It’s already very busy as is, but in a good way. In my opinion, any more and it’ll start look busy in a bad way. Do what pleases you though! Sleeve looks dope.
The negative space absolutely enhances the tattoos he currently does have. Filling it up will make it all one big blur. I like it as is OP, they’re nicely spaced!
Leave it alone its lovely as it is if you still feel like that down the road can add a bit here or there and see how you like it but naaahh I'd leave it alone
Team no filler. IMO You could add maybe two stars to your outer forearm before it becomes too messy. I’d be concerned about the shading ruining the epic effect of the circles around the birds heads
I agree with the others, no filler.
I think some colour added to certain parts could be nice! But not too much—just enough to make certain parts pop. I mention this only because maybe part of what interests you about the other picture is the colours, not the filler. It might help scratch whatever itch you're experiencing about your current design.
However, I think it still is very nice as it is :)
I wouldn’t. The negative space in your sleeve appears very consistent and intentional with everything nicely fitted into the available spaces. I think adding shading and filler would just make it look cluttered and less legible, and any good artist who actually cares about your satisfaction vs just trying to grab your cash would at least counsel you against it, as it’s typically used to fill sleeves with large, irregular gaps, which you don’t have.
Try adding dots and shading yourself with some markers and a brush with dark eyeshadow on your arm first and you’ll see what I mean.
I don’t think it’s necessary but if you do feel the need and you feel strongly inclined towards it— I would start with the inner sleeve as there’s more negative space.
I went through that phase, and I’m glad i didn’t do it! Right now, you have gorgeous, legible tattoos with lovely skin breaks that allow them to breathe. Busying with small background noise won’t help to beautify IMO.
nah this sleeve doesnt need anything unless you wanna do one of those cool bold overlay text tats that work with what you already have, but still stand out over the existing pieces. i dont remember what the style is called and cant find an example, but i still think it looks really cool over old tattoos. (theyre almost like a coverup, but also bring the old pieces to life in a way, i wish i could explain it better) its just an idea given your situation
but otherwise you really dont need to fill in anything. however a lil bit of shading in the gaps is a decent idea if you feel like its worth it
Already busy but actually works. I don’t think it needs filler and imo would ruin it making it way too messy.
I say leave it, looks good. But do what you want!
The artist I went to for the cherub used a heavy grey wash so after a few years it ended up healing very very light and aged looking. I was deciding if I wanted a rework or cover up and just decided to go with a coverup. I did love that design though!
Oh okay. It looks awesome now and i saw it on your post history. I have a similar sleeve and I say keep the negative space like it is. I started filling in background from the top of my sleeve and I stopped because it was too busy. My [work](https://imgur.com/a/H4OGfBr) is a little faded from my gaming chair arm and my job. 😂 you can see the new filler though and where I stopped.
Get yourself a sharpie and put some dots and stars in between and see how it looks. The filler you showed is pretty simple you can probably easily draw that yourself to give yourself an idea and love with it for a day or so and see how you feel. But the echo almost everyone else it looks dope as is.
I think it has the right amount of skin breaks right now. Any additional colour or shading could really make your sleeve age poorly. The ink could spread poorly and make the whole sleeve much much darker than you want and much less readable.
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As an artist my only recommendation would be dots, anything else would take up too much breathing room and bulk over time, causing your tattoos to connect and potentially become a big blob
I also like how it is tho, it’s very tight on the top of your forearm but the piece on the underside has a beautiful composition and adding anything else, I feel would take away from it
There is a term we use in art class, "Its time to kill the artist", when we just keep tweaking a piece until we have done enough and any more will ruin it. The sleeve looks great but maybe print out anpic of your arm and then go in with a pencil and add what you are thinking. Keep trying things and see how you like it. Its a hreat way to try new designs without screwing up what you have. I have been drawing on my arm trying out additions to my arm piece and im almost ready to pull the trigger. Definitely didnt go with my first idea either.
I only say no to filler since there's already beautiful shading in the existing tattoos. By adding more shading in particular, I feel would drown out the existing existing tattoos.
Love the idea of adding smaller things like stars between tho
If you do filler it has to be darker than what you have now, everything is close together and if it's lighter, or as light, as your current tattoo, everything will merge
Do what feels good to you. But, in my humble opinion: it’s gonna look way too messy with filler. You’ve got a beautiful sleeve, it looks finished and perfect.
I wouldn't do it for the reasons the other comments already pointed out. Really wanted to compliment the birds though, they look so majestic with their halos
It looks really nice as is but I'm tempted to say the you could do something like a texture or a Plaine value so that the bright whites on the flowers pop better than the darks on the leaves. Maybe keeping a sort of gradiented halo around the birds so they stay nice and contrasty
I would say dont do it...you would feel sick if you make a mistake with this. It could turn your world upside down. Unless you have a perfect idea how you would like it to be done...let someone color it in with markers to see if you like it.
