Pretty cool.
Super Discreet World Map
Here’s a great idea if you’re looking for something discreet and not flashy. Okay, the wrist isn’t exactly a discreet place, but if you have a map on you, you gonna want a place that you can see yourself on occasion aren’t you? Love the coloring here. My only concern is that Australia appears to be missing. Did this person have a bad experience there maybe?
Wanderlust World Map
What I dig about this one is that little word “wanderlust” sitting right there at the bottom, between the south of South America and South Africa. The word totally sets off this simple, elegant world map.
Walking On The World
Ha ha! Love the location of this one which is why it’s here. Again, just a line tattoo, but the symbolism of having the world at your feet is so fantastic. Judging by the red star I’m guessing that this person is from Japan, but that’s obviously purely speculative. Below, here’s another “world at your feet tattoo” to check out. This time there’s a lot more color in the oceans to set it off nicely:
The Globe
This is more of an old school, traditional, bread-and-butter tattoo here. You know what I mean? Outlines, solid coloring. Could have been done in the 1940s. Not that I’m knocking it at all – no way. I like this tattoo! You know what I like best? That globe right there in the middle. That’s why it’s here on this page.
More Compasses
And straight back to a more contemporary vibe. The shading here is great. No need for just a line map or plenty of colors. That shading sets it off totally. And then those compasses and lines between them. Great piece of art, this is.
Henna-Style World Map Tattoos
I’m guessing she (and with henna-style tattoos, 99.9% of the time it’s “she” – that’s just the law) got this in India or after coming back from India or in contemplation of a future trip to India. You just know that.
Triangles
This one is quite confusing at first. What the hell are those triangles doing in this, disrupting the purity of the map? But then you see that the triangles are needed to provide the perspective, for want of a better word. It shows a different view of the world, from the North Pole, with the rest of the planet kind of spreading out from there. The triangles help with that… er, I think.
Counting Countries
The idea behind this one is to color in the country once you’ve been. So this person has been all over Latin America and Western Europe, East and Southeast Asia, and Australia. Pretty well traveled, wouldn’t you say? Never been to Canada though, which is weird…
World On A Turtle
According to the Native American Iroquois Tribe, the world began on a turtle’s back. It’s their creation myth. By getting this tattoo, this woman is giving the Iroquois creation myth story the respect it deserves (go read it – it’s a great story!) plus fulfilling her obligations to Tattoos Beautiful to get a cool world map tattoo.
Old School World Map Tattoos
Check out the edges of this tattoo. Looking like a torn up piece of parchment. That’s what works so well with this world map. Plus the fact that the writing is in Portuguese. The Portuguese were the first European navigators of the modern age, so this is kind of apt somehow. At least to me, anyway. I guess in reality it’s just cos this dude is Brazilian.
Two Circles On The Back
What this tattoo lacks in accuracy (seriously, check out the world there… inaccurate) it makes up for in style. The colors are cool. The imagery is cool. And that compass is cool as well. What more to say? A different take on the theme here, and that’s what it’s all about.
Westeros
And so, to finish, it’s good to know that you don’t have to get a tattoo of THIS world. Why do that when you have a whole new world to ink over yourselves, with “Game Of Thrones”? That’s right, Westeros is out there too, and the map of this continent is totally worth thinking about. Maybe not too much, but worth thinking about anyway. If you have a tattoo like this of Westeros, you can track the Khaleesi’s dragons when she finally invades!
So there you go. Some amazing world maps here. Map tattoos are awesome and there’s so much you can do with them. And if they get that wanderlust and thirst for adventure going for you, then that’s all to the better. Get on a plane somewhere!
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