Custom Portrait Canvas Size Guide: Which Size Should You Order?

The size question we get most often is not "what sizes do you have?" — it is "is Medium actually big enough?" And the honest answer is: it depends entirely on the wall. A Medium canvas looks generous on a bedroom shelf and lost above a three-seat sofa. So instead of a bare list of dimensions, here is every size we print, what each one compares to in real life, and which one to order for the spot you have in mind.

Every canvas size, in cm and inches

Custom portraits come in three orientations, each in four sizes. Every canvas arrives stretched and ready to hang.

How big is that, really?

Dimensions on a screen are hard to feel, so anchor them to things you know:

• Small vertical (23×30 cm / 9×12 in) — almost exactly a sheet of printer paper. Desk, bookshelf, bedside table, one tile of a gallery wall.
• Medium vertical (30×45 cm / 12×18 in) — about four printer-paper sheets shy of double; think small poster. Hangs comfortably in a hallway, office or bedroom.
• Large vertical (41×61 cm / 16×24 in) — roughly four sheets of printer paper in a 2×2 grid. The first size that reads as "wall art" rather than "framed photo".
• XL vertical (60×90 cm / 24×36 in) — the classic movie-poster size. A genuine statement piece; this is the size people photograph for reviews.

Which size for which spot

Above a sofa or bed

Go Large, and XL if the wall allows. The designer rule of thumb is that art should span roughly half to two-thirds of the width of the furniture beneath it — for a 220 cm three-seater, that means at least 110 cm of art, which is XL territory (or a pair of Large canvases side by side). This is where a dramatic scene like a Viking couple portrait earns its wall space.

Hallways, offices and bedrooms

Medium is the sweet spot — visible from across the room without dominating it. It is also the most-gifted size for exactly that reason: it fits somewhere in every home, which matters when you cannot scout the recipient's walls first.

Desks, shelves and gallery walls

Small. On a desk or shelf it leans against the wall nicely, and on a gallery wall several Smalls mix well with a Medium or two. One Small alone on a large empty wall, though, will look like it is apologizing for being there.

Vertical, square or horizontal?

Vertical is the natural choice for portraits of one or two people — a full-length cowboy portrait of dad simply needs the height. Square suits symmetrical spots: gallery walls, shelf displays, the wall between two windows. Horizontal fits wide scenes and low-and-wide spaces like the strip above a headboard. If you are torn, vertical is the default for a reason — it matches how the subjects stand in most artwork styles.

Canvas, poster or digital file?

Size is only half the decision. The canvas arrives stretched and ready to hang — no frame needed. The rolled glossy poster is the budget route: same artwork, shipped in a tube, but plan on framing it yourself. The digital download is instant and lets you print locally at any size — useful for last-minute gifts or if you already have a framer you trust.

Before you pick a size, pick the photo

A quick order-of-operations note: the artwork quality is set by the photo you upload, not the canvas size — a sharp photo looks great at XL, and no size flatters a blurry one. Two minutes with our guide on how to choose the best photo for a custom portrait is the best thing you can do for the finished piece.

The bottom line

Medium (30×45 cm / 12×18 in) if it is a gift and you do not know the wall. Large or XL above sofas and beds. Small for desks, shelves and gallery walls. And whichever you choose, the preview is free — so settle the style first and the size will pick itself.