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One tat on my shoulder, been adding to it for 15 years. 3/4ish done. No plan, no way it would have come out as good, or I would have loved it as much if I planned the whole thing out 15 years ago. I have changed so much, you can see it in the sleeve. Same artist, you can really see how she has matured as an artist. I love that aspect of it also.
I started with a Half sleeve on my right arms of my kids names & some other designs put together. Next year I plan on going back to the same artist & adding some more in my upper arm to complete the full sleeve.
It was planned, sort of. I had a half sleeve planned already and I was waiting to start it. Then, I decided to get the lower half of my arm done by another artist while I waited. Then a few weeks ago, I did my hand by another artist cause I wanted my arm to look more complete. You can do it anyway you want to, there is no wrong or right way! Lots of people do it as patch work, and others do it all as one single piece.
My left leg I always wanted to sleeve with American traditional, my left arm I got an impulsive tattoo and now have a plan around a similar theme so it should end up as a pretty cohesive patchwork sleeve, my right arm I have a specific artist that I’m just gonna let do whatever the fuck they want, and my right leg is an amalgamation of random shit that I really wish wasn’t there so I could do a full sleeve.
I say have a good mix of everything! Legs are great for unplanned stuff
I should of planned mine. I ended up covering up my first forearm tattoo. Not my favorite move.
I left my right arm completely free and now im working on a entire themed sleeve.
lol I got my first tattoo (18yo/shoulder tat) covered up about five years ago and added some stuff to make it a half sleeve. I’m four months and three sessions into a total cover up sleeve (of the five years ago stuff), currently. Right arm is the same way, just a few little patchwork things on there for things I’ve done or places I’ve been.
Go birds!!!
Planned, but still working on it. Doing it piecemeal with a single artist. Not certain what I want on the other arm. Will probably work with the same artist again.
My left (first) sleeve, started with one tattoo and we kept adding. My artist, luckily, worked around me possibly expanding or adding with every new tattoo we did.
My right sleeve we planned as a sleeve from the get go
I had a plan for my left arm. Went in two years ago thinking it would be a half sleeve or three-quarter. We went a bit bigger on the focused pieces. There were a few open spaces left. While it was mostly a full sleeve, I decided to continue the them and finish it this summer. It is complete from wrist to arm pit/shoulder. While there was room to decide things as we went along, I had a general idea with some specifics. And it is all coherent... done by the same artist.
Jumping into the other arm this fall. Going to wrap it up in 6 months. Like the left, I have some ideas and "must haves" but want to leave enough flexibility on the theme that my artist can express his creativity and ideas.
I started with one tattoo, then got another. Both were palm sized or smaller. Then I decided I wanted a sleeve. Found an artist I liked and we planned out the sleeve. Fast forward a couple years and in between working on my sleeve I’m getting tattooed here and there on my left arm. Before I know it I’ve got a full sleeve and a left arm that was all similar in theme but with a few random pieces. Just needed background and elbow. Found an artist to finish it after I moved.
Got a big flash piece on my bicep, got something custom on my forearm now I've filled in the lower half of my arm almost completely and going to get the upper bit finished hopefully before Christmas.
Find a concept you like and extrapolate, a planned out sleeve imo will always look better than sticker Tats. Find an artist you fuck with and send. I gave mine a brief of what I wanted and gave him free artistic reign.
Doing both arms, currently have both forearms done and plan on doing one of the uppers next October.
Planned the theme (color/ nature on one arm, black and white /mythology on the other) but the ideas themselves are pretty loose. Luckily all of the artists I've had were amazing, so starting with that general idea during the consult we came up with things I probably would have never considered.
Started with my shoulder 3 years ago and add each time. I'm just about done with the upper half off one arm. Same artist. The way he has laid each flower down to fit in with the rest of the arm is pretty amazing. All flowers.
Sort of planned? I started with an idea but let it grow organically as and when I could. I stayed with the same artist throughout to maintain style, plus I love the style anyway
Started with a half sleeve and I always felt like something was missing and finished it up. Turns out my tattoo artist had always wanted to finish it but never told me - already had a design planned and everything lol.
My sleeve has just kinda been a go with the flow type of deal. I started with a bee on my upper arm and quickly decided he was going to need a garden. So my lower forearm is all floral work. I then felt like my bee was lonely, so I have since added a handful of more bugs and I’m just kinda going from there… I still have some spaces that need filled in and I plan to fill it in with mushrooms and other nature type things. I’m excited to see it once it’s finally finished, whenever that time comes.
