How big should my first tattoo be?

Most first tattoos should be medium, roughly 5 to 15 cm, and larger if the placement allows it. Designs under 5 cm read as an accent rather than a piece of art, and very small linework fades fastest. On an inner forearm, 10 to 15 cm across is a reliable size that is big enough to look intentional and small enough to cover with a sleeve.

How big should your tattoo be?

Centimetre ranges for 14 placements, and how to turn a vague idea into a size you can give an artist.

6 min read

How do tattoo artists measure size?

Artists measure on the body, not on the design. The useful numbers are the design width in centimetres and the width of the placement area. If your forearm template is about 45 cm wide and you set the design to 15 cm, that is roughly a third of the forearm across — a medium piece that still reads clearly from a normal distance.

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Why do tattoos look bigger in person than in a photo?

Photos and small mirrors distort scale, because the camera sits closer than the eye and wide lenses exaggerate the nearest surface. Judge size against a known reference instead: the width of your palm is roughly 8 to 10 cm, your face length is about 20 cm, and your forearm is around 45 cm across. Use those as your ruler.

What size design suits a small body part?

Small placements need simplified designs rather than shrunken ones. On a wrist or finger, remove detail instead of compressing it: one bold snake reads well at 3 cm, while the same snake with scales and shading turns into a grey smudge at the same size. Simplify the linework and keep the silhouette clear.