Interested In Getting A Full Sleeve Tattoo?

Have you wondered what a full sleeve or half sleeve tattoo is? Maybe you have heard about them or even want one but you are not sure exactly what they are, how to go about getting one, nor ow much they are going to cost. Well, get ready to learn all of the above and a lot more. Full sleeve, half sleeve and even quarter sleeve tattoos are very hot and in right now. They have become a very popular spot for tattoos in both men and women. There are many women today that sport full sleeve tattoos and love them greatly!

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 Paths Of A Sleeve Tattoo There are really many different ways to go about getting a sleeve tattoo. However, most of the ways fall into two common categories or steps for getting the work done. The first way is through individual tattoos and the second way is through one complete project. Which one you choose to have done will really be up to you and what you like. Also you will have to take into consideration any existing tattoos you already have in the area.

The Individual Tattoos Path: This is the path where an individual gets a bunch of individual tattoos over time. These are all tattoos on their arm but most often in a variety of places. For example one might get a big dragon on their shoulder in one sitting and then a few months or year later get some flames going up their forearm. Eventually the individual decides why not connect all for the individual tattoos into one design and they go about connecting them for a unified full sleeve tattoo.

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.

Designs, Inspiration and Custom Work Once you have made the decision to get a full sleeve tattoo there is a good deal of work ahead of you before you start getting the ink done. You want to really take your time with this process and don't get frustrated. You see finding the perfect design can be difficult and most often you will not find any pre-made flash that will fit exactly what you want. It is therefore advisable to instead take your time and really contemplate the tattoo design that you want to get. Think about things you like and what you want the tattoo to represent. Then look at pictures and ideas from other people's tattoos. Find things you like and things you dislike about other people sleeve tattoos. Keep a journal or jot your ideas down some where. If you spend some time looking online you can easily find a ton of tattoo designs and pictures of other people's tattoo to get an ideas of what you want.

What Is Hot: One place to get started with finding a design is to think about what you have seen and what is popular in sleeve tattoo designs already. Below are some guidelines of more popular themes for sleeve tattoos. However, these are just meant to spark an interest and should not just be used because they are popular. You want your body art to express something about you so just use the ideas as inspiration.

Flame Tattoo Sleeve - Flames are a great tattoo design that looks wonderful on the arm and as part of a overall sleeve tattoo. Very frequently these flames will start off down at the wrist and then burn their way up the arm. Towards the end of the flames other elements can be incorporated into the design.

Sleeve Tattoo Designs: Tribal - Tribal sleeve designs are another great tattoo design that can commonly be done as a sleeve. Tribal tattoos are typically made up of large bold lines done in black and they look great from a distances and really stand out. Therefore they make great sleeve tattoos designs. Don't feel you have to go with the standard tribal designs either as there are many different native cultures that used tattooing. You can go with something really unique like a Maori tribal design.

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.

Floral Patterns - Floral patterns also make great sleeve tattoo designs. The vines, buds, and flowers can easily be intertwined up and throughout the arm. These are great for women and also very popular among men.

The Time and Cost Factor: You should consider carefully the costs and time commitment involved in getting a full or even half sleeve tattoo. They can be rather costly and time consuming and so you want to plan ahead and ensure that you can complete the project before you get started designing it. Typically it can take 25 hours of time to complete just the tattoo part of the work and this number can go up drastically depending on the design and the shop. As far as cost it can be hard to project again it depends on the shop. the experience of the tattoo artist and the amount of work they currently have. Of course when they are super busy they are good but you will have to pay more. Very rough guidelines in terms of price would be anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 dollars.

While the time, commitment and choosing the perfect design can all be a challenge if you are really dead set on getting a full or half sleeve tattoo then go for it. Just learn that it will take time and there is no use in rushing things along. Especially take your time to choose a design that you are happy with and you will end up with a wonderful piece of body art.

Source: http://www.artipot.com/articles/129308/interested-in-getting-a-full-sleeve-tattoo.htm