Tattoo Gallery of Tattoo Designs

Getting Sleeved: Full Sleeve Tattoos

May 2nd, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

Thinking about possible getting a full sleeve tattoo or just wondering what the heck they are? Well, full, half and quarter tattoo sleeves are very hot items right now and many people are getting them. This doesn’t mean you should just run out and get one because other people are but if you want to know more about full sleeve tattoos then this can help give you some of the basic information. Women don’t hold back on this one either as there are more and more women today then ever before sporting full and half sleeve tattoos.What Is A Sleeve Tattoo? So if you are wondering what I am talking about it is a large arm tattoo. Sleeve just comes from the shirt sleeves that typically cover our arms and a sleeve tattoo is a full tattoo design that frequently covers up the whole arm in the tattoo design. You can get a variety of different lengths which will mean different amounts of the arms will be covered. For example a half sleeve tattoo is typically from the should down to the elbow or forearm area. A full sleeve then is all the way down to the wrist with the tattoo design.

The two most common way that people end up getting sleeve tattoos are either by individual designs or as one large design. The individual design route usually works for people that have already gotten a few smaller tattoos on their arms and later they decide to connect them all together into one large design. The second way is to start out with a blank slate and completely do the design at one time.

Individual Tattoos: One way to get a full sleeve or any size sleeve tattoo is to simple connect up a series of tattoos that one already has done. For example the person might have a beautiful lotus flower tattoo design on their should and some waves down on their forearm. These two separate tattoos can then be connected together with a unifying design.

One Project Method: Another way in which people will go about getting a sleeve tattoo design is to design the whole tattoo at one time. This is not done by connecting up individual designs but instead starts with a blank slate and the design is unified and created at one time. This can make for a wonderful looking sleeve tattoo that is very unified and well put together.

Tattoo Inspiration, Designs and Ideas: Choosing the perfect design for your sleeve tattoo can be a long and sometimes painful or frustrating process. It can be had to find a pre-made flash design that is exactly what you are looking for. It is therefore often better for people that want to get a sleeve tattoo to work with a competent tattoo artist and get a custom design done. Take your time with this process and don’t try to rush it or be in a hurry to get the work finished. Once it is done you will have the design for the rest of your life and you want it to be something you are proud of and satisfied with. Therefore take your time and look at existing ideas, designs and photos. From every source you look at try and find the things you like and the things you don’t like. This should help clarify the elements you want in the design. Then you can work with a professional and competent tattoo artist to come up with a custom full sleeve tattoo design.

What Is Popular? Of course your tattoo design will be something that you live with for the rest of your life and you do not want to decide or choose a design just because it is popular. However below there are some ideas of common full sleeve tattoos. Look through and see if any spark an interest for you.

Sleeve Tattoo Ideas : Flames - One popular design theme that you can find on a good number of full sleeve tattoos are flames. These typically start down at the wrist and the flames burn upwards towards the shoulder. This look great and can easily be incorporated with other designs or tattoos.

Sleeve Tattoo Ideas: Tribals - Tribal tattoos typically make for a great sleeve tattoo. There bold lines and strong black ink make for a tattoo that really stands out. They can easily incorporate a lot of different ideas and even other tattoo designs. The world of tribal tattoos is very open and you don’t have to get stuck with the standard stuff you see out there. Many ancient aboriginal cultures such as the Maori elevated tattoo design to the finiest of arts. Many of these ancient cultures can offer a wide variety of very unique and interesting designs.

Tattoo Sleeve Ideas: Celtic - Another way to go and one that is very popular is to integrated a Celtic tattoo design into the sleeve. Just think about Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. He has a pair of wonderful Celtic forearm tattoos that could easily be extended into a full sleeve. There are step patterns, spirals, human and animal along with the classic knot work designs. These again make use of bold black lines of ink which can be intricate and bold at the same time.

Sleeve Tattoo Designs: Florals - Another option to go for is a floral pattern. This can work for men as well as women but more typically women choose to get floral designs. The combination of flowers and vines can often be interwoven into an almost tribal or even Celtic look for a really amazing sleeve tattoo. These look great when they start down at the wrist and then grow up towards the shoulder.

Cost and Time - Before you make the final decision on your full sleeve tattoo you should consider the amount of time and money it is going to take to complete the project. You don’t want to get half way done and run out of money so plan ahead. Typically a tattoo sleeve can take between 15 to 30 hours of time depending on the intricacy of the design and the ability of the tattoo artist. They typically run anywhere between $1,000 and $2,000. The price of course will really depend on the shop and the tattoo artist that you choose. So spend some time shopping around and even solicit a few recommendations from friends.

Once you know the amount of time, cost and commitment it will take on your part and you still really want to get a full sleeve tattoo then go for it. Spend some time planning the design carefully before getting started and make sure you choose a tattoo artist that you can communicate with and someone you feel listens to you.

Want more informative resources for sleeve tattoo designs? Try checking out this website which has lots of sleeve tattoo galleries, designs and pics including Japanese sleeve tattoos