Miniature Art Sizing Guide – 2009

Written by Melodie Hand for Elemental Doodles™ – June 2009

Miniature art is really gaining in popularity these days. And with so many different types of mini art out there it can get confusing. If you plan to join any swaps for particular types of miniature art it is very important to get the sizes correct. Most of the time anything goes except for the size (unless it is a particular themed swap). Traders of these miniature works of art are also very particular about the sizes.

I save all of my scraps. I never really knew why until I really got into the miniature artwork. This is a GREAT way to use up all those scraps that you would normally just toss in the trash bin. So now nothing goes to waste. More bang for your buck! 🙂

Elemental Doodles was actually started up in 2009 with the miniature artist in mind. It will, of course, evolved over the years. But most of the stamp sets offered also have a matching “mini set” that is either 2″x2″ or 3″x3″ that is perfect for creating these miniature works of art.

I’ve put together a little guide to the various forms of miniature artwork to help clear things up a bit. And below you will also see a few examples of some miniature artwork that was submitted in 2009 by several of our Founding EDDT members.

ATC (Artist Trading Cards)
This is probably the most popular and most used of all the miniature artwork.

• 2.5″ x 3.5″ (the size of a baseball trading card)
• Usually TRADED, not sold – ATC purists are very particular about this fact as well as the size.
• ACEO can be sold (Art Cards, Editions and Originals). These are the same as ATC in size.
• The back generally contains information such as: Artist Name, Contact, Title & # (ex. 1/10, 3/15, etc.) or it can just state “OOAK” (One Of A Kind) if not duplicated.
• The idea of ATCs started in Switzerland around the mid 1990’s (according to the research I’ve done, please correct me

Mini ATC

• 1.5″x2.5″ 
• I’m not quite sure where or when these originated. I’ve just seen them floating around.
• These are exactly the same as regular ATC other than the size. Just a mini miniature version of an ATC.

Inchies

• 1″ square pieces of artwork
• Can be displayed alone or combined and used as elements in larger works of art.

Rinchies

• 1″ ROUND pieces of artwork.
• Great for pendants, charms, pins, etc.
• These make excellent accent pieces on larger works of art.

Twinchies

• 2″ square pieces of artwork.
• Just like the Inchies, these can be displayed alone or combined and used as accent pieces or focal points in larger pieces of artwork.

Thrinchies

• 3″ square pieces of artwork – just as the name sounds LOL
• I had never heard of these until I started my research on miniature art. I suppose these could actually be 3″ square OR 3″ round as it wasn’t specific in anything I came across.
• Displayed alone or combined and used as accent or focal points in larger works of art.

Artistamps

• Postage Stamp-like artwork that is the size and shape of a regular postage stamp.
• Size may vary as does real postage. But the shape is unmistakeable.
• These can be of any subject or theme.
• NOT valid as actual postage. LOL
• According to Wikipedia, the history of artist amps dates back as far as the late 1800’s (this surprised me a little).
• Punches, Dies, and DieCuts are available in a postage stamp shape to make it easier to create these little pieces of artwork.
• There are also many different postage stamp shaped stamp images available (Elemental Doodles has one in the Firecracker USA stamp set)

Moos

• 1 1/8″x2 3/4″ (28mmx70mm)
• 1st printed at www.moo.com as photos on one side and text information on the other. Visitors to the site could upload their photos or have something custom designed. But the size was always as stated above and it caught on in the art world.

Skinnies, Itty Bites, and more…..There are a few others that I’ve seen floating around. However, I have been unable to find more information on them to share with you here. As I dig up information on these other forms of miniature art I will update this article.

The images below feature ATC, Inchies, and Moos by several of the Founding EDDT members. All stamps used are from Elemental Doodles stamp line.