All three factors are equally important to create contemporary miniature fine art, helping to set this specialized genre apart and maintain a crucial link to it's traditions. 

Neither smallness of size nor fine detail alone are enough - a true miniature, whether classical or contemporary, is painstakingly executed on a minute scale using very fine brushstrokes on a smooth surface. A miniature cannot be rushed; they are meticulous and precise. One of the descriptions often used is that the painting is 'portable'-  a miniature will fit in the palm of your hand. It should also be able to hold its own with larger works and stand considerable magnification without losing any of it's impact. To assist modern artists new to the genre some Societies established a helpful 1/6th guideline for scale, others that a portrait head or principle object cannot be more than 2" (with naturally tiny subjects there is some flexibility). That is the essence of miniature art in the west.

Historically this kind of painting was known as limning in Britain and referred simply to watercolour paintings on vellum. These were originally stuck to a playing cards for support and grew out of the techniques used to illustrate the hand-written books and illuminated manuscripts of the middle ages, often practiced by the same artists. A wonderful example from the 16th century (shown left)  is