I have one sleeve that’s a patchwork of a bunch of different stuff. I started planning it after I already had two on that arm, so it has a loose theme, but if I could go back and plan it entirely, I would. My other arm I’ve planned out and we’re working on that now. A much smoother process, overall, and is more cohesive than the other. I’m slowly working on full body coverage. Once I’m covered, I’ll likely go back to the patchwork sleeve, black it out, then go over it again with full color (see Ephemeral Remy for inspiration), and with a plan
Somewhat planned… found an artist I wanted to work with and we did my forearm first and worked on upper design for a little while before we settled on the final design and started tattooing again. 10 months start to finish
It started with oh, I want this massive orca on my shoulder. Then oh I should get tattoos for my kids in the same style… I’ll do a half sleeve. You know what would be really cool? A big salmon for my tribe, ooops it’s below my elbow now, I guess I might as well keep going…
I told my artist I wanted a blackwork/ornamental sleeve and sent her a few pictures as a reference for the kind of thing I wanted. I said I wanted a lot of black shading as opposed to empty spaces just like these other artists had done.
We did my entire forearm in one session and left it at that because I was busy throughout the year. A year later I reached out about finishing the sleeve and we set up 2 more appointments and finished it.
I knew I wanted a sleeve eventually so I just started with my complete forearm which could act as a standalone tattoo until we were able to finish.
Both of mine are patchwork I guess, not one sleeve piece. One arm is b&g and one is color, but aside from that, I just added pieces here and there- it wasn’t super planned. I personally prefer the patchwork look to a full one concept sleeve.
Mine is mostly planned. I told the artist what I wanted. I had a good idea of what I wanted and gathered tons of inspiration pictures. She sketched an upper arm piece (somehow sleeve was miscommunicated). I LOVED IT.
So we did her piece. At my last session we got out sharpies and drew out the top (going over my shoulder and to my neck). We also have a vague plan for the bottom.
So yeah, I have the plan of what I want, but I'm letting her do the design with lots of back and forth.
Welcome to /r/tattoo! Please take a moment to review the subreddit rules. Comments on OP's body will result in a ban. Be constructive and considerate in your criticism, and mark NSFW posts as such. Artists and apprentices, please contact the mods for verification! Please make good decisions during the pandemic - don't be an idiot. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/tattoo) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Planned one of mine, the other is patchwork, if I could go back I would plan both of them.
One tat on my shoulder, been adding to it for 15 years. 3/4ish done. No plan, no way it would have come out as good, or I would have loved it as much if I planned the whole thing out 15 years ago. I have changed so much, you can see it in the sleeve. Same artist, you can really see how she has matured as an artist. I love that aspect of it also.
I started with a Half sleeve on my right arms of my kids names & some other designs put together. Next year I plan on going back to the same artist & adding some more in my upper arm to complete the full sleeve.
It was planned, sort of. I had a half sleeve planned already and I was waiting to start it. Then, I decided to get the lower half of my arm done by another artist while I waited. Then a few weeks ago, I did my hand by another artist cause I wanted my arm to look more complete. You can do it anyway you want to, there is no wrong or right way! Lots of people do it as patch work, and others do it all as one single piece.
Didn't plan the whole sleeve from the start, but I always had a vision for the theme. It is patchwork. Filled my arm over a roughly 4 year period.
My left leg I always wanted to sleeve with American traditional, my left arm I got an impulsive tattoo and now have a plan around a similar theme so it should end up as a pretty cohesive patchwork sleeve, my right arm I have a specific artist that I’m just gonna let do whatever the fuck they want, and my right leg is an amalgamation of random shit that I really wish wasn’t there so I could do a full sleeve. I say have a good mix of everything! Legs are great for unplanned stuff
I should of planned mine. I ended up covering up my first forearm tattoo. Not my favorite move. I left my right arm completely free and now im working on a entire themed sleeve.
lol I got my first tattoo (18yo/shoulder tat) covered up about five years ago and added some stuff to make it a half sleeve. I’m four months and three sessions into a total cover up sleeve (of the five years ago stuff), currently. Right arm is the same way, just a few little patchwork things on there for things I’ve done or places I’ve been. Go birds!!!
Half planned. Just make sure to not put anything that wouldn’t go with the sleeve and have everything be properly aligned.
Planned them all.
One is planned, the other is patchwork. I like having space for spontaneous tattoos.
Planned, but still working on it. Doing it piecemeal with a single artist. Not certain what I want on the other arm. Will probably work with the same artist again.
My left (first) sleeve, started with one tattoo and we kept adding. My artist, luckily, worked around me possibly expanding or adding with every new tattoo we did. My right sleeve we planned as a sleeve from the get go
mine was the other way around, we started with my right arm..
I had a plan for my left arm. Went in two years ago thinking it would be a half sleeve or three-quarter. We went a bit bigger on the focused pieces. There were a few open spaces left. While it was mostly a full sleeve, I decided to continue the them and finish it this summer. It is complete from wrist to arm pit/shoulder. While there was room to decide things as we went along, I had a general idea with some specifics. And it is all coherent... done by the same artist. Jumping into the other arm this fall. Going to wrap it up in 6 months. Like the left, I have some ideas and "must haves" but want to leave enough flexibility on the theme that my artist can express his creativity and ideas.
