Getting a sleeve tattoo requires in-depth consultation with your tattoo artist, which makes the whole ordeal quite a challenge. It’s not as easy as downloading a picture from the internet and asking your tattoo artist to replicate it on your sleeve. You should make an informed decision if you don’t want to have regrets later on. Getting a sleeve tattoo, just like with any other type of tattoo, is a lifelong commitment. This especially applies to sleeve tattoos because of the area’s high visibility.
So before you can get a sleeve tattoo, you need to put in an effort in terms of research and consultation with experts. The results should look decent and appealing while remaining relevant. That is possible when you choose an emotional, aesthetic, or meaningful design with proper research. Before you fix an appointment with your tattoo artist, it’s important to understand the process in detail.
What is a Sleeve Tattoo?
When you think about a sleeve tattoo, you may mentally picture an arm covered with a bunch of different tattoos. That’s incorrect because a sleeve is different from a bunch of random tattoos on your arm. Many people confuse sleeve tattoos with multiple different tattoos crowding a single arm. A sleeve tattoo is a single art with one theme surrounding a large portion of your arm.
If you are considering getting a sleeve tattoo, you need to understand that getting a tattoo in such a visible place can limit your opportunities. For instance, various workplaces may not allow their employees to have such tattoos. Nonetheless, different companies are showing acceptance of tattoos. So if you already know that your surrounding environment accepts tattoos, you do not need to cover them.
Different Types of Sleeve Tattoos
You can choose from various types of sleeve tattoos:
Full Sleeve
A full sleeve tattoo is the same as its name suggests. It starts with your shoulder and ends at the wrist, covering the entire sleeve, in and out. While such a design is impactful, it can cost a lot. Many people are afraid to get a full sleeve tattoo because it covers many sensitive areas such as the armpit, wrist, and elbow. This can be painful and can cost you more because of the larger area taking more time. Many people only prefer to tattoo visible parts of the arm.
A complete sleeve might take around 20 hours or more. To complete the process, you need to schedule various sessions with your tattoo artist. They will ink your arm bit by bit until it’s complete. Once they notice that the current session has gone on too long and is getting too much for you to take, they will stop and continue the remaining in the next sessions. For the results, you need to choose the best tattoo artist, such as big areas, skills, dedication, and patience.
Half Sleeve
Many people aren’t comfortable showing their full sleeve tattoo in different spaces. When you have half sleeve tattoo, you can easily hide it whenever you want. For instance, if you are having a business meeting and are unsure if your tattoo will adjust to the environment, you can easily cover the tattoo. A half sleeve tattoo starts from your shoulders to the elbow, but your forearm remains empty. A half sleeve tattoo also takes time depending on the complexity of the design. An average half sleeve tattoo might take ten or more hours to complete with various sessions. In between those sessions need time to heal.
Quarter Sleeve
A quarter sleeve tattoo starts from your shoulder and covers half of your upper arm. You can also add some parts of your back and chest, depending on the design you want. This type of sleeve tattoo requires lesser time to complete. The best part about having a quarter sleeve tattoo is that it takes less time, budget, and pain. Many tattoo artists can complete a quarter sleeve tattoo in one session.
Time Required for Sleeve Tattoo?
A sleeve tattoo might take 15 to 80 hours, depending on various factors. These factors include the complexity of your design, the tattoo artist’s expertise, your capability to stick on with the session, and how much time you require to heal. Some designs are too complex that the artists need to focus on each part individually. Design a tattoo on a body part is not an easy task. It requires 
dedication, effort, and patience. A professional artist with all these qualities can concentrate for longer.
Tattoo designing requires time and extensive hours. You need to visit your tattoo artist on multiple sessions. The time for each session depends on how much you can take. Some people cannot sit still for more than four to five hours. Top tattoo artists prefer short sessions as they can concentrate more on the design when they are fresh. This results in better and high-quality designs.
If you cannot sit motionless for a longer period, you can keep yourself busy talking to the artist. You both should discuss the time each session will take depending on the capabilities. However, chatting can increase your abilities as you will not get bored easily.
Your sessions will also include a healing period. Your healing time may vary from others, but you need three weeks to recover on average completely. Patience is important when you want amazing results. So take your time and let your arm heal. If your body heals slowly, you might require more time for complete recovery. A quarter sleeve tattoo requires less time than a full and a half sleeve tattoo.
How to get Sleeve Tattoo in a Session?
As we discussed previously, our body requires time to heal. You cannot sit for 15 to 80 hours, depending on the design’s complexity, without moving. Furthermore, your tattoo artist also needs a fresh mind to concentrate and focus. Longer sessions can be stressful for them. High-quality designs require patience.
Having a sleeve tattoo is a huge commitment that might take months or years to complete. When your artist is working on your complex design, they need to feel flexible, and 16 hours can be nerve-wracking. However, if you plan to have a quarter sleeve tattoo, your tattoo artist might complete it in a day, depending on their expertise.
Cost of a Sleeve Tattoo
Various factors define how much your tattoo will cost. For instance, you need to pay more for a complex tattoo, a reputable tattoo artist, and if the entire sleeve takes longer to complete than a 
normal tattoo. A tattoo artist will charge you on an hourly basis. Hence, the price depends on the sessions and hours it takes your tattoo artist to complete the design.
Furthermore, the design also defines the price you have to pay. For a complicated design, the artist has to spend more time on each detail. If you choose an expert tattoo artist, they will complete the design with dedication as they care about their reputation. They will work with additional efforts for efficiency.
In short, you need more time and expertise for the final result if the design is too detailed and creative. However, an artist will complete a sleeve tattoo within 15 hours or more, depending on the area to ink down, in multiple sessions. As quarter sleeve tattoos require lesser time and area of your arm, you need to pay less. However still, it depends on how complex the design is.
The calculation is simple—the more complicated the design, and the more professional artist you need to hire. Sure, you can reduce the cost of your sleeve tattoo by selecting a cheaper artist, but this means compromising on the design’s quality. You cannot expect high-quality work from an artist when you pay less. They might not be at the stage where they can work on such a complicated design.
So rather than having to spend more on removing the tattoo, it’s best to hire an artist with relevant experience and expertise for better results.
How Painful is a Sleeve Tattoo?
Getting a tattoo on your sleeve is not a comfortable task, and you might experience a certain amount of pain. However, your tolerance level can decrease the pain you encounter. There are various sensitive locations on your sleeve that might hurt you more than the other areas. For instance, the wrist, inner and outer elbows, and armpit might hurt the most. These areas have sensitive skin and contain solid tissues.
Many people state their arms numb down after they tolerate high pain for a while. That can be good for you as you will no longer feel pain and can go on that numbness for hours, making the task easy.
Furthermore, the pain also increases after prolonged use of the tattoo machine in a specific location. A professional tattoo artist will use different techniques to help you with the pain. They will divide the inking process into different sessions to prevent continuous pressure on your hand and minimize pain on the sleeve. If you choose a popular and skilled tattoo artist, you can relax and let them work on your arm.
Conclusion
Getting a tattoo is an intensive process, so you need to make an effort before covering your arm with the design of your choice. Start with some research about various designs and their meanings. If you are good at sketching, you can sketch out the design you want to ink on your sleeve. Look for a good tattoo artist and ask them to help you choose a great design. They know numerous designs along with their symbolism and meaning so getting their advice is best. Once you decide upon a design for your arm, you can share the idea with a reputable tattoo artist, and they will guide you further.