05/18/2026
How to plan your sleeve part 1:
It is important to first search out an artist who does a lot of sleeves because they will direct you in all the tricks and tips you need to know!
But, to help you start your planning process I will give you the inside scoop on how I put together a sleeve and the things I have learned over the years.
1. Pick 4-5 main images
Your main images should be a large as you can make them without warping happening and placed on the 4 flattest parts of the arm.
1. Don’t be picky on where they go
Sometimes you want an image on your forearm but it would actually fit the body and flow better doing it on your inner arm for example.
1. Pick your filler
Filler would be something like floral that you can use throughout the arm to tie the different areas together.
1. Pick your background
Background would be the elements like wind, water, fire, earth that can take up the small spaces left to join the pieces together.
Now you still have to create flow out of all of these things so this is where your artist comes in.
If they direct you on placement listen to them because we see the little things like something warping when you move or not being big enough to get the details in.
Happy tattooing, listen to your artist and check out part 2 for a deeper dive :)
