How should I go about getting a sleeve tattoo design(ed)?
A sleeve is a much larger image than i could find and print off the internet. I’m not friends with anyone that tattoos or even draws well. YES, I definitely want a sleeve tattoo, I won’t be talked out of it. I have other tattoos, so I’m not quite a novice. I’ve thought about this for a long time, so please no BS about why I shouldn’t do this.
a sleeve is a huge undertaking that of course you know can take months and thousands upon thousands of dollars to complete. It can seem overwhelming to come up with your design but find an incredible artist and go from there.
after I knew who I wanted to do the tattoo I met with him and a large file of images that I loved, what I wanted and my thoughts behind everything and he came up with a phenomenal design. I paid a deposit for his time to come up with the designs and to meet with me.
You are seeking out an artist based on their skills, artistic abilities, and their body of work. I believe to get the best result from a true artist you should not ask them to recreate something, but allow them to come up with a truly original and fantastic design. You want them to be able to take pride in the work they are doing too.
It’s overwhelming but
1. decide on a theme
2. pick an artist based on talent and work
3. meet with them to discuss your vision & come up with a design & pricing.
There are a few ways you can go about it… One is to go into a tattoo shop and be consulted with an artist. You will pay for that consultation and that could be pricey depending on how good the artist is, but you obviously want the best because it’s on your body forever and you want it to be perfect… you just have to give the artist an idea of things you like or want and let them draw it up for you. You are paying for their time so get your money’s worth.
Another way is to go in to the shop with a theme of say skulls, flowers, religious, or tribal or whatever you are in to, and tell them the theme you are going with and let them improvise on you. You can always look in their portfolios to see their style and pick ones you like.
Another way is to add it slowly, find things you like and just add periodically. For a good artist to sleeve you up you are looking at anywhere from $2,000-$5,000 if you do it right.
My advice, take your time, and get what you like and make sure you shop around for a good artist.
Good Luck
To create a wonderful, original sleeve, you should first collect pictures of elements, colours or themes you want to be part of your tattoo. If you want koi, collect pictures of koi that you like, etc. Bring your art to a tattoo artist, and have a consultation. Explain what you’d like, the size scale you’re thinking of, colours, details, just spill the beans. I’d recommend you look around at portfolios, and go to an artist who works well in the style you like. The artist will be able to give you price estimates, time estimates, tell you how many sittings it will take, etc. They can bring your reference material into one greater piece of art which will be your sleeve, changing things as you wish and bringing it all together. They’re not just tattooists, they are artists as well, and they’d love to help you create a customized work of art.
Well, some design of sleeve tattoo come up with 360 angle of the tattoo, so it won’t be hard to look the whole design.
you can see some samples from http://shiroinekoonline.com/tattoo.html as they also have provided some cool sleeve tattoos on the gallery.
Cheers!