How Much Does a Custom Pet Portrait Cost?

A custom pet portrait from Retro Reverence costs $19 for the digital file, $59 to $104 for a fine art paper print, and $95 to $135 for a gallery canvas, depending on size. Shipping is included on prints and canvases, and so are revisions. Every portrait is digitally illustrated from your own photo in a vintage style and approved by a designer before it reaches you.

That’s the short answer. The longer one is below, with the full price table and the reasons some pet portraits cost $15 and others cost $1,500.

What do custom pet portraits usually cost?

Across the market, prices fall into three rough bands:

• Digital files are the least expensive, because nothing is printed or shipped. You get a file and you print it where you like.
• Printed portraits (paper or canvas) sit in the middle. You’re paying for the art plus the printing, the materials and the shipping.
• One-of-a-kind originals commissioned from an artist in traditional media sit at the top, often several hundred dollars and up, with waits measured in weeks or months.

None of these is the “right” price. They’re different products. A digital file and a framed original are about as similar as a recipe and a dinner party.

How much does a Retro Reverence pet portrait cost?

Here are the real prices for a custom portrait of your cat or dog:

A few details that matter:

• Shipping is included on every print and canvas.
• Add the digital file to a print or canvas for $15, so you can share it or print extra copies.
• The digital file is print-ready at every size listed on the product page.
• One pet per portrait. Every design works for pets of every size, from a kitten to the dog who thinks he’s a lap dog and is not.

Browse every design in the shop, or go straight to cat portraits or dog portraits.

What about ready-made vintage style art?

The studio also publishes ready-made collections that don’t need a photo: Come Christmas, All the Trimmings and Wick & Wane. They’re priced lower because nothing is made to order:

The digital downloads are instant. Prints and canvases ship to you, shipping included.

What makes a pet portrait cost more (or less)?

Five things move the price, here or anywhere else:

1. Format. A file costs less than a print, and a print costs less than a canvas. Canvas is stretched, wrapped and finished on the edges, which takes more material and more handling.
2. Size. Bigger prints use more paper, more ink and bigger boxes.
3. Who does the work. An app that turns a photo into “art” in ten seconds costs very little because nobody looks at it. Here, our own custom