Sleeve Tattoo Designs For Men

Sleeve tattoos are an amazing way to show off your attitude and when you are into body art, nothing beats getting a full arm or a full leg tattoo. There are plenty of designs to choose from, each with a connotation of its own. Pick the designs that best represents what you are as a person or what you would like to express through your tattoos. Tattoos after all are an extension of one's self. To help you pick the most suitable tattoo designs, here are some of the common sleeve tattoo ideas that you could use.

When you want to come up with the best tattoo design ideas, you should ask yourself why you are getting a tattoo done, whether there is any significance or it's just for plain experimentation. Sleeve tattoo designs for men could range from one singular solid design to a combination of contrasting designs to create a unique effect. You could get a tattoo using a lot of colored inks or just a simple monochromatic one. Remember to always pick a design that suits you best. The designs can also be divided into two distinct categories on the basis of the length of the tattoo 'sleeve'. They could be half sleeve tattoo designs or full sleeved tattoo designs according to the arm length they cover.

Tribal Designs
There are a number of impressive tribal tattoos that are inspired from tribal motifs hailing from different parts of the world. Each culture has their own unique patterns and symbols with their own different meanings.

Polynesian Designs
The Polynesian island natives consider tattoos as a part of their culture and it has deep spiritual and cultural meanings for them. Tattooing was done in the tribes of the Polynesian islands even by their ancestors and these designs have been passed on from generation to generation. Evidently, Polynesian tattoo designs and meanings go way back. Tattooing for them is a part of their sexual appeal. Also, the tattoos that a person gets done stands for their rank and status in the tribe. In the Polynesian tribes, the kids are supposed to get their first tattoos as soon as they reach puberty, a ritual that allows them to pass from childhood to adulthood. The process is very different from the machine tattoos done nowadays. The tattoo design is made with a stone and a sharp piece of bone or bamboo and can take much longer time than normal. Getting tattoos made therefore also implies how courageous a man is to withstand such a painful procedure. But you can still get it done using the needle. There are many tribes in these islands each with their own unique design styles. The types of Polynesian tattoo designs are:

• Maori Designs: Maori tattoo designs consist of spiraling, curvilinear motifs with a lot of loops.
• Hawaiian Tattoo Designs: These are usually designs based on nature and include flowers, turtles, dolphins, and waves. It represents the people's love for their island.
• Tiki Tattoo Designs: These are inspired from the Tiki gods and goddesses that constitute a major part of Polynesian culture. They are said to bring good fortune.
• Samoan Tattoo Designs: These are highly detailed tattoo designs known for their intricacies and actually requires a very steady hand to do these tattoos. Traditionally called pe'a in men, these tattoos are done by piercing the skin with a shark's or a pig's razor-sharp tooth among the tribals. The designs are generally abstract with deep and multilayer cultural meanings to them.

Aztec Designs
These tattoo designs are truly impressive and have major historical significance as they belong to the ancient culture of the Aztecs. These tattoo designs are hundreds of years old and consist of many symbols from the ancient Aztec civilization, including references to the sun, the moon and the stars. Tattoos were also made to represent gods and goddesses and nature, including plants, birds and animals. Aztec designs thus contain fascinating depictions of jaguars, snakes and eagles. Some of the common Aztec tattoos are drawings of the Sun god with daggers and other mysterious symbols surrounding it. Another favorite is the feathered serpent-god Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan and is associated with higher learning and fertility.

Haida Designs
The Haida are a tribe of native American Indians that live on the Queen Charlotte Islands off the coast of Canada. They have unique tattoo designs based on nature, animals and birds. Other designs include totem poles and other native American religious symbols. These are simple designs that use few basic colors and look like they are from a different world and time.

Cultural and Calligraphic Tattoos
Many tattoo designs can also be created from the use of cultural tattoo designs from all over the world. Traditional Chinese and Japanese tattoos can be used to create eye-catching designs and they all have rich cultural and historical meanings. A lot of people including celebrities, like to use calligraphy and foreign scripts on their body. Chinese, Devnagari and Japanese scripts along with traditional symbols such as dragons, zen symbols or other designs can be used to create spectacular designs.

Chinese Designs
Chinese designs could range from Chinese writing tattoos to cultural and religious symbols. These can be used to write names or texts with personal meaning. They are stylish tattoos that can be written in various fonts to bring out the exact emotions you want them to portray. So go ahead and get some Chinese style body graffiti. Some celebrities have already used Chinese calligraphy for body art. Chinese dragon tattoos are very popular as are tattoos based on zodiac signs according to the Chinese horoscope. The various symbols from the Chinese horoscope include dragons, pigs, tigers, snakes and other creatures.

Japanese Tattoo Designs
Japanese tattoo art consist of Japanese calligraphy styles and symbols. Popular Japanese tattoo symbols and designs are dragons, koi fish, hannya masks, calligraphy and symbols from the Buddhist and Zen religions.

Mystic Designs
Mystic tattoo designs could be created using text or symbols from ancient and present day religions. Celtic, Egyptian or Greek designs can be opted for in such a case. Celtic tattoos for men include Celtic spiral tattoos, Celtic maze tattoos, animal shaped tattoos and other Celtic knot designs. Egyptian tattoos could include the use of Egyptian hieroglyphics and fascinating mythical creatures and deities from Egyptian culture including the jackal headed Anubis, the green skinned god Osiris and the falcon headed deity Ra. These could be used together to create interesting sleeve tattoo designs.

All the above ideas can be used individually or in confluence with each other to create interesting designs. You could always come up with your own ideas from what inspires and moves you. There is no fixed rule on getting tattoo designs. You can get any design as long as it suits you best.