Custom Pet Portrait Paint by Numbers - From Your Photo

Send us a photo of your dog, your cat, the rabbit that runs the house, and we turn it into a paint-by-numbers canvas. You get the numbered canvas, acrylics matched to your pet's coat and brushes. Paint it yourself over a few evenings, or wrap it for the person who talks about their dog more than their kids.

Same workshop and same kit as our custom photo kit. This page is just set up for pets: the advice below is about fur, eyes and whiskers, which is where a pet portrait is won or lost.

What comes in the box

• Your pet's photo traced onto a numbered canvas, in the size you pick
• Numbered acrylic paints mixed to match the photo, 24, 36 or 48 colors
• Brushes from a fine liner (for whiskers) up to a wide one for backgrounds
• A printed copy of your photo to paint from, and instructions

The canvas ships unframed unless you add the DIY Frame Kit option.

Picking the photo

Get down to your pet's eye level, outside or next to a window in daylight. The eyes need to be sharp, since everything else can be a little soft and nobody notices. A photo straight from the phone is best; a screenshot or a picture saved from social media usually loses too much detail. Aim for 1500 pixels on the short side, 2500 for the 20"x26".

Take 36 colors for most pets. Go to 48 for long or mixed coats (a tabby, a golden retriever, a tricolor collie). Black cats and black dogs also need 48, otherwise the face turns into one dark shape. 24 colors works for a short single-color coat photographed in good light.

Two pets in one picture is fine if they sit close together. Three or more gets small on anything under 20"x26".

How it works

1. Choose size, frame and number of colors.
2. Upload the photo on this page. The kit cannot go in the cart without one. If the upload stalls, email it to info@artistrybynumbers.com with your order number.
3. We look at every photo before printing. Too dark, too small, eyes blurred: we write back and ask for another one.
4. The canvas is traced, the paints are matched and the kit ships.

Ordering it as a Christmas gift

Kits leave the workshop within 1-3 business days after the photo is approved and take about 7-15 business days to arrive. For delivery before Christmas, order in November. If the photo is a surprise, pull one from your phone or ask a family member for a recent shot rather than an old one from social media.