What’s the best portrait size for you?

By jullia in Articles

5 x 7 inch / 17,8 x 12,7 cm

8 x 11 inch / 20,3 x 28 cm

11 x 14 inch / 27,9 x 35,6 cm

Often people don’t know how big a portrait should be, how would it look like or where are they going to put it. Here are my suggestions about this issue.

I use to draw on 3 big size categories: 5×7 inch, 8×11 inch and 11×14 inch. They are not fixed, they can vary as the client wish. I choose these sizes because you can buy ready-made frames from the market. Let’s see where each size fit the best:

5×7 inch size – this is a small size which can sit very nice on your desk at home or at the office, near your other photos, or even on the wall. Because they are small, they tend to be cute, discrete and easy to carry and move in other places.

8×11 inch size – this is a little bigger size, which for sure will fit well on every wall. With a nice mat board you can make it look larger, and give it some space.

11×14 inch size – the biggest size I use to do (occasionally I made much gibber portraits). This one fit well on large and clean walls. With a flat mat board it can look even much larger and gives a clear look to the wall.

For all the sizes I recommend a thin frame, black or any other dark color. Sometimes, according to the furniture you have in the room, a colored frame goes well too. It can give to the portrait and to the room a happy feeling :)
I also recommend the mat boards. First of all because they give a nice and clean look to the portrait, and secondly because in this way the paper will not stand against the glass, otherwise this may affect the drawing in time.

Here is my price list for these sizes.