Arm sleeve tattoo designs are amazing works of art. They are a tattoo or a series of tattoos that wrap completely around the arm. Some sleeves only cover a portion of the arm, but a full tattoo sleeve covers the entire arm from shoulder to wrist.

Getting a tattoo sleeve is an ongoing process that can be continued over several days, weeks, months or even longer. It’s like an artwork in progress.

People who wind up with full tattoo sleeves don’t plan to cover the entire arm, but after getting their first tattoo, they enjoy the experience and so their desire to build on the design is irresistible.

Once a decision has been made to keep on building on the initial tattoo, some tattoo lovers take great care in planning their sleeve so the theme stays the same throughout the design. Others just keep on getting a series of individual tattoos until they eventually fill the whole arm.

People may have their favorite artist or a few different artists enhance or build on the existing design. Over time they keep on getting tattoos until the entire area is filled in and the arm sleeve tattoo is complete. This artwork is extremely fascinating as it may represent the wearers life experiences as well has having deep meaning around events in their life.

Sometimes a certain style or theme of work is the inspiration behind creating the sleeve. Here are some themes below:

Celtic Tattoos: the never-ending knot patterns lend themselves perfectly to sleeve design.

Tribal Designs: also make terrific looking sleeves and are selected quite often for this type of work.

Floral Work: makes exceptionally beautiful sleeves when filled with bold colors.

Check out Chopper Tattoo for great printable tattoo designs to inspire you for your arm sleeve tattoo!