World, nature and object themes offer a rich resource for tattoo designs. For instance, have a geographical map of the world tattooed as an arm sleeve. Alternatively, make an arm sleeve out of an architectural monument by choosing a specific famous landmark, or make a cityscape of several. Create a metallic industrial pattern of metal rivets on an bridge. Take ideas from nature to present an under-the-sea world of marine life. Cover your arm sleeve with bees or a wood-grain effect crawling with woodworms and other insects. Present an orchestra of musical instruments and a score of musical notes. Record a victorious moment at a sporting event, such as a motorcar race or a baseball match. Likewise, use a sleeve design from a favorite piece of clothing and have that tattooed on the arm as a permanent sleeve.
Fantastical scenes are the most imaginative in arm sleeve design. Take horror as a theme to create bloodcurdling gory pictures, maybe inspired by a cult horror classic. Or have a tattoo that looks like a sleeve of exposed flesh. As a lighter alternative, create a cartoon strip of animated characters or a film strip of scenes from old silent movies! Defend an arm with a tribal warrior or an American soldier on guard duty. For pure fantasy, create windows into different fantasy worlds with views into strange places with fantasy creatures. Alternatively, use inspiration from the surrealist art of Salvador Dali to decorate an arm sleeve with surreal images.
Create personalized arm sleeves by using family photos to present a family album as a sleeve. Display a deck of cards in which the faces of the Kings, Queens and Jacks adopt the faces of family members. Write a mini-autobiography, or have illustrated a pictorial alphabet, with each letter of the alphabet visually representing some aspect in a person's life journey. Lastly, have a single family portrait painted in the style of Rembrandt or a Picasso in his cubist phase.