Tattoo Sleeve Designs

What is a sleeve tattoo? It is a tattoo that derives its name from the way it looks on a person. It is a tattoo that covers up the majority of the skin on a particular area of the body. You can have full or half sleeve tattoos as in the example of a full arm tattoo seen in the design to the right. Sleeve tattoo designs are done on the arms however they can also be done on the legs. Typically they are a tattoo that covers all the skin completely so none is showing through the ink. You can see how they get their name from the appearance of someone wearing a long sleeve shirt.

Tattoo sleeve designs are becoming increasingly popular as more people discover about body art. The quality and clarity of designs today are so much better than in the past and you can really portray something special and meaningful to you as an individual in a tattoo sleeve design.

The design you choose for your sleeve tattoo is entirely up to you and your imagination. Popular designs that I have seen range from cartoon strips, oriental themes through to tribal designs. Common sleeve designs usually incorporate a scene of some description that is planned using the shape of the arm. It is a good idea to work with your tattoo artist and use his experience when planning your design.

Below I have listed several ideas for sleeve tattoo designs. These are designs that I have seen on other people on my travels or on the internet whilst conducting research for my own tattoos.

Japanese oriental themes are very popular designs for sleeve tattoos. The Japanese have a long running history of tattooing. Whether it be dragons, koi fish or samurai warriors, these can be incorporated with the traditional Japanese cherry blossom to create magical tattoo sleeve designs.

There are many floral pieces that can be refashioned into a tattoo sleeve designs. Although typically a feminine design more and more males are getting tasteful floral images that work well combined with other ideas.

Tribal tattoo designs work extremely well when modified into a tattoo sleeve designs. The tribal sleeve design is extremely popular with men. The strong black decisive lines and the impressive shading that makes up many of these designs creates a very striking tattoo. With some tribal tattoo designs you need to consider the cultural history behind various designs. Please see “Maori Tattoo Designs” for an explanation of the cultural considerations when contemplating a Maori tattoo design.

Another sleeve theme I have seen around are Celtic tattoo designs. Celtic knot designs really lend themselves to the tattoo sleeve due to the size of the tattoo. Amazing knot work designs incorporated into an over all Celtic theme can create breathe taking sleeve tattoos.

A sleeve tattoo is a very big commitment. As I stated earlier usually they are a sizable piece of artwork with elaborate designs or images. This inherently takes a lot of time and can be very expensive. That said “you get what you pay for” so don’t go for the cheapest option, do your homework and get the right artist for the job. Typically tattoo sleeve designs are done over a number of sessions which could last up to an hour each. Dependent on the availability of your tattooist and your design it could take up to five months to get a design completed. (This is working on having one sitting a week for an hour and needing 20 sessions) This is an estimate.

There is no set cost for sleeve tattoo designs. Cost will be dependent on a number of factors. If your design is a custom tattoo or a standard flash design and the popularity of the tattoo artist. Accomplished tattoo artists are in great demand so this may impact on the time frame when planning your tattoo. All prices vary a lot but as a rough guide you should expect to pay anything from $600-$2000 USD.

I hope this article has given you an insight into tattoo sleeve designs so that you can start the search for your own impressive sleeve tattoo.

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