The short version: you upload one clear photo of your pet, the studio paints them in one of eight fine-art mediums, and you see the finished portrait in about forty seconds. No card. No forms. Nothing charges unless you love it enough to hang it on the wall.
The longer version — what actually happens to your photo, why the eyes stay their eyes, how the prints get made, and what to do if the preview isn't right — is below. If you're the kind of buyer who wants to understand a thing before you commit to it, this page is written for you.
The three steps, in full
Upload one photo
Any clear phone photo. Head-and-shoulders becomes a classic portrait; full body lets us drop your pet into a scene. Even lighting and a sharp shot of the eyes matter more than gear — a raw camera roll photo taken by a window will out-perform a filtered studio shot every time. The photo guide has the five-point checklist if you're unsure.
Pick a style — the studio does the rest
Choose from eight painted mediums (Renaissance, Classic Oil, Watercolor, Impressionist, Pop Art, Charcoal, Cinematic, Comic Book). Behind the picker, the studio reads breed, markings, coat pattern, and eye colour from your photo — not just silhouette — so a merle Australian Shepherd stays merle, a tuxedo cat stays tuxedo, and the eye colour you know is your pet's comes through in the paint. That's the answer to the "will it actually look like my pet" question: the model isn't inventing an animal, it's translating yours into another medium.
See it free — order the print if you love it
Your finished painted portrait appears in about forty seconds. The preview is free — a museum-grade framed print ships to your door in about a week, and every print (from a $14.95 Fujifilm photo up to the framed piece) includes the hi-res digital file free. If the preview isn't quite right, regenerate as many times as you want, free — see section six.
See it happen — three transformations
Every pair below is a real, matched output from the studio — the "before" is the source photo the customer uploaded, the "after" is what the studio returned. Drag the handle to slide between the two.
Want to see yours? The preview is free — no card, no sign-up.
Try it with your pet →The thirteen styles the studio produces
One photo can become any of these — try the same pet in three or four mediums and see which one feels like them. There's a full deep-dive on each style if you want to read before you paint.
- RenaissanceOld Master oil, chiaroscuro
- AnimeStudio-quality cel-shaded portrait
- WatercolorSoft washes, contemporary
- CinematicNational Geographic tonality
- Van GoghThick post-Impressionist brush
- Pixar 3DBig-studio animated warmth
- Classic OilGallery portrait, painterly
- ImpressionistDappled light, en plein air
- Comic BookInk, halftones, panel art
- Pop ArtWarhol-era screenprint
- Ukiyo-eJapanese woodblock print
- CharcoalHand-drawn, intimate
- Vintage PhotoSepia wet-plate heirloom
How the prints are made
We fulfil framed prints through Prodigi, the same museum-grade partner used by major galleries and print-on-demand sellers around the world. Each piece is printed on archival paper or canvas, hand-framed at the fulfilment site nearest to you, and shipped inside a rigid protective mailer.
Frame options are eight wood finishes (black, natural oak, white, gold, brown, dark grey, light grey, silver) in three sizes: 12×16, 18×24, and 24×32. Canvas gallery-wraps are available at 8×10, 12×16, and 18×24. Shipping is typically five to seven working days once the print leaves the fulfilment site, in the US & Canada — you'll get a tracking link the moment it ships.
The hi-res digital file is included free with every print — text it, post it, or print it wherever you like. There's no requirement to buy a print to see your portrait; the preview itself is always free.
What if I have more than one pet?
Most pet parents live with two or three. If you frame prints of more than one pet in a single order, the discount stacks automatically at checkout — no code, no minimum, no fine print.
- 2 pets: 15% off framed prints, applied automatically at checkout.
- 3+ pets: 25% off framed prints, applied automatically at checkout.
The discount applies to framed prints only — digital downloads are already free with any framed order, and the multi-pet math is designed to reward "framing the whole family," not to stack on top of the digital tripwire.
What if the preview isn't right
Short answer: regenerate as many times as you want, free. Try a different style, try a different scene, or upload a clearer photo. Nothing charges until you order a print — and the digital file is included with every framed order.
Every buyer worries about this beat, and the honest answer is: the first generation lands well about eight times out of ten, but the two-out-of-ten case matters. What you actually control:
- Regenerate free. The same photo, different style, is a one-click retry. So is the same style with a slightly different scene (Astronaut, Chef, Knight). You never pay to try again.
- Change the source photo. The most common reason a preview reads "off" is the source — a filtered photo, harsh overhead sun, or a shot where the eyes are blurred. Upload a cleaner one and try again.
- Ask the studio for help. Chat with Otis, the site's concierge — describe what's wrong and he'll suggest a different style or scene that fits.
- Print guarantee. If you order a framed print and the finished piece doesn't match the preview you approved, we reprint or refund. No forms.
Use Pet Portrait from inside Claude, Cursor, or your agent
Pet Portrait ships a Model Context Protocol server so any MCP-compatible agent — Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Cline — can browse the thirteen styles, check pricing, kick off a free preview, and look up an order without leaving the window you're already in. Public, no auth. Discovery lives at /.well-known/mcp.json; docs are at /mcp.
The fastest path to seeing your pet painted is often the chat you're already in. Ask your agent for a Pet Portrait preview — you'll get one.
Common questions, quickly
Is this AI, or a real painting?
AI-generated in the studio, rendered in a real painting medium. It's not a hand-painted commission — that would take weeks and cost hundreds. What you get is the same fine-art register as a commissioned piece: brushwork, canvas texture, Rembrandt lighting for Renaissance, loose washes for Watercolor. Compare side-by-side on the AI vs commissioned page.
What happens to my pet's photo?
The photo is used only to generate your portrait — never sold, never used to train a public model, never shared with anyone. You can delete your preview from your portraits page any time.
Does it work for cats, birds, reptiles, rabbits?
Yes. The studio was trained on the full range of household pets, not just dogs. The three before-and-after pairs above include a golden retriever, a black cat, and a cockatoo — same studio, same forty seconds. Rabbits, guinea pigs, bearded dragons, parrots all work.
How long until my framed print arrives?
About a week to most destinations once you order. Prints are made-to-order (no inventory sitting in a warehouse), hand-framed at the fulfilment site nearest you, and shipped with tracking. You'll see the exact ship-by date at checkout.
