Sleeve Tattoos
If you are considering getting relatively large new tattoo, sleeve tattoos deserve serious consideration. Sleeve tattoos are tattoos that cover a significant portion of the arm, most often the whole arm from the upper arm down to near the wrist. The name ‘sleeve tattoo’ is in reference to the similarity between this style of tattoo and the sleeves of a shirt. While full sleeve tattoos are the most traditional variation of the sleeve tattoo theme, half sleeve tattoos are also incredibly popular. Half sleeve tattoos usually extend either from the top of the upper arm down to the elbow, or from the elbow down to near the wrist, thereby covering half of the total length of the arm. Some people also accept a third variation known as the quarter sleeve tattoo, however I personally don’t think that a quarter of the arm really justifies the term ‘sleeve’. The term ‘sleeve’ has even been applied to similar tattoos that run down the legs, however I don’t feel that the term ‘sleeve’ is really appropriate for this purpose so leg tattoos won’t be considered in this article.
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Sleeve tattoos are incredibly popular with both men and women, and can really make fantastically striking and hugely impressive tattoos. Sleeve tattoos consist of either one large design running down a large portion of the arm, or multiple smaller designs held together in a unified theme, sometimes using background artwork to tie individual design elements together. The most impressive sleeve tattoo designs therefore require a lot of prior planning and consultation with a tattoo artist in order to get the overall design to appear integrated.
Tribal and celtic tattoo designs make fantastic sleeve tattoos and are among the most popular sleeve tattoo designs for men. Tribal tattoo designs make especially good sleeve tattoos due to the ease with which they can be adapted and extended to fit different areas of the arm. In addition to tribal and celtic design styles, popular sleeve tattoo designs for girls often incorporate multiple flowers, butterflies, stars, or birds.
While sleeve tattoos are relatively large, they are actually very easy to hide away when required. Wearing a long sleeve shirt or sweater will completely conceal any sleeve tattoo, making them perfect for people who want a large tattoo design that is compatible with their working life. Away from the workplace, sleeve tattoos can be shown off to the world by wearing short sleeved shirts, vest tops, bikinis, or by going topless.
The comparatively large size of sleeve tattoo designs does mean that “getting sleeved” will take some time, meaning the associated pain will have to be endured for longer. Another pain related factor to consider is that the upper arm tends to be less painful to tattoo than the forearm. The large size and high complexity of sleeve tattoo designs also means that the cost of getting a sleeve tattoo can be high. The reputation and experience of your tattoo artist will also play a role in the final cost of a new sleeve tattoo. This is a situation where the saying “you get what you pay for” really holds true, and in my opinion it is worth spending some extra dollars to get as high quality a design as possible. As well as being large and conspicuous, you new sleeve tattoo will be with you forever, so I highly recommend that you spend the necessary time and money inking the perfect design for you.
If you would like further sleeve tattoo design ideas and inspiration I recommend that you visit the Tattoo Designs area of this website. I also highly recommend that you consider joining some premium online tattoo design galleries. The two online galleries that I consider to be the best places to find premium tattoo designs are the Chopper Tattoo and Tattoo Me Now tattoo design galleries. A mistake that many people make when searching for tattoo designs is to only look for free designs using a search engine. This strategy has two serious disadvantages. Firstly, trawling through tattoo designs using a search engine is hugely time consuming and you will waste a lot of time looking at really low quality artwork. Secondly, by only considering free poor quality tattoo designs you risk inking an ugly tattoo. Tattoos are permanent and sleeve tattoos, being large and conspicuous, will always get noticed. I recommend that you don’t run the risk of inking a poor design that you grow to hate over time. The ChopperTattoo and TattooMeNow online tattoo design galleries contain thousand of premium quality designs that can be printed out and taken to your tattoo artist for a consultation. It really is worth a few extra dollars to get access to the best tattoo designs around. Take your time and make sure that the premium design that you choose is one that you will still love far in to the future.
