Having the coolest sleeve tattoo of your friend group, or even your local pub, is no easy task. With a wide variety of design choices and inspirations, it can be hard to decide what the subject of your sleeve is going to be. If you’re unsure what you should get permanently tattooed to your skin, you’ve come to the right place, because we’ve got all your sleeve tattoo design inspiration covered. From the different placement options to the many themes you can take inspiration from, read on as we look through the 25+ coolest sleeve tattoos for men.
Types of Sleeves
It’s important to note that there are many types of tattoo sleeves ideas, and things aren’t as black and white as the theme (except for the black and grey sleeve). There are a lot of influences on the type of tattoo you choose, such as your line of work, your budget, and the design of the tattoo sleeve. To make sure you know exactly what you want, read on and take some inspiration from the 25+ coolest sleeve tattoos.
Half Sleeve
The half sleeve, as the name suggests, is a sleeve of tattoo that takes up half of your arm. This is commonly found on the wrist to elbow but isn’t uncommon from the elbow to the shoulder. The benefit of a half sleeve tattoo is that it can be easily hidden if need be, especially the elbow to shoulder sleeve, for those in formal or hospitality work.
Half Sleeve with Quote
With similar benefits to the half sleeve tattoo, using a quote on your half sleeve tattoo is a great design choice to tie together the different images and themes of your sleeve. If your sleeve started with a few smaller tattoos, a quote weaving between these can fill in the blanks and solidify your half sleeve tattoo. And just a tip from an editor, triple check the spelling is correct before you get inked.
Full Sleeve
The full sleeve tattoo describes a tattoo that goes from wrist to shoulder and are often the most awe-inducing tattoos you’ll see out. Looking great with a singlet, the full sleeve acts almost as a fashion statement, as you’re always going to want to show it off. Because of the size of the ‘canvas’ as well (depending on your arm width), you can achieve a great amount of detail in your designs.
Traditional Sleeve
Can’t decide on a big design for your sleeve tattoo? Why not have a load of little tattoos instead? There’s nothing in the rulebook saying your tattoo sleeve has to share the same design themes or look, and this ‘Where’s Wally’ approach to tattooing can make for some pretty fun interactions with people, as they pick out their favourite designs. Some would say less is more, but with a small piece tattoo sleeve, the more the merrier.
Double Sleeve
Tossing up between two full tattoo sleeve designs and unsure which one to get? Why not both? You’ve got two blank canvases ready to go, and with these, you can have two distinct designs, or a ying-and-yang type situation with each tattoo sleeve. You can even get really creative and design a pattern that links up when you cross your arms.
Watercolour Sleeve
In our opinion, the watercolour tattoo sleeve is one of the most beautiful looking designs you’ll see on our list. Rather than colouring between the lines, the splashes of watercolour over the black and white tattoo sleeve make a world of difference.
Black and Gray Sleeve
The black and white tattoo sleeve involves think bands of a black tattoo on your sleeve, creating an almost checkerboard or zebra pattern with your skin. While this looks cool, it will take longer to properly achieve, and longer to get rid of if you change your mind later on (but why would you?).
Religious Sleeve
Starting with a popular one amongst the tattoo community, wear your faith on your sleeve with religious imagery and quotes. Whether it be a particular verse that impacted you personally, or a symbol that just looks cool, there are great statements and symbols across all religions, so you’ll have plenty of designs to choose from. If the symbol is not from your religion, however, be respectful of how you use it on your body.
Angel Sleeve
Being almost hand in hand with the religious tattoo sleeve theme, the angel tattoo sleeve takes similar imagery and themes to depict innocence and purity. The canvases of great renaissance artworks are littered with angels, and now the canvas of your tattoo sleeve can be the same.
Tribal Sleeve
Rock out Jason Mamoa and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson style with a sleeve of tribal inspiration and meaning. With a tribal tattoo sleeve, you can celebrate your heritage, and choose from the multitude of memorising patterns used across the centuries.