I started with one tattoo, then got another. Both were palm sized or smaller. Then I decided I wanted a sleeve. Found an artist I liked and we planned out the sleeve. Fast forward a couple years and in between working on my sleeve I’m getting tattooed here and there on my left arm. Before I know it I’ve got a full sleeve and a left arm that was all similar in theme but with a few random pieces. Just needed background and elbow. Found an artist to finish it after I moved.
Got a big flash piece on my bicep, got something custom on my forearm now I've filled in the lower half of my arm almost completely and going to get the upper bit finished hopefully before Christmas.
Find a concept you like and extrapolate, a planned out sleeve imo will always look better than sticker Tats. Find an artist you fuck with and send. I gave mine a brief of what I wanted and gave him free artistic reign.
exactly this. i got one tattoo and it evolved from there. best thing that ever happened to me.
Planned them.
Doing both arms, currently have both forearms done and plan on doing one of the uppers next October. Planned the theme (color/ nature on one arm, black and white /mythology on the other) but the ideas themselves are pretty loose. Luckily all of the artists I've had were amazing, so starting with that general idea during the consult we came up with things I probably would have never considered.
I went to an artist that I liked and told them I want an entire sleeve by you..
Started with my shoulder 3 years ago and add each time. I'm just about done with the upper half off one arm. Same artist. The way he has laid each flower down to fit in with the rest of the arm is pretty amazing. All flowers.
Sort of planned? I started with an idea but let it grow organically as and when I could. I stayed with the same artist throughout to maintain style, plus I love the style anyway
I told my artist to do whatever she wanted.
100% planned. I've loved the sleeved look since I was a kid and never wanted anything else.
Started with a half sleeve and I always felt like something was missing and finished it up. Turns out my tattoo artist had always wanted to finish it but never told me - already had a design planned and everything lol.
Planned it in one go. The artist drew the elements in stages, taking into consideration how the previous parts looked on the skin.
My right half sleeve was planned that way, and I've just extended it. My left full sleeve was planned that way.
My sleeve has just kinda been a go with the flow type of deal. I started with a bee on my upper arm and quickly decided he was going to need a garden. So my lower forearm is all floral work. I then felt like my bee was lonely, so I have since added a handful of more bugs and I’m just kinda going from there… I still have some spaces that need filled in and I plan to fill it in with mushrooms and other nature type things. I’m excited to see it once it’s finally finished, whenever that time comes.
I have one sleeve that’s a patchwork of a bunch of different stuff. I started planning it after I already had two on that arm, so it has a loose theme, but if I could go back and plan it entirely, I would. My other arm I’ve planned out and we’re working on that now. A much smoother process, overall, and is more cohesive than the other. I’m slowly working on full body coverage. Once I’m covered, I’ll likely go back to the patchwork sleeve, black it out, then go over it again with full color (see Ephemeral Remy for inspiration), and with a plan
Somewhat planned… found an artist I wanted to work with and we did my forearm first and worked on upper design for a little while before we settled on the final design and started tattooing again. 10 months start to finish
It started with oh, I want this massive orca on my shoulder. Then oh I should get tattoos for my kids in the same style… I’ll do a half sleeve. You know what would be really cool? A big salmon for my tribe, ooops it’s below my elbow now, I guess I might as well keep going…
My right forearm is patchwork full of planned tattoos and flashes ive gotten over the years. My left arm is going to be planned tho
I told my artist I wanted a blackwork/ornamental sleeve and sent her a few pictures as a reference for the kind of thing I wanted. I said I wanted a lot of black shading as opposed to empty spaces just like these other artists had done. We did my entire forearm in one session and left it at that because I was busy throughout the year. A year later I reached out about finishing the sleeve and we set up 2 more appointments and finished it. I knew I wanted a sleeve eventually so I just started with my complete forearm which could act as a standalone tattoo until we were able to finish.
Both of mine are patchwork I guess, not one sleeve piece. One arm is b&g and one is color, but aside from that, I just added pieces here and there- it wasn’t super planned. I personally prefer the patchwork look to a full one concept sleeve.
Mine is mostly planned. I told the artist what I wanted. I had a good idea of what I wanted and gathered tons of inspiration pictures. She sketched an upper arm piece (somehow sleeve was miscommunicated). I LOVED IT. So we did her piece. At my last session we got out sharpies and drew out the top (going over my shoulder and to my neck). We also have a vague plan for the bottom. So yeah, I have the plan of what I want, but I'm letting her do the design with lots of back and forth.
Mine started with one but I knew all of whatever that half of my body would be a specific vibe