Watercolour pet portraits, from your photo
Soft washes on cream paper, the edges left to bleed a little, the way a watercolour of a much-loved animal ought to look. Add a photo of your dog or cat and see them in watercolour in about a minute, free.
Free to see. No account, no card.
Real watercolour examples
Dog · Watercolour 
Cat · Watercolour
Real portraits from customers who said we could show them.
A short history of watercolour animals
Watercolour is pigment bound in gum arabic and thinned with water, so the paper shows through the paint. That transparency is the whole charm: you can't pile it on, so a good watercolour is mostly about what's left out.
Animals have been painted this way for a long time. Albrecht Dürer's Young Hare, painted in 1502 and now in the Albertina in Vienna, is still the picture most people think of: every hair of the coat built up in fine strokes over a soft wash. In Britain, watercolour became a national habit in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, from Turner's landscapes to the natural-history plates in Victorian books. The watercolor pet portraits people commission today come straight out of that illustration tradition.
How our watercolour style looks
Ours is the gentle end of watercolour: translucent washes on a cream cotton paper, a little granulation where the pigment settles, and soft bleeding edges rather than a hard outline. Your pet's face and markings are kept clear; the background is allowed to fade out into the paper.
Because it's quiet and pale, it's a good choice for a nursery, a bedroom or a gift for someone who doesn't like anything loud on the wall.
Scenes it suits
Watercolour is best with calm scenes and soft light. A plain sitting portrait is the classic, and a sleepy curled-up pose suits the washes beautifully. It also works for a gentle memorial portrait, and for Easter or a birthday if you want something pretty rather than silly.
Where watercolour looks best
- Framed print from £39The pale washes and cream paper look most like a real watercolour behind glass. From £39 for a framed 11×14″.
- Greeting card from £5A 5×7″ card, blank inside: soft enough for a birthday, a thank-you or a sympathy card.
- Mug from £19Works well if the background is kept light, so the colours on the mug stay fresh.
Questions
Is it painted by hand?
No. It isn't painted by hand. It's painted-style: an AI image model makes it from your photo, so you see it in about a minute rather than waiting weeks for an artist. It's made to look like a watercolour, and it's printed, not painted, on whatever you order.
Will my dark dog or black cat work in watercolour?
Yes, though watercolour shows dark coats as deep washes rather than solid black, so a very dark pet looks softer than in a photo. If you'd like the coat strong and dark, Oil painting or Black & white may suit better. You can try more than one style free.
Is it watercolour or watercolor?
Same thing: watercolour is the British spelling and watercolor the American. Either way it's the same soft style.
What does it cost to try?
Nothing. Add a photo and you see the finished picture in about a minute, with no account and no card. Seeing it is free, and we'll email you the full-size file free too. You only pay if you choose a print, mug, card or other product.
Related
Free to see. No account, no card.