Fan and Maple Portrait Calf Tattoo

A fine blackwork bust of a woman with a layered bun, an open folding fan behind her shoulder and a single maple leaf, shown vertically on the calf.

Style: Blackwork
Placement: Leg, Lower leg
Motif: Geisha, Woman profile
Good for: Sleeve
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An AI-generated concept, reviewed by our team before publishing. How we review designs

About this design

What the design shows

A woman turns her face to the right in a three-quarter view, with narrow outlined eyes and a small closed mouth. Her hair rises into a large braided bun, where short curved strokes separate the locks and a few thin strands fall along the temple. An open folding fan appears behind one shoulder. Its broad ribs radiate from a dark hub and form a half-circle that stays visible outside the figure. A single maple leaf floats beside the opposite shoulder, giving the compact bust one sharp, pointed accent. The kimono wraps across the chest in wide, layered bands, with a dark lower sleeve fold anchoring the bottom. Black outlines and restrained grey texture shape the hair and fan, while the face and kimono panels stay mostly open. The on-skin image places the portrait upright on the middle calf at about palm length, fan extending to one side and folded robe toward the ankle.

In this design

lowered female portrait
braided hair bun
open folding fan
radiating fan ribs
single maple leaf
layered kimono folds

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Placement

Placement and size

On the preview, the design runs vertically through the middle calf, with the hair closer to the knee and the lower robe nearer the ankle. Palm length preserves the fan ribs, facial line, and maple-leaf points. It also suits the outer forearm, upper arm, thigh, or shoulder blade. Keep the open fan on the outer side when moving it to a limb. At a reduced size, remove alternate fan ribs before compressing the profile or leaf.

Patchwork

Building it into a patchwork

The portrait has medium visual weight because the fan adds a broad striped semicircle behind the darker hair. Use the fan side as the outward edge of a calf or arm cluster, then place a small maple leaf, hairpin, or thin branch in the remaining gap. Give the fan rim and the loose temple strands room to breathe. Another circular design pushed into the fan would make its radiating structure harder to read.

Small pieces that pair with it

A small maple leaf below the sleeve edge
A tiny hairpin above the braided bun
A slim branch curving along the fan rim

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On skin

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Other reviewed designs previewed on the same body area, to compare size and placement.

For your artist

Notes for your tattoo artist

01Keep the fan hub behind the shoulder rather than inside the face silhouette.
02Space the fan ribs evenly as they spread toward the outer rim.
03Retain the pointed gaps between the maple leaf lobes.
04Check the calf axis so the portrait remains upright when standing.

Made and reviewed

How this design was made

Design: Generated with AI image tools under our direction, then reviewed by the Patchwork Tattoos team: a readable outline, the same design in the clean and on-skin views, and a reviewed Builder piece.
Page notes: Written from the clean design and the on-skin preview of this exact design, then checked against both pictures.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
Your tattoo: A concept for planning. Your artist will redraw it for your skin, placement and size, so the finished tattoo will differ from the image.
License: Free to download and use as the reference for your own tattoo and to share with your artist. Selling the file or republishing it in a collection is not allowed.

How we review designs Read the design license

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