Idea for a sleeve?

kraggy

Hey,

Thinking of getting a sleeve from shoulder to elbow.

But how do people come up with ideas? Obviously I want something unique that's mine only, but how do you go about doing that?

Can you ask the tatoo artist to come up with a design that suits things you like, your beliefs etc? Will they take the time out to do that for you?

Other than that, how else could I come up with one? I can't draw/paint.

TheJinMu

Ha ha, just saw your question right above mine... Apparently noone knows about sleeves here......

Black Sheep

Well, if you do have a concept and are after a custom piece then generally the design and drawing will be down to the artist. Typically a consultation, whether by appointment, e-mail or whatever, is used to hammer out ideas and decide whether you and they can agree on a design. I tend to bring along whatever source material, rough idea sketches (bad or not) and photographs as I can to help get my idea across.

If you don't already have any concrete ideas about what you're after, I'd suggest that you look at as many magazines and portfolios as you possibly can, and see what kind of work you're drawn to.

Sleeves come in many varieties - tribal, new school, traditional, japanese style, realistic colour, realistic black and grey ... And even breaking it down by genre like that doesn't necessarily cover all the bases... Within japanese style there there are people doing it with more of a traditional slant versus those doing a kind of interpretative version.

If you decided, for the sake of argument, that you like the look of a colourful traditional style sleeve (because, say, you've seen some amazing work from a tattooist like Valerie Vargas of Frith Street Tattoo in a magazine) then you might then shop around for artists working in a similar style and decide what kind of traditional imagery you like ... Lighthouse? Gypsy women? Anchors? Clipper ships? All of the above?

Then it would be a matter of finding an artist whose portfolio you think indicates they could execute what you're after... Whether that's here or you decide to travel. Pick up the phone, set up an appointment and go into them for a chat.

But getting back to the original point: I think if you're really unclear what you're after a great place to start is online and the monthly tattoo magazines (Total Tattoo, Skin Deep etc). Look at as many sleeves as you can, and you're sure to see some that make your jaw drop. That should help narrow it down to a particular style, subject matter or even artist ... The guy that did my first half sleeve I picked because of a four-page magazine spread he did which impressed me.

The main advice I would give someone thinking of getting a piece of that size in Ireland is that you should decide off the bat that you want a world class tattoo, and if you cannot find an artist here able to execute in the genre concerned to that level, then be prepared to travel.

Good luck....!

Elbow

kraggy wrote: »

Hey,

Thinking of getting a sleeve from shoulder to elbow.

But how do people come up with ideas? Obviously I want something unique that's mine only, but how do you go about doing that?

Can you ask the tatoo artist to come up with a design that suits things you like, your beliefs etc? Will they take the time out to do that for you?

Other than that, how else could I come up with one? I can't draw/paint.

When i was planning my sleeve i visited about 10 different studios with my reference material, talked to the artists and listened to their ideas about the piece, eventually i found an artist that was into the piece and i liked his ideas.

I couldn't find anything exactly like what i wanted on the net so i printed off pictures of styles i liked, colours i liked & i had a rough idea of the content.

kraggy

Ok, thanks for the info guys. Really appreciate it.

Some more questions:

1. How much does a half sleeve cost - ballpark - in Ireland.

2. Which countries in Europe are cheapest (but good).

3. How many sessions does it usually take (I know this massively depends on the complicity etc, but again, ballpark)?

4. Are there any rules that say that if you have x coloured hair and y coloured eyes, that particulars colours suit/don't suit you?

Thanks again.

Elbow

kraggy wrote: »

Ok, thanks for the info guys. Really appreciate it.

Some more questions:

1. How much does a half sleeve cost - ballpark - in Ireland.

2. Which countries in Europe are cheapest (but good).

3. How many sessions does it usually take (I know this massively depends on the complicity etc, but again, ballpark)?

4. Are there any rules that say that if you have x coloured hair and y coloured eyes, that particulars colours suit/don't suit you?

Thanks again.

1: As it stands my sleeve (shoulder to elbow) has set me back €1000 (inner bicep area hasn't been touched yet)

2: No idea sorry

3: I've got about 16 hours work done so far and about 4ish to go whenever i decide what to fill my inner bicep with

4: Not a clue, but i will say go with what you like, its ur arm after all

Black Sheep

1. How much does a half sleeve cost - ballpark - in Ireland.

Hard to answer because different artists work at different speeds, it also depends on the tattoo (how detailed, colour versus black and grey etc). They also charge different rates. If it's a genuine half sleeve as opposed to a quarter sleeve that's a fair few hours work - multiple sittings.

2. Which countries in Europe are cheapest (but good).

You're better of saving the money you need to go to the artist you want to go to as opposed to looking for the cheapest deal, to be honest.

But FWIW the truth is that, as with anything else, countries with a lower cost of living charge less. You can get a very, very good tattoo by someone like Boris or Zsolt Sarkozi in Hungary for a fraction of what you'd spend on a similar level tattooist from the likes of Sweden, for example.

Honestly, though, tattooing and bargain-hunting should not be mentioned in the same sentence.

3. How many sessions does it usually take (I know this massively depends on the complicity etc, but again, ballpark)?

See 1.

4. Are there any rules that say that if you have x coloured hair and y coloured eyes, that particulars colours suit/don't suit you?

Always a bad idea to wear brown shoes with a black suit, IMO. They say black shoes with a navy suit is a no-no but I think sometimes rules are made to be broken.

(Joking aside, no).

Diceicle

As Black Sheep has already alluded to, you shouldn't, as a rule of thumb, go tattoo bargain hunting, but they're right to say that there is certainly better value for money to be had in places like Hungary and Poland, obviously though, you'll have to figure in the price of multiple flights into the overall cost and maybe accommodation. I'd put the ballpark amount of hours around 20-25 depending on the level of detail etc, so you may want to put that costing into your considerations.