Blog Entry
Tattoo Sleeve - Quarter, Half and Full Sleeve Tattoos
August 4, 2009 by , under Body Parts Tattoos, Tattoo Sleeve.
Sleeve tattoos (also known as tattoo sleeve) refer to ink done on the arms and legs that usually cover the entire area in a manner similar to the sleeve of a shirt, thus the term. This type of tat are customarily executed according to a certain theme and come in a variety of lengths – quarter sleeve, half-sleeve and full-sleeve tattoos. Quarter-sleeve wraps a quarter of the arm or leg, popularly seen on the arms from the shoulder to the bicep region or it can from the elbow down to the wrist . Half-sleeve tattoos on the other hand covers the entire upper arm, from the shoulder to the elbow. Full sleeve tats are the most bold and elaborate type as it starts from the shoulder down to the wrist covering the entire area of the arms.
| Sample Sleeve Tattoo Designs | ||
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(Tattoo done by Kappy from House of Ink in Wauconda, IL) Sleeve tattoos are normally a collaboration of small or large designs or a combination that are typically put together through backgrounds such as water, fire, swirls, tribal or Celtic art. Since the arms or legs are large canvas to work on for the tattoo artist, intricate and exorbitant designs are usually preferred. Some of the popular designs for the tattoo sleeves are:
Koi fish are very popular not only because of the bright colors that the fish have but also because of the symbolical meaning attached to it. Koi, is the Japanese term for the fish and carp is its general name.
Tribal Art originated way back during pre-industrial times when ancient people cluster in tribes and tattoos are used to reflect their social and religious values.
Flower designs are one of the most sought after tat themes among women not only because of their natural beauty but also of the symbolical meaning attached to them. The most popular ones are cherry blossoms, hibiscus, rose, lily and lotus.
Celtic Art are characterized by spirals, complex and interlacing patterns, maze and knotwork , animal forms and animal zoomorphics.
Japanese symbols like koi fish, cherry blossoms and lettering seem to be very popular for this theme. Animals such as dragon, panther and snake are also prominent on these areas because of their artistic appeal and the strong symbolism attached to them. Their somewhat long rectangular shape naturally hug the contours of the arms, thus depicting perfectly placed ink.
Tattoo sleeves are more preferred by men although a large number of women can also be seen sporting one. It should be noted that sleeve tattoo takes a long time to complete and usually requires more than one session since designs are generally on a larger scale. With that being said, it takes time, a great deal of commitment and money to come up with a superb sleeve tattoos. Thus, one should take careful planning in choosing what designs to go for. More importantly, choose a professional and reliable tattoo artist to execute the designs to make sure that the sleeve tattoo will come out perfectly.
| More Sleeve Tattoo Designs | ||
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| Photo by WeLoveTheDark | ||
