Standard canvas sizes

The stock sizes of stretched canvas and canvas panels in the US, the UK and Europe, with each one's shape, how much of a photo it keeps, and a grid for transferring a drawing to it.

Each grid opens in the drawing grid maker with that canvas and square size already set. A grid with an asterisk doesn't divide the canvas evenly, so its last row or column of squares is narrower. "Keeps" is how much of a photo of that shape is left after cropping it to the canvas; 100% means it fits as it is.

Inches (US stock sizes)

Canvas	Shape	Keeps of a 3:4 photo	Keeps of a 2:3 photo	Grid
4 × 6 in	2:3	89%	100%	1 in squares, 4 × 6
5 × 7 in	5:7	95%	93%	1 in squares, 5 × 7
6 × 6 in	1:1	75%	67%	1 in squares, 6 × 6
6 × 8 in	3:4	100%	89%	1 in squares, 6 × 8
8 × 8 in	1:1	75%	67%	1 in squares, 8 × 8
8 × 10 in	4:5	94%	83%	1 in squares, 8 × 10
9 × 12 in	3:4	100%	89%	1.5 in squares, 6 × 8
10 × 10 in	1:1	75%	67%	1 in squares, 10 × 10
10 × 20 in	1:2	67%	75%	2.5 in squares, 4 × 8
11 × 14 in	11:14	95%	85%	2 in squares, 6 × 7*
12 × 12 in	1:1	75%	67%	1.5 in squares, 8 × 8
12 × 16 in	3:4	100%	89%	2 in squares, 6 × 8
12 × 24 in	1:2	67%	75%	3 in squares, 4 × 8
14 × 18 in	7:9	96%	86%	2 in squares, 7 × 9
16 × 20 in	4:5	94%	83%	2 in squares, 8 × 10
18 × 24 in	3:4	100%	89%	3 in squares, 6 × 8
20 × 24 in	5:6	90%	80%	4 in squares, 5 × 6
22 × 28 in	11:14	95%	85%	4 in squares, 6 × 7*
24 × 30 in	4:5	94%	83%	3 in squares, 8 × 10
24 × 36 in	2:3	89%	100%	4 in squares, 6 × 9
30 × 40 in	3:4	100%	89%	5 in squares, 6 × 8
36 × 48 in	3:4	100%	89%	6 in squares, 6 × 8

Centimeters (UK and European stock sizes)

Canvas	Shape	Keeps of a 3:4 photo	Keeps of a 2:3 photo	Grid
20 × 20 cm	1:1	75%	67%	2.5 cm squares, 8 × 8
24 × 30 cm	4:5	94%	83%	3 cm squares, 8 × 10
30 × 30 cm	1:1	75%	67%	5 cm squares, 6 × 6
30 × 40 cm	3:4	100%	89%	5 cm squares, 6 × 8
30 × 60 cm	1:2	67%	75%	10 cm squares, 3 × 6
40 × 40 cm	1:1	75%	67%	5 cm squares, 8 × 8
40 × 50 cm	4:5	94%	83%	5 cm squares, 8 × 10
50 × 50 cm	1:1	75%	67%	5 cm squares, 10 × 10
50 × 60 cm	5:6	90%	80%	10 cm squares, 5 × 6
50 × 70 cm	5:7	95%	93%	10 cm squares, 5 × 7
60 × 60 cm	1:1	75%	67%	10 cm squares, 6 × 6
60 × 80 cm	3:4	100%	89%	10 cm squares, 6 × 8
70 × 100 cm	7:10	93%	95%	10 cm squares, 7 × 10
80 × 100 cm	4:5	94%	83%	10 cm squares, 8 × 10
100 × 100 cm	1:1	75%	67%	10 cm squares, 10 × 10

A sizes (canvas boards and canvases sold in paper sizes)

Canvas	Shape	Keeps of a 3:4 photo	Keeps of a 2:3 photo	Grid
A5, 14.8 × 21 cm	1:√2	94%	95%	3 cm squares, 5 × 7*
A4, 21 × 29.7 cm	1:√2	94%	94%	4 cm squares, 6 × 8*
A3, 29.7 × 42 cm	1:√2	94%	94%	6 cm squares, 5 × 7*
A2, 42 × 59.4 cm	1:√2	94%	94%	8 cm squares, 6 × 8*
A1, 59.4 × 84.1 cm	1:√2	94%	94%	10 cm squares, 6 × 9*

Matching a photo to a canvas

When the photo and the canvas have different shapes, something has to be cropped. A 3:4 photo on a 16 × 20 in canvas keeps 94%, losing a thin strip off the long side. On a square canvas it keeps 75%.

