Portfolio
Leg sleeves
Full leg sleeves and large leg pieces: deep-sea wrecks, bears in the river, horror icons and waterfalls. A leg gives realism the room to tell a whole scene from ankle to thigh.
Ankle to thigh
one composition
Full days
booked a few weeks apart
$2,000
per full day
[x] to [y]
sessions for most leg sleeves
Design
A whole scene, top to bottom.
A leg is a long canvas, which suits scenes with depth: sky or surface near the top of the thigh, the main subject across the thigh and calf, and the deep water, roots or ground down towards the ankle. The design wraps around the leg so it reads from every side, with the knee and ankle used as natural transitions.
Half or full
Start with a half, finish the whole leg.
Many clients start with the thigh or the lower leg and continue later. If you think you’ll want a full leg sleeve one day, say so in your application, and Dylan will design the first half so it can carry on.
Placement
What to expect on the leg.
The outer thigh and calf are usually the easiest areas to sit for. The knee, the back of the knee, the shin and the ankle are more sensitive, so they’re planned into sessions carefully rather than done all at once.
Healing
Healing a leg sleeve.
Wear loose, soft clothing over it, keep the leg raised when you can for the first couple of days and avoid long periods standing. Keep it out of the ocean, pools and direct sun until it’s fully healed. Read the full aftercare guide.
Watch · 319K views on Instagram
Underwater leg sleeve
An underwater leg sleeve in progress: a deep-sea anglerfish, a crayfish, a shipwreck and a shark, over a couple of big days.
Questions
Common questions
Most leg sleeves take several full days, depending on the size and detail. Dylan will give you an estimate of days once he’s seen your idea. [Dylan: typical range of days for a full leg sleeve.]
Every session is charged at the day rate of $2,000 per full day, so the total depends on how many days the design needs. See how much a tattoo costs.
Yes. Start with the thigh or the lower leg, and tell Dylan if you’d like to continue later so the design can grow.
Scenes with depth work best: deep sea and shipwrecks, rivers and mountains, waterfalls, forests and horror line-ups. Browse the pieces above for ideas.
Often, yes. Send clear photos of the whole leg and read the cover-ups and reworks guide.
More large-scale work
Have a piece in mind?
Books open a few times a year. The waitlist hears first.