200 Awesome Chest Tattoos For Men

A chest tattoo is an attractive and bold choice that will create a masculine look, exude confidence and turn heads. If you’re looking for fresh ink, these timeless chest tattoo ideas for men are stunning images that make a powerful statement and allow you to express yourself.  These captivating designs are stylish, beautiful and impossible to overlook. From meaningful and classy to creative and badass, the right ink can enhance your appearance and uplift your soul.

Before visiting an artist, check out some of the best chest tattoos for men that will inspire your next piece.

Chest Tattoo Ideas

Cool Chest Tattoo

A cool chest tattoo is an awesome design that can show off your personality and interests with flair. The most popular ideas are badass pieces that stretch across the chest for a daring look and can include artwork like angel wings, ancient warriors, lions and eagles. You can easily experiment with breathtaking 3D designs or smaller pieces like slithering snakes down the breastbone. Whether you want to highlight your deepest passions or pay homage to a family member, creative artwork can be a fun conversation starter.

Half Chest Tattoo

A half chest tattoo is a bold, versatile and masculine design that can create impressive contrast with the bare skin on the opposite side. With sleek and badass artwork, an awesome half chest piece can be an impressive look that makes a statement. Most guys feature a skull, lion, rose, compass, mandala, geometric shapes and tribal art.

If you want to pair your ink with a shoulder or sleeve design in the future, start planning your artwork. You can use negative space and clever shading to build an amazing collage. You can go illustrative with cool graphics and abstract artwork or pick something intimidating like a screaming skull surrounded by dripping daggers and shaded roses.

Small Chest Tattoo

A small chest tattoo is a classy look for modern guys who want to express themselves with a design that can be covered up. The most popular small ideas are simple and masculine pieces like howling wolves, initials, hearts, Roman numerals and geometric shapes. You’ll want to avoid hyper-realistic photographs or detailed artwork to avoid blurred lines and a muddied appearance.

Simple Chest Tattoo

Low-maintenance and striking, a simple chest tattoo can be a classic choice that allows guys to experiment with basic linework and symbolism for a cool and refreshing piece. Minimalist ink can be small or span across the chest and will generally avoid complex shading, excessive color or detailed designs. The result should be a meaningful and bold look that won’t take hours in the chair to achieve. You can place the tattoo in the middle, on one side or across the full chest to create the proper effect.

Full Chest Tattoo

A full chest tattoo is a cool look that features a strong, striking and meaningful design. With complete coverage, getting tattooed across your chest is a hardcore option that should be reserved for the guy who wants to make a profound statement with his ink. If you have cultural or religious roots, artwork that depicts ancient folklore can be a simple way to honor your ancestors. If you’re willing to endure the pain, heavily shaded Japanese artwork will turn heads. Full chest designs can take several sessions to perfect and will cost serious time and money.

Upper Chest Tattoo

An upper chest tattoo can be a fashionable and iconic look for men who appreciate a rugged design that will be impossible to miss. Initials and single quotes can be meaningful picks for the space under the collarbone, but symmetrical vines, paw prints or even rows of mechanical cogs can be refreshing alternatives that span the upper chest. Your design’s size can vary, but make sure to place your artwork several inches above your nipples. If you have defined pecs, traps and shoulders, the right placement will draw attention to your shape and size while leaving extra space for future artwork.

One Side Chest Tattoo

The one-side chest tattoo is a cool and popular approach for guys that creates attractive asymmetry for a stunning look. The most popular designs to get on one side of your chest are dragons, lions, realistic portraits, owls, wings, crosses, compasses, clocks, skulls and religious symbols. Whether you prefer a small and simple concept or detailed and beautiful ink, these half-chest ideas are stylish and allow you to add more elements in the future.

Middle Chest Tattoo

A middle chest tattoo can be a fresh and charming choice that features a symmetrical, elegant and balanced design. Also known as a sternum tattoo, getting ink in the middle of your chest can be painful because the area lacks muscle and fat, but a sleek and striking piece can be worth the experience. This placement is ideal for vertical artwork like piercing daggers, Christian crosses, beating hearts and rows of stars, but you can also play around with more expansive ideas that spread from the middle to the sides of the chest.

Chest and Shoulder Tattoo

A chest and shoulder tattoo is a masculine and awesome look that will stand out and exude strength and confidence. These visually-interesting designs are often powerful, unforgettable and completely unique. While artwork, size and shape can vary, most men choose large, detailed and dark ink that incorporates several elements to create a bold statement piece. Talk to your artist about a fearsome mythical predator like a dragon or a beautiful tribal design that creeps around to the rear delts. If you’re going all out, commission a sleeve that will turn heads.

