April 28, 2023

Sleeves; How to Plan Your Tattoo

Thinking about sleeves? Not sure where to start? We can help with that! Here you can find suggestions for how to start the process of getting a sleeve. Whether you have a concept or not, there’s some things you can do to make your dreams a reality.

Brainstorming Concepts and Themes for a Sleeve

The very first step to getting a new sleeve is brainstorming! Start by getting inspired by sleeves of other people. There are so many different styles of tattooing, and its important going in to know what you want. The styles range from realism to traditional to geometrical and more.

Once you’ve narrowed this down you can really begin to think about concepts and themes for a piece. If, for example, you want to do a full American traditional style sleeve, it would be good to look at common motifs of the style. The most common themes for sleeves in general include religion, personal beliefs or mottos, cultural imagery and nature.

Consider if you want black and grey or color. Typically, black and grey sleeves convey a feeling or state of mind using mixed elements while color is usually a single idea or theme which all exist in the same universe. Keep in mind – a color sleeve will need to be completed within a year to keep consistency in the coloring as color ink fades!

Once you’ve got all of these elements down, begin to create a folder of examples of elements you want to show your artist.

Thinking of Placement

A sleeve can mean a lot of things. You could go a full sleeve, or a half sleeve. It can be your legs or your arms. If you know you want a full sleeve, determine what placement you want. Consider factors such as visibility and employment. Some areas will support imagery better than others due to the natural shape of your body. Where on your body you want to do the sleeve plays a big factor in the overall design your artist will come up with and how many elements they can reasonably include.

Sketch it Out!

So you’ve got a theme or concept, now its time to sketch it out! Lets be honest, we are not all artists. So, this may prove challenging to some people. But this sketch does not need to be detailed! It will help illustrate to your artist how you’re thinking and what you’re envisioning. You can even collage images together to help illustrate your idea. Its important to not get too attached to this sketch, however. This is because your artist is going to have to redesign it to be a functional tattoo. Sometimes things need to be bigger or less condensed to give you a lifelong tattoo. For example, a realism portrait will need to be bigger than linework illustrations. This is because there’s a lot of detail which goes into a realism portrait and your artist needs to have room to achieve those details.

Figure Out Your Budget

This is important. The reality of sleeves are: they are expensive. They are especially expensive if you’re covering the whole arm, inside and out. Remember, time adds up! You can expect to pay at least 2,000 for a sleeve, and sit at least for 12 hours. But sleeves, depending on the subject matter and style, can really add up. The more detailed and intricate the design, the longer its going to take. Some sleeves can take upwards of 80 hours to complete. Check out our post of time expectations for tattoos to set a base understanding of how long a sleeve would actually take. There are many variables which contribute to the pricing of your tattoo including, but not limited to, artist’s hourly rate, intricacy of design, and color vs black and white.

Lastly: Pick an Artist

The last portion of planning a sleeve is picking an artist. Look through portfolios to find someone who specializes in the style you’re looking for. Look to see if maybe they’ve done similar concepts and themes. See if they are experienced in sleeve design. Reach out to them with your idea, placement, and sketch you made up. Be open to suggestions and alterations. If the artist is interested, they should be able to give you a timeframe and price quote for what you’re looking for. Make sure this estimate is within the budget you have set for yourself and have expectations that it may go over their estimate.

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