A custom kit takes a photo you upload and turns it into a numbered canvas with matching paint pots. It is our most gifted product and the one with the most questions attached, nearly all of them about the photo itself. Here is how it works and how to choose a picture that will paint well.

How it is made

You upload the image on the custom kit page, pick a size, a frame option and a color count (24, 36 or 48). We trace the photo into zones, assign each zone the closest paint color, print the canvas with the numbers, mix and number the pots, and ship. The processing adds a little to the usual 1 to 3 days; delivery then takes 7 to 15 business days. Order three weeks ahead of a date you care about.

Photos that work

• Sharp focus on the subject. Blur in the background is fine and even helps.
• Good light, ideally daylight from the side. Flat indoor flash loses shadows, and shadows are what give a face shape in paint.
• One or two subjects filling most of the frame. A couple, a dog, a child, a house.
• Clear contrast between subject and background.
• Resolution: anything from a modern phone is plenty. Avoid screenshots and heavily compressed downloads.

Photos that disappoint

• Group shots of six or more people. Faces become a few zones each and lose their likeness.
• Very dark photos, night scenes, backlit silhouettes. There is nothing to trace.
• Subjects that occupy a small part of the frame. The crop we would need loses detail.
• Busy backgrounds behind a busy subject, such as a dog in long grass.
• Heavy filters. The trace follows the filter, not the face.

Size and color count

For a single face or a pet, 16x20 inches with 36 colors is the configuration that gives a recognizable result without a month of work. For two people, go 20x26. 48 colors is worth it for a portrait where skin tones matter; it is unnecessary for a house or a landscape photo. Do not order a portrait at 12x12 unless you accept a looser likeness.

What it costs

From $19.95 at the smallest size, up to $64.95 for the 23.5 inch square with stretcher bars. A custom kit counts as one of the two kits you buy under the buy two, get one free rule, but the free kit has to be a standard design, not a second custom one.

Pets, the most common upload

Most of the custom photos we receive are dogs and cats. The best pet photos are taken at the animal's eye level, outdoors or by a window, with the ears and eyes in sharp focus. If your favorite photo is slightly blurred, send a second one in the order notes and we will tell you which traces better. More detail in the pet portraits collection.

Not sure a photo will work? Email it to us before ordering and we will tell you honestly.

Shipping is free to the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia and New Zealand, with no minimum. Orders leave the workshop within 1 to 3 business days and arrive in 7 to 15. Put two kits in the cart and the third one is taken off at checkout, no code to type.