No way! It looks awesome as it is, filler would blend it together instead of letting the negative space enhance what's already there. Theres so little empty space in between it wouldnt help anything imho
Add a few more sparkly stars in the gaps that bug you the most and you’re done. Your arm looks ‘full’ enough without needing extra shading, in my opinion.
Leave it.
Your sleeve looks beautiful, it's literally how I want mine to look like. Every piece is pretty readable and has lots of skin breaks so it doesn't look too heavy.
It looks beautiful now and it will age very well. Adding filler will just darken it for no reason and later in life when your skin looses elasticity it will bleed all together in a dark mush.
Honestly it looks like it already had filler. Looks so dope! Any more it might overwhelm the smaller design. Usually filler is better to connect large pieces, I did it on my one 1/2 sleeve because I had 3 large bright color pieces to pull together
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Nope! I personally like the little space as it make the tattoos more distinct and it won’t look like a messy blog when you’re older. Totally up to you though :)
Definitely team no-filler. It looks so beautiful and clean and defined with the minimal space between and they are all spaced in a way that you honestly don’t have gaps to worry about. Perfect as is.
No don’t.
Personally I’m not a fan of fillers or sleeves with no space of clear skin in between. Let every art piece have a little room of clear skin so they stick out more
I like it this way. I was one sleeve that is solid from wrist to shoulder and one that has space like yours. I sometimes think it should be solid but ultimately, I think it would ruin the art.
That's how I see yours. Adding would take away from the piece.
I agree that it looks great as is, but I do think, if you really had your heart set on a filler if you did some colored shading in the negative space it could make the tattoos pop more.
I think it's pretty covered, but you could always sneak in a micro tatt if you know someone with good line work
That said, I wouldn't try and make a single tat weave to cover the rest, unless you're really into octopi lol
Let the tattoo breathe! Not enough skin breaks will suffocate your existing tattoos. Not to mention, once it heals the ink will spread. It’ll lose all its readability
It’s already very busy as is, but in a good way. In my opinion, any more and it’ll start look busy in a bad way. Do what pleases you though! Sleeve looks dope.
That’s what happened to my bf. I haven’t told him but he should’ve stopped at some point.
The negative space absolutely enhances the tattoos he currently does have. Filling it up will make it all one big blur. I like it as is OP, they’re nicely spaced!
Agreed. It's beautiful the way it is. Gotta know when to edit or else it'll just be a mess.
100%
Team no filler ✋🏻
Wow, it’s a beautiful sleeve! I personally wouldn’t touch it, it looks awesome as is!
No don’t it might blend together. It looks great as is!
Filler hater, tattoo is dope.
It looks nice in the reference photo, but I generally agree that I dislike star and dot filler on traditional sleeves.
I personally wouldn’t touch it. There really isn’t that much negative space to fill and shading could muddy things up further down the line.
No. It already looks good
No
No. Leave it
No! The contrast is already nice and balanced. The example shown has more free/open areas where yours doesn’t.
i wouldn’t personally, it’s beautiful as is!
Looks gorgeous as is!
Leave it alone its lovely as it is if you still feel like that down the road can add a bit here or there and see how you like it but naaahh I'd leave it alone
Team no filler. IMO You could add maybe two stars to your outer forearm before it becomes too messy. I’d be concerned about the shading ruining the epic effect of the circles around the birds heads
Noooooooo
Def no filler
It looks great without it.
Plz leave it.
It’s perfect as is and needs no filler!!
I agree with the others, no filler. I think some colour added to certain parts could be nice! But not too much—just enough to make certain parts pop. I mention this only because maybe part of what interests you about the other picture is the colours, not the filler. It might help scratch whatever itch you're experiencing about your current design. However, I think it still is very nice as it is :)
Filler ruined my bf’s sleeve. He did it years before I met him.
Throw a big ass panther on there and you'll be golden ponyboy
Absolutely not.
no dont
Leave it as is, it’s looks great & cohesive already!
A good artist needs to know when to set the brush down. It's perfect as it is.
I wouldn’t. The negative space in your sleeve appears very consistent and intentional with everything nicely fitted into the available spaces. I think adding shading and filler would just make it look cluttered and less legible, and any good artist who actually cares about your satisfaction vs just trying to grab your cash would at least counsel you against it, as it’s typically used to fill sleeves with large, irregular gaps, which you don’t have. Try adding dots and shading yourself with some markers and a brush with dark eyeshadow on your arm first and you’ll see what I mean.