Angel Chest Tattoo

An angel chest tattoo is a stunning and timeless piece that can represent your religious beliefs, a fallen family member or general spirituality. Most angel tattoo designs are naturally symbolic and can be associated with peace, love and hope. If you want to showcase your wilder side, a badass angel of death tattoo across the chest can look incredible. To incorporate multiple themes into a layered piece, design artwork that pits opposing forces against each other on the sides of the chest.

Quote Chest Tattoo

A quote tattoo on the chest can be an expressive and timeless design that inspires or motivates you to live a fuller life. Whether you choose meaningful words, a famous quote or a phrase with sentimental value, this stylish chest piece can serve as a powerful personal statement that resonates with your values, experiences and aspirations. Stylish artwork with meaningful words is generally famous quotes or phrases that have sentimental value. From psalms to a sweet handwritten note from a loved one, discuss your font options with an artist to create an elegant and beautiful look.

Family Chest Tattoo

A family chest tattoo can be an awesome and sentimental way to symbolize love and special bonds with a timeless design. As a permanent tribute, the most popular and meaningful family chest ideas are the tree with names, birthdates, initials, quotes like “family is forever” and other creative images representing those closest to you. You may want to experiment with a detailed portrait, a blooming family tree or even the words “family first” in block letters for a flattering and manly look.

Word Chest Tattoo

A word chest tattoo is a simple and thoughtful design that can express your personal beliefs. These modern and cool tattoos often feature a single word or a short phrase proudly displayed across the chest. Most men choose powerful words like “Strength”, “Invictus”, “Faith”, “Live with Passion”, “Embrace the Journey” or “Carpe Diem”. If you want to be bold and brilliant, surround the lettering with thorned roses and artistic swirls or set it against a photorealistic backdrop that directly mirrors your words.

Wings Chest Tattoo

A wings chest tattoo is a popular and rebellious design that represents freedom, independence, spirituality, strength and guardianship. For a beautiful and striking design, you can get angel wings tattooed across your full chest to create a symmetrical and balanced look. To enhance the aesthetic, ask your artist to add a meaningful and spiritual element in the center like a lion, skull, cross or heart. You can incorporate jagged and broken wings or add neon ink for a youthful result.

Colorful Chest Tattoo

A colorful chest tattoo is a vibrant and captivating idea that can enhance your artwork for an edgy look. Colorful chest designs can bring your images to life and showcase your personality. If you want to turn heads, a neo-traditional style can be a bold and beautiful look, while American traditional artwork may add a vintage edge to your images. You can feature nature-inspired themes, highlight nautical elements or go abstract with geometric shapes and patterns.

Hood Chest Tattoo

A hood chest tattoo can be a cool choice for guys who want a gangster design that symbolizes money, hustle culture or their neighborhood. Distinctive money-based designs like bags of cash, the Monopoly Man or rolled bills can be timeless and fashionable options. If you want to intimidate passers-by during the summertime, dripping daggers, skulls, guns or single threatening words can look exceptional splattered across the chest.

Cross Chest Tattoo

A cross chest tattoo is a religious design that will represent your faith and spirituality. If you want to show off your commitment to Christianity, the cross is a timeless, meaningful and universally-recognized symbol. For a simple design, get a classic or Celtic cross tattooed on one side or in the middle of your chest. To add visual drama, a common approach can be to pair the cross with wings, a rosary, a lion, scripture and other Christian elements. A bold, black outlined cross can be a subtle choice.

Skull Chest Tattoo

An awesome skull chest tattoo is a daring design that can symbolize mortality, transformation, death, destruction and transformation. Some skull designs can be striking and intimidating with dark shading and ominous elements all over the chest while other artwork may represent overcoming adversity and living life to the fullest. For a traditional approach, you can incorporate a rose, dagger, bird, clock or flames. To create a brush with death, a winged skull surrounded by dark roses can signal rebirth. Versatile and stunning, this badass ink is all about personal expression and interpretation.

Meaningful Chest Tattoo

A meaningful chest tattoo is a deeply personal design that draws attention to the most important things in your life. Whether you’d like to display your love for family members with photorealistic ink or go abstract with initials and splashes of watercolor, your ink should have significant meaning. Religious guys may want to represent their faith with outstretched wings and their favorite bible passage. Survivors of illness or abuse could signal their triumph over adversity with a ferocious animal or a striking samurai. Whatever you decide on, it’s important to balance meaning with aesthetics to get a flattering and stylish piece that’ll stand the test of time.

