When is a "half-sleeve" not a half sleeve?

[soraya]

I know this is an old thread, but stumbled across it, I found it interesting, and wanted to contribute my 2 cents.

I understand that the Japanese practitioners may consider “7/10” the minimum for a sleeve, and I understand that they may feel that anything less should not be called a “sleeve.” Using the term sleeve means something very specific to them in their aesthetic vocabulary. They have a great tradition that I respect, and would not argue that.

But in a less formal sense, “sleeve” becomes simply a convenient shorthand to describe a type and extent of tattoo coverage on the arms. It is easier to say “I have a quarter sleeve,” than to say “I have a tattoo that extends from the tip of my shoulder to about half-way between my shoulder and elbow and wraps all the way around my arm.”

So if people don’t like the term quarter-sleeve, or think that a quarter sleeve is not worthy of calling a “sleeve” that is ok with me. To each his/her own.

But I do have my own rules. :-) To me, a sleeve, regardless of length, has to:

• wrap all around the arm,
  
• have a background that is more or less continuous and that ties it together,
  
• have coverage that is fairly dense, with little skin showing through.
  

Someone here said that 100% of the skin should be covered. I don’t really agree with that, because even if you look a the most traditional Japanese sleeves, you see some skin showing through on the wind bars, clouds, finger waves, etc. However the overall effect is of full continuous coverage, even if it is not literally 100%.

I have seen ladies with beautiful tattoos covering most of an arm - like flowers or vines wrapping around, but with no background. Although stunningly beautiful, to me that is not a sleeve because there is so much skin showing through.

Just my opinion…

[AuntTudie]

Don't really care. I have my shoulder to my arm on the outside of my arm. That is too much shyt to say. So I say half sleeve. Or I say Buddha. Or I say tattoo. I just got the other shoulder to arm covered on the outside of my arm 13'x8' lengthwise. What a headache. Shorten it up with 2 half sleeves.

[jen7]

cool! something else to be snobby about!

[UglyButProud]

When is a "half sleeve" not a half sleeve?

Pffffttttt... when it's a full sleeve. Quit being a sissy and get to work ;)

[Rolandinho1029]

A "half-sleeve" tattoo typically covers the upper or lower half of the arm, but sometimes the term gets loosely used. If the tattoo doesn't extend from the shoulder to the elbow (or elbow to wrist), it might be referred to as a "partial sleeve" instead. In contrast, a "full sleeve" tattoo covers the entire arm from the shoulder to the wrist (example). So, if the tattoo doesn't fully cover the defined half of the arm, it might not be considered a true "half-sleeve."