Large Scale and Sleeve Tattoos
Large scale pieces like back pieces, full sleeves, be they arm or leg sleeves are huge commitments on the part of both artist and client. They take a lot of time and planning, and they can’t be done in one session.
There are two major types of sleeves, traditional patchwork style, which have various smaller designs and filler, or more solid, flowing designs that have to be designed from the bottom up to flow well across the entire body part. It all depends on the aesthetic you’re going for.
The Process:
- E-mail the Shop with your concept notes and concept references.
- Set a day to come for an in person consult
- Go over the design and ideas
- We take notes and photos
- Go over pricing estimates and art deposit costs
- Do paperwork and pay deposit
- Set appointment days for your Check-in Appointment and/or 1st session.
- It takes about 3 to 5 weeks to get art done for a sleeve.
- Come to your check-in appointment
- Go over any changes
- Size stencils for your first session
- Come for your first session, and set the next two appointments at the end of the session
- Following Sessions are set 3 to 4 weeks apart.
Please Note:
I will not send designs through email or text.
I will not do a finalized render of a design. This is counter-intuitive to how I build sleeves, time is better spent drawing the stencils we are going to be working from.
Adjustments and changes are welcome; within reason. If you decide that you want to go in a completely different direction and I have to scrap everything, then we’ll need to do another deposit.
It takes about a year to complete a sleeve, but I have done them in as little as six months when finances and schedules align.
Sleeve Costs
Simple sleeves cost anywhere between $2000 and $3500.00.
Finalized sleeves can range from $5000 to $10000. It all depends on what you want and how far you want to take it.
If you are given a base project price, that covers the base art and planning, and the first half of the sleeve project sessions.
Following the base, finalizing a sleeve is charged at the discounted hourly rate of $150.00 per hour.
Deposits for sleeves are between 20% and 25% of the total estimated cost.
For a $2000 sleeve, the deposit is $400.00
For a $2500 sleeve, the deposit is $500.00
For a $3000 sleeve, the deposit is $500.00
Sessions are then between $300.00 to $500.00 each, depending on the work that needs to be done, and your finances.
Patchwork Sleeves
Patchwork sleeves do not require a Check-in Appointment. At the time of your first session you can simply pick the design or designs you want to start with, and give notes on the ones that aren’t quite ready yet.
Patchwork Style sleeves are a little less complicated when it comes to planning, but they take the same amount of drawing effort. The payment plans for traditional sleeves are very different from a cohesive sleeve. It can be broken up into smaller payments, and you can pay per design, and just get one or two a month if that’s what your budget allows.
The minimum deposit for a patchwork sleeve is $300.00
Patchwork sessions can be as low as $200.00 a session.
For either type of sleeve, once your agreed upon total is paid, you no longer owe a balance. You simply come back for sessions until the work is completed.
Large scale pieces like back pieces, full sleeves, be they arm or leg sleeves are huge commitments on the part of both artist and client. They take a lot of time and planning, and they can’t be done in one session.