Tribal Chest Tattoo

A tribal chest tattoo is a common design that features intricate shapes and patterns associated with cultural roots. Whether you have Polynesian, Native American, African, Aztec or Mayan roots, tribal artwork can be a simple way to honor your heritage. These stylish and beautiful designs can be placed on one side or across the full chest and extend to the shoulder, back and arm. You’ll need to collaborate with a skilled artist who specializes in this tattoo style and research the meanings of symbols to achieve the perfect vibe.

Blessed Chest Tattoo

A blessed chest tattoo can be a stark reminder to express gratitude, look on the bright side and appreciate the simple joys in life. The coolest “blessed” designs incorporate the word itself in a large font across the chest. To jazz up your artwork and add impressive dimension, shaded doves or a floral wreath can signal being at peace with your circumstances. If you’d like to add a religious edge to your piece, clouds, crosses and wings will subtly nod to your Christianity.

Mandala Chest Tattoo

A mandala chest tattoo is an intricate and spiritual design for guys who appreciate symmetrical shapes and symbolic artwork. Mandalas represent harmony, protection, reflection and balance, making these beautiful and symmetrical pieces a welcome addition to the chest area. Your ink will likely feature floral and circular patterns, but halos, infinity symbols and animals can also be worked into a large canvas. Although sharp black ink is reliable and timeless, colorful mandalas across the center of the chest are sexy and fresh.

Traditional Chest Tattoo

A traditional chest tattoo is a stunning style that uses bold linework, nautical imagery and striking colors to create an amazing design. Although these pieces can be relatively small, choosing a large placement across the chest allows the colored ink and powerful imagery to take center stage. From bears and lions to colorful butterflies and sexy pin-ups, the opportunities with this technique are virtually endless. If you want to add a personal touch to your chest, feel free to etch a short quote underneath your piece.

Compass Chest Tattoo

The compass chest tattoo is a classic choice that symbolizes adventure, guidance and the pursuit of your true path. Guys in need of a guiding light in life are bound to appreciate the powerful symbolism of a compass tattoo. Designed to lead you in the right direction and signal a need to explore, a geometric or photorealistic circular compass is the perfect pick for the upper chest or pec area.

Rose Chest Tattoo

Representing passion, enduring love and eternal beauty, a rose chest tattoo is a gorgeous way to immortalize a long-term relationship. You can curve a collection of blooms under the collarbone for a more delicate look or ask your artist for a detailed single flower with colored leaves and thorns for the upper chest.

Owl Chest Tattoo

An owl chest tattoo can be an exceptional choice to symbolize wisdom or a transitional period in life. These birds are naturally inquisitive, and getting an enormous owl with outstretched wings across the full chest can be a striking design idea to represent taking a new path. For more oomph, work color, photorealism and tribal imagery into your ink.

Lion Chest Tattoo

A lion chest tattoo is a powerful and majestic design that can symbolize courage, strength, leadership, royalty and dominance. As a beautiful and regal animal, lion designs often feature the head or face with a crown and a thick, flowing mane. If you want to demonstrate power, a roaring lion with sharp teeth can be an intimidating image. Your artwork can be placed in the middle, on the side or across the chest with other natural elements for a layered finish.

Heart Chest Tattoo

A heart chest tattoo can be used to represent passion, grief and relationships with a classic and meaningful piece. A realistic image over the breastbone is timeless and attractive, but fun-loving guys can experiment with American traditional or abstract techniques to achieve a cool and colorful result.

Eagle Chest Tattoo

Whether you’re an all-American patriot or a former military member, an eagle chest tattoo is a powerful and meaningful choice that can represent loyalty, bravery and adventure. In the United States, eagles are a strong symbol of freedom, making outstretched wings a daunting and beautiful design.

Geometric Chest Tattoo

A geometric chest tattoo doesn’t necessarily have a strong meaning behind it, but the symmetrical shapes and strong patterns make these designs incredibly attractive. Whether you want to work with color or stick with monochrome artwork, these expansive pieces will make a strong statement when your shirt is whipped off.

Popular Chest Tattoos For Men

The most popular chest tattoos for men are cool and masculine designs that include lions, skulls, eagles, owls, hearts, wings, crosses, roses, words, compasses, clocks, wolves, warriors and family member names. These timeless images can symbolize strength, courage, masculinity, love and family. Whether you want a bold and badass vibe, a creative masterpiece or small and simple artwork, these modern men’s chest tattoo ideas are iconic choices that will transform your look.