How big is a 10 cm tattoo?
updated
A 10 cm tattoo is 3.9 in on its longest side: a bank card plus about 1.5 cm, or two-thirds the height of a typical smartphone. It is a true medium piece. On the forearm it runs almost half the way from wrist to elbow; on the upper back it is a small piece between the shoulder blades.
10 cm in real life
Ten centimetres (3.9 in, just under 4 inches) is one of the most asked-for tattoo sizes, and an easy one to picture. A bank card is 8.56 cm long, so add the width of a finger to its end. A smartphone is roughly 15 cm tall, so 10 cm is two-thirds of it. An A4 sheet is 21 cm wide, so 10 cm is a little under half its width.
As with every tattoo size, the 10 cm is the longest side. A 10 × 10 cm round design such as a mandala or a compass covers twice the area of a 10 × 5 cm upright one such as a dagger or a single flower stem, and takes longer to tattoo. When you tell your artist "10 cm", give the other side too.
Is it 6 x 4 inches or 6 x 4 cm?
Searches like "6x4 tattoo size" are ambiguous, and so are many quotes. In inches, 6 × 4 in is 15.2 × 10.2 cm: a large piece whose short side is this page's 10 cm, closer to the 15 cm page. In centimetres, 6 × 4 cm is 2.4 × 1.6 in, a small piece covered on the 5 cm page. American studios usually quote inches, European and Australian ones centimetres. To convert, divide centimetres by 2.54, or multiply inches by 2.54.
| Size | Inches | Room compared with 10 cm | Sizing guides place it on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 cm | 3.1 in | about two-thirds | upper arm, shoulder, chest |
| 10 cm | 3.9 in | the same | forearm, upper arm, chest, calf |
| 12 cm | 4.7 in | about one and a half times | forearm, upper back, chest |
| 15 cm | 5.9 in | about two and a quarter times | forearm, upper back, thigh |
What a 10 cm tattoo holds
At 10 cm most styles work. Bosphorus Ink's guide gives at least 10 cm for watercolour, 6–10 cm for fine-line work and 8–15 cm for a short sentence, and suggests 10 cm as the lower end for the upper arm and the calf. There is room for an animal with real shading, a flower with stem and leaves, a traditional piece with a banner, or a quote over two or three lines with letters comfortably above the 3–4 mm minimum that studios advise (Vatican Tattoo Studio, Think Tank Tattoo).
What 10 cm does not give you is a portrait. Bosphorus Ink sets realism at 15 cm minimum and prefers 20 cm for a face. Very fine detail also ages: Think Tank Tattoo designs for 10–20% line spread after healing, and Vatican Tattoo Studio describes visible thickening after about ten years, so a woodcut-style piece full of hatching benefits from the extra space of 12 cm or more.
A 10 cm tattoo on the forearm, chest and back
The same three areas appear on every size page with the same framing (45 cm of body in the frame height for the forearm, 50 cm for the chest, 60 cm for the back), so the pictures below compare directly with the 8 cm and 12 cm pages.
Seen from the side, the forearm piece shows what a flat print-out hides: at 10 cm the design is wide enough to turn round the outer arm, so part of it curves round the arm and away from a viewer standing beside you. On the chest it reads clearly as a medium piece. On the back the same size is small, which is why the tattoo size chart puts anything under 10 cm in the upper back's small range.
Which placements suit 10 cm?
The forearm is the most common. The Sydney Tattoo Convention lists 10–12 cm for the forearm, upper back and chest, and 8–10 cm for the upper arm, lower leg and shoulder. On the upper arm 10 cm sits on the outer side without wrapping far; on the calf it fits the back or the outer side. One side of the chest takes 10 cm as a medium piece. The ribs and thigh take it too, though the thigh's medium range runs 12–20 cm and a 10 cm piece there can look a size small.
On the back, 10 cm is the start of the medium range, good for a piece that a larger design may later grow around.
How long does a 10 cm tattoo take?
Usually one sitting of a few hours. Platinum Ink puts medium tattoos at two to four hours, and Skin Design Tattoos' chart gives 4–5 hours for 3–4 in (7.6–10.2 cm). Line work alone is at the short end; dense shading or colour packing is at the long end. Chronic Ink suggests keeping a first session to 3–5 hours, so a detailed 10 cm piece as a first tattoo may be split in two.
Seeing 10 cm before the appointment
Mark 10 cm on the spot with a pen, measuring along the skin over the curve. Then put your design on one of 74 plaster 3D bodies in plan.tattoo, type 10 cm, and look from the front, the side and behind. If it feels small, try 12 cm; if it crowds the area, try 8 cm.
Questions
How big is a 10 cm tattoo?
A 10 cm tattoo is 3.9 inches, just under 4 inches, on its longest side. That is a bank card plus about one and a half centimetres, or two-thirds of a typical smartphone's height. It counts as a medium tattoo in most studio sizing guides.
Is a 10 cm tattoo big?
It depends on the placement. On the forearm 10 cm is a medium piece covering almost half the distance from wrist to elbow. On one side of the chest it reads as a clear medium piece. On the upper back it is still a small piece.
Is 10 cm better on the inner forearm or the calf?
Both take it well. The inner forearm is flatter and narrower, so a 10 cm design fills more of it and faces you when you look down at your arm. The calf is rounder, so the sides of a wide 10 cm piece curve out of sight from the front. Place it on both spots on a plaster cast and compare.
What is 10 cm in inches for a tattoo?
Ten centimetres is 3.9 inches, because one inch is 2.54 centimetres. A shop that quotes a 4 inch tattoo means about 10.2 centimetres, so for planning purposes a 4 inch tattoo and a 10 cm tattoo are the same size.
Can a 10 cm tattoo have lettering?
Yes. Ten centimetres holds a short quote over two or three lines with letters well above the three to four millimetre minimum studios recommend. Larger letters stay readable for longer as the lines soften with age.
Sources: Sydney Tattoo Convention: tattoo size and body part guide · Bosphorus Ink: tattoo size and placement guide · Skin Design Tattoos: tattoo sizing guide · Think Tank Tattoo: script tattoo sizing · Vatican Tattoo Studio: why micro tattoos blur · Platinum Ink: how long does a tattoo take · Chronic Ink: how long do tattoos take