To find your photo's shape, divide its long side by its short side, in pixels: 1.33 is 3:4, 1.5 is 2:3 and 1.78 is 9:16. Then pick a canvas that keeps 100%, or decide what to crop before you draw. The grid method guide explains why the crop comes first.

French standard sizes

French canvases come in numbered sizes in three shapes: Figure (F), the squarest, for portraits; Paysage (P), for landscapes; and Marine (M), the longest and narrowest, for seascapes. All three shapes share the long side of a number, so a 10F, 10P and 10M are all 55 cm long. Sizes in centimeters, long side × short side; each opens the grid maker with a suggested square size.

Number	Figure (F)	Paysage (P)	Marine (M)
0	18 × 14	18 × 12	18 × 10
1	22 × 16	22 × 14	22 × 12
2	24 × 19	24 × 16	24 × 14
3	27 × 22	27 × 19	27 × 16
4	33 × 24	33 × 22	33 × 19
5	35 × 27	35 × 24	35 × 22
6	41 × 33	41 × 27	41 × 24
8	46 × 38	46 × 33	46 × 27
10	55 × 46	55 × 38	55 × 33
12	61 × 50	61 × 46	61 × 38
15	65 × 54	65 × 50	65 × 46
20	73 × 60	73 × 54	73 × 50
25	81 × 65	81 × 60	81 × 54
30	92 × 73	92 × 65	92 × 60
40	100 × 81	100 × 73	100 × 65
50	116 × 89	116 × 81	116 × 73

Questions

What is the most common canvas size?

In the US, 8 × 10, 11 × 14, 16 × 20, 18 × 24 and 24 × 36 in are on every maker's and shop's list we checked. Jerry's Artarama's list of the most common sizes adds 9 × 12, 12 × 16, 24 × 30 and 30 × 40 in. In the UK and Europe, 30 × 40 and 40 × 50 cm are sold by every maker and shop we checked.

Is a 40 × 50 cm canvas the same as 16 × 20 in?

No. 16 × 20 in is 40.6 × 50.8 cm. Some makers label a 40 × 50 cm canvas "16 × 20 in" as a rough equivalent, so check the measurements before you buy a frame for it.

Which canvas fits a photo without cropping?

One with the same shape. A 3:4 photo fits 6 × 8, 9 × 12, 12 × 16, 18 × 24, 30 × 40 and 36 × 48 in, or 30 × 40 and 60 × 80 cm. A 2:3 photo fits 4 × 6 and 24 × 36 in. To find your photo's shape, divide its long side by its short side: 1.33 is 3:4, 1.5 is 2:3.

What size grid should I use?

Squares that divide both sides evenly, with 6 to 12 along the long side, are easy to measure and fine enough for most subjects. The tables suggest one for each canvas; use smaller squares for a portrait or anything with fine detail.

A drawing grid sized to a 16 by 12 inch canvas over a photo of a Highland cow, in Paintsight

Crop and grid to your canvas

In Paintsight you can crop a reference to your canvas's shape and put a grid on it sized to the canvas, with numbered and lettered squares, then prop your iPad or iPhone by the easel while you draw.

For iPhone and iPad.

Sources

Size lists checked on 4 November 2026. A size is listed here when several of these makers and retailers sell it.

Blick Art Materials: Blick Premier Stretched Cotton Canvas, Blick Studio Stretched Cotton Canvas, Blick Studio Canvas Panels and Stretched Canvas by Popular Sizes.
Fredrix (Tara Materials): Artist Series Red Label stretched canvas and Artist Series canvas panels.
Jerry's Artarama, "What Type of Canvas To Buy?" (archived 8 June 2026): its lists of the most common and less common sizes.
Ampersand, Gessobord panel sizes.
Jackson's Art Supplies, Stretched Canvas (inch and centimeter size lists) and Jackson's Premium Stretched Cotton Canvas.
Winsor & Newton UK, Classic Canvas and Professional Canvas.
Daler-Rowney, 2026 catalogues: Artists' Canvases and Simply Canvases: metric sizes, A sizes, and the rounded inch labels on metric canvases.
Le Géant des Beaux-Arts, Châssis entoilés en coton: French and metric sizes on sale.
Rougier & Plé, stretchers in Figure, Paysage and Marine sizes 0 to 50.
Markus Kuhn, University of Cambridge, "International standard paper sizes": the ISO 216 A sizes.