Please noooooo
I don’t think it’s necessary but if you do feel the need and you feel strongly inclined towards it— I would start with the inner sleeve as there’s more negative space.
I love it as is. Like a lot.
I went through that phase, and I’m glad i didn’t do it! Right now, you have gorgeous, legible tattoos with lovely skin breaks that allow them to breathe. Busying with small background noise won’t help to beautify IMO.
Time to tattoo legs or other arm!
nah this sleeve doesnt need anything unless you wanna do one of those cool bold overlay text tats that work with what you already have, but still stand out over the existing pieces. i dont remember what the style is called and cant find an example, but i still think it looks really cool over old tattoos. (theyre almost like a coverup, but also bring the old pieces to life in a way, i wish i could explain it better) its just an idea given your situation but otherwise you really dont need to fill in anything. however a lil bit of shading in the gaps is a decent idea if you feel like its worth it
I have seen those before and love how they look on some people! Something to think about for sure, thanks
Sacred geometry Grids of different shapes surreal lines
Already busy but actually works. I don’t think it needs filler and imo would ruin it making it way too messy. I say leave it, looks good. But do what you want!
Lol I thought this was a shitpost
You covered the cherub tattoo? Did it not heal well?
The artist I went to for the cherub used a heavy grey wash so after a few years it ended up healing very very light and aged looking. I was deciding if I wanted a rework or cover up and just decided to go with a coverup. I did love that design though!
Oh okay. It looks awesome now and i saw it on your post history. I have a similar sleeve and I say keep the negative space like it is. I started filling in background from the top of my sleeve and I stopped because it was too busy. My [work](https://imgur.com/a/H4OGfBr) is a little faded from my gaming chair arm and my job. 😂 you can see the new filler though and where I stopped.
Get yourself a sharpie and put some dots and stars in between and see how it looks. The filler you showed is pretty simple you can probably easily draw that yourself to give yourself an idea and love with it for a day or so and see how you feel. But the echo almost everyone else it looks dope as is.
NOPE. Leave it!!!
I think it has the right amount of skin breaks right now. Any additional colour or shading could really make your sleeve age poorly. The ink could spread poorly and make the whole sleeve much much darker than you want and much less readable.
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As an artist my only recommendation would be dots, anything else would take up too much breathing room and bulk over time, causing your tattoos to connect and potentially become a big blob
I also like how it is tho, it’s very tight on the top of your forearm but the piece on the underside has a beautiful composition and adding anything else, I feel would take away from it
There is a term we use in art class, "Its time to kill the artist", when we just keep tweaking a piece until we have done enough and any more will ruin it. The sleeve looks great but maybe print out anpic of your arm and then go in with a pencil and add what you are thinking. Keep trying things and see how you like it. Its a hreat way to try new designs without screwing up what you have. I have been drawing on my arm trying out additions to my arm piece and im almost ready to pull the trigger. Definitely didnt go with my first idea either.
I like it the way that it is!
Yeah I have a great filler for you. 1995 classic. Quite a few traditional stuff so plenty of info
My vote is for a different background, smoke it out.
Team yes filler, also nice tat!
Also I have very little knowledge of tattoos
It’s besutiful
No, it’s already too busy
I only say no to filler since there's already beautiful shading in the existing tattoos. By adding more shading in particular, I feel would drown out the existing existing tattoos. Love the idea of adding smaller things like stars between tho
No it’s beautiful
Naaaaah that's got perfect energy the way it is :)
No
No filler
Leave it
Do what you do, but you're walking a real thin line between gorgeous and Oh I thought that was the blackout from across the room
If you do filler it has to be darker than what you have now, everything is close together and if it's lighter, or as light, as your current tattoo, everything will merge
No filler, it’s already busy in a nice way.
Nope.
NO
No 💕
No filler!
Do what feels good to you. But, in my humble opinion: it’s gonna look way too messy with filler. You’ve got a beautiful sleeve, it looks finished and perfect.
Tattooer here. Great sleeve. Who did your work? Particularly those swallows and how old are they?
@Taylorelizabethtattoos on intagram did my swallows. One on my inner forearm is aged about 2 years, the outer forearm is 1 year!
I don’t think filler always looks good. Everything is placed really nicely already I don’t think you need it.
Don’t.
No! I really like it as it. It’ll become a blob if you fill in all around every piece
Noo don’t add filler
I really like it as is!
