If you take one thing from this page: the likeness comes from the photograph, not from the price. The same 10-inch piece made from a sharp, front-facing picture and from a distant, filtered one are two different objects.
What we need
- One clear main photograph. Front-facing, whole face visible, taken in daylight. This becomes the reference angle and everything is built around it.
- A side view, if you have one. It tells us the shape of the skull and how the ears sit, which is most of what makes a face recognisable.
- Anything showing markings. The patch over one eye, the white blaze, the tabby stripes, the socks. These are what owners notice first.
What gets in the way
- Heavy filters. Wool follows the filter, not your pet. A warm-tinted photo produces a warm-tinted piece.
- Very dark or very small crops where the eyes are not clearly visible.
- Only one angle where the shape of the head is ambiguous.
Old photographs are welcome
A great many of the pieces we make are for pets who have passed, and the only pictures left are old prints or phone photographs of prints. Send them anyway. A person reads every set before work begins, and if we need a better angle we will ask for one rather than guess.
How many is enough?
One is enough to begin. Three or four is comfortable. You can attach up to twenty with a commission, and you can add more from your account after ordering — right up until the moment work starts.
