Devil tattoos are one of the classics in tattoo history. Devil doesn’t always refer to a red man with horns, it can also be just a symbol of evil. Having a symbol like this on your body can mean protection from demons/the devil by scaring them away. It can show a mischievous side of you, or a rebellious attitude. Sometimes they can be portrayed with an angel counterpart, or a woman, generally symbolizing the balance between good and evil.

Here are some of the best devil tattoo designs. They come in all kinds of styles, from American traditional, to neo-traditional, new school, black and grey, watercolour, realism, and experimental. Whatever the style, a devil tattoo is bold “as hell”.

American traditional knee blaster by Alena Chun at Icon Tattoo Studio.

Intense full head piece by Adrien Edek at Lowbrow Tattoo Parlour. Those yellow eyes stand out wonderfully from the red, black and white space.

Another head piece, only for the toughest clients, these have got to hurt! Done by Dustin Barnhart from Kitchener Ontario at Berlin Tattoo. Another great example of a mischievous looking American Traditional devil.

Franz Stefanik, helping represent Canadian artists, from Toronto at The Okey Doke Tattoo Shop. Juxtaposing life and death in this stomach piece. Ink right in the belly button must have been fun.

This piece has a definite Greek mythological feel to it. Done by Gordon Combs at Art Work Rebels.

Fantastic Neo Traditional, black and grey piece done by Heath Clifford at Throne Room Tattoo.

More black and grey in this wonderfully inventive leg piece, done by the talented James Armstrong at Holy Mountain Tattoo.

Huge devil and burning church done by Jon Larson from Ypsilanti Michigan at Depot Town Tattoo. Great use of the devil’s fur turning into the flames!

Interesting water colour, experimental piece by Paulina Szoloch.

Palm pieces are tricky as they tend to fade quickly. This one looks like it isn’t going anywhere though. Done by Phil Hatchet-Yau from San Diego, California at Felix’s Master Tattoo and Museum.

Brilliant realistic black and grey leg sleeve done by Robert Borbas at Rooklet Ink in Hungary. Some seriously intense detail in this piece.

Another stomach piece, done by Sergey Vaskevich. The muted tones in this fit the theme perfectly. Nothing too overpowering in this.

Neat matching hand pieces done by Thomas Flanagan out of Leeds, at Oddfellows Tattoo Collective. Quite a bit of detail for such a small space.

Share your own devil tattoo’s in the comments!