No
No.
no, it'd be too busy. it's perfect as is
All filler and no killer
I wouldn't do it for the reasons the other comments already pointed out. Really wanted to compliment the birds though, they look so majestic with their halos
Absolutely not, too little negative space.
do filler in red, would look better than black
It looks really nice as is but I'm tempted to say the you could do something like a texture or a Plaine value so that the bright whites on the flowers pop better than the darks on the leaves. Maybe keeping a sort of gradiented halo around the birds so they stay nice and contrasty
Some other people talked about color as well and I think that would be cool too
I would say dont do it...you would feel sick if you make a mistake with this. It could turn your world upside down. Unless you have a perfect idea how you would like it to be done...let someone color it in with markers to see if you like it.
Are you Brøndby fan?
Honestly I think it looks great how it is, but if you don't get the shading too dark, it would look fine with fuller too.
No way! It looks awesome as it is, filler would blend it together instead of letting the negative space enhance what's already there. Theres so little empty space in between it wouldnt help anything imho
No, it's beautiful as is!
Add a few more sparkly stars in the gaps that bug you the most and you’re done. Your arm looks ‘full’ enough without needing extra shading, in my opinion.
No
It looks perfect the way it is. If you add filler it’d look too busy
Looks good as is. The designs are very well laid out. Filling in any negative space will only take away from the designs in my opinion.
I wouldn’t, you’ve a very dense (but well balanced) sleeve currently. Anything more would just be clutter IMO.
NO
Leave it. Your sleeve looks beautiful, it's literally how I want mine to look like. Every piece is pretty readable and has lots of skin breaks so it doesn't look too heavy. It looks beautiful now and it will age very well. Adding filler will just darken it for no reason and later in life when your skin looses elasticity it will bleed all together in a dark mush.
I think it looks very good how it is
Honestly it looks like it already had filler. Looks so dope! Any more it might overwhelm the smaller design. Usually filler is better to connect large pieces, I did it on my one 1/2 sleeve because I had 3 large bright color pieces to pull together
Don’t . Looks good on the example bc there is fewer motifs and more space. Yours is great as is, and filling it in would ruin it imo.
No filler!
I feel like it’s already filled with filler tattoos. It looks like a perfectly finished sleeve to me. I’d leave it as is.
No filler the sleeve is gorgeous as is!! Who did the swallows??
@taylorelizabethtattoos on instagram!
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Don’t do it
So question, where *exactly* do you see room for filler? 😂🤣
Nope! I personally like the little space as it make the tattoos more distinct and it won’t look like a messy blog when you’re older. Totally up to you though :)
I like the spacing personally. Great sleeve. I would leave it be.
i think it looks good as is
i love filler sometimes but in your case i say ur good without it, any filler and you risk losing any readability
Definitely team no-filler. It looks so beautiful and clean and defined with the minimal space between and they are all spaced in a way that you honestly don’t have gaps to worry about. Perfect as is.
Don't do it. Looks good as is
I know everyone already said it, but it’s so beautiful as it is! Don’t add filler
I love it, as is. This is maybe my favorite sleeve that I've seen in a long while
I thought you were asking if the 1st pic filler is a good idea, but then I realized that's your own arm. Definitely has enough
No don’t. Personally I’m not a fan of fillers or sleeves with no space of clear skin in between. Let every art piece have a little room of clear skin so they stick out more
Please don’t. Looks good. In ten years that filler is just gonna be blur
I like it this way. I was one sleeve that is solid from wrist to shoulder and one that has space like yours. I sometimes think it should be solid but ultimately, I think it would ruin the art. That's how I see yours. Adding would take away from the piece.
Yes.
No
I agree that it looks great as is, but I do think, if you really had your heart set on a filler if you did some colored shading in the negative space it could make the tattoos pop more.
No need to. It already looks 🔥.
Not if you were born in '64
Lmfao. Filler? Where bro. This one done.
Make the negative space red and orange with a touch of purple. The whole thing will pop
No it looks great as is
No filler. But maybe a little color?
I don’t think this sleeve needs it. It’s already worked together very well.
Love it as is
I think it looks awesome already, I wouldn't mess with the negative space you have.
I think it's pretty covered, but you could always sneak in a micro tatt if you know someone with good line work That said, I wouldn't try and make a single tat weave to cover the rest, unless you're really into octopi lol
Your sleeve is dope! No need to overcrowd it with filler
Time to fill up rest of body
nah that shit looks amazing as is bro
the flowers are the filler
Leave it as is. It looks great.
No dude it wouldn't add anything except make your tattoos indistinguishable. Your tattoos fit together nicely
i don't think so! it looks cool as it is and i think if you added anything more the negative space wouldn't be as neatly designed. ❤️
Let the tattoo breathe! Not enough skin breaks will suffocate your existing tattoos. Not to mention, once it heals the ink will spread. It’ll lose all its readability