8 cm tattoo: real size on the body
updated
An 8 cm tattoo is 3.1 in on its longest side, almost exactly the length of a bank card (8.56 cm). It is where small tattoos end and medium ones begin: enough room for shading, a short phrase or a detailed animal, and the smallest size most guides suggest for the chest, ribs and shoulder.
How big is an 8 cm tattoo?
Take any bank, debit or ID card out of your wallet. Bank cards follow one international size, 8.56 × 5.4 cm, so a tattoo 8 cm long is about half a centimetre shorter than the card. That makes the card a handy template: hold it against the spot you have in mind, lengthways or across, and you are looking at an 8 cm (3.1 in) tattoo with room to spare at one end.
The card is also a useful reminder that tattoo sizes count the longest side. An 8 cm tall design that is only 4 cm wide covers half the area of an 8 cm square one. When an artist quotes "8 cm", ask whether that is the height, the width or both, and give your own measurements the same way.
The line between small and medium
Studios draw the boundary in slightly different places, but 8 cm sits on it in each of the guides we checked. Bosphorus Ink calls 7–15 cm medium. The Sydney Tattoo Convention lists 7–8 cm as its largest small size, for the shoulder, thigh and side ribs, and 8–10 cm as its first medium size, for the upper arm, lower leg and shoulder. Skin Design Tattoos, which works in inches, calls 2–6 in medium, and 8 cm is 3.1 in.
In practice the line matters because of what it lets the design hold. At 5 cm a design is mostly outline. By 8 cm there is room inside the outline for shading, a second line weight and some texture. A 9 cm piece gains a little more: area grows with the square of the side, so 9 cm has about a quarter more room than 8 cm, and 6 cm a little over half as much.
| Size | Inches | About as long as | Typical placements |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 cm | 2.4 in | a bank card's short side plus a little | wrist, ankle, collarbone, inner forearm |
| 7 cm | 2.8 in | three £1 coins in a row | forearm, calf, shoulder |
| 8 cm | 3.1 in | a bank card's long side, just under | upper arm, shoulder, chest, ribs, thigh |
| 9 cm | 3.5 in | a bank card, with a few millimetres over | upper arm, chest, calf |
What fits in an 8 cm tattoo?
This is the size where several styles become comfortable. Bosphorus Ink gives 6–10 cm for fine-line pieces on the wrist or forearm, 8–15 cm for a short sentence, 8–20 cm for geometric designs and from 5–8 cm upward for traditional work. A small animal with shading, a flower with leaves, a dagger, a moth or a two-line quote all fit.
Lettering has room to breathe. Studios recommend letters no smaller than about 3–4 mm (Vatican Tattoo Studio, Think Tank Tattoo), and at 8 cm you can go well above that minimum, which buys the letters years: lines thicken by an estimated 10–20% as a tattoo heals (Think Tank Tattoo) and keep softening slowly after that. A phrase of fifteen or so characters on one line, or two short lines, reads comfortably.
What still does not fit is real portraiture or photorealism. Bosphorus Ink puts realism at 15 cm minimum and prefers 20 cm for a portrait, because a face needs room for tones that won't merge.
An 8 cm tattoo on the forearm, chest and back
Below, 8 cm woodcuts on the outer forearm, one side of the chest and the upper back. The framing matches every other size page (45 cm of body in the frame height for the forearm, 50 cm for the chest, 60 cm for the back), so you can open the 5 cm and 10 cm pages and compare like for like.
On the forearm, 8 cm turns from a small mark into a piece that holds its own on the outer side of the arm. On the chest it is a modest, clearly readable piece on one side. On the back, between the shoulder blades, it is still small: a back piece usually starts at 15 cm.
Placements that suit 8 cm
The upper arm and the shoulder are the classic homes for this size, along with the calf. On the forearm it is a medium piece, with space left above or below for another. The size chart starts one side of the chest at 8–10 cm and the ribs at 7–10 cm, so 8 cm is the smallest size that looks intended there. On the thigh or the back, 8 cm reads small; the thigh's typical small range is 7–12 cm, and the upper back's medium range starts at 10 cm.
How long does an 8 cm tattoo take?
Usually a single sitting. Platinum Ink puts medium tattoos at two to four hours depending on the design and placement, and Skin Design Tattoos' chart gives 2–5 hours for 2–3 in and 4–5 hours for 3–4 in. A clean outline is quicker; full shading or colour takes the longest. Chronic Ink suggests 3–5 hours as a sensible limit for a first tattoo, which an 8 cm piece usually fits within.
Checking 8 cm on a body
The bank card trick shows the outline. To see the design itself at size, put it on a plaster 3D body in plan.tattoo, type 8 cm, and turn the camera to the side to see how it follows the curve of the arm or chest. Try 7 and 9 cm on the same spot too; small steps are easier to judge side by side than in your head. How to plan a tattoo covers what to bring your artist.
Questions
Can I use a bank card to check an 8 cm tattoo?
Roughly, yes. A bank card's long edge is 8.56 cm, so a design 8 cm on its longest side is a little shorter than the card. Hold a card against the spot you have in mind, or type 8 cm into the planner and look at the design on a plaster cast from every side.
Is an 8 cm tattoo small or medium?
It sits on the line. Most studio sizing guides start medium tattoos at seven or eight centimetres, so an 8 cm piece is a small medium: large enough for shading and short lettering, still quick enough for a single sitting.
Is 8 cm a usual size for flash?
It is a common one. Flash, the ready-drawn designs on a studio's sheet, is often drawn to be tattooed at around palm size. At 8 cm most pieces fit the upper arm, outer forearm, shoulder or calf as drawn. Ask the artist before scaling flash much smaller, because the line weights were drawn for its size.
Do two 8 cm tattoos work as a pair?
Often. Two 8 cm pieces on matching spots, such as both calves, both shoulders or the backs of both forearms, read as a set, and each one is usually small enough for a single sitting. Place both on the same plaster cast to check that they line up and to see the gap between them.
How many words fit in an 8 cm tattoo?
Around fifteen characters on one line with letters about five millimetres tall, or two short lines. Studios advise letters no smaller than three to four millimetres, and going larger keeps the words readable as the lines soften over the years.
Sources: Bosphorus Ink: tattoo size and placement guide · Sydney Tattoo Convention: tattoo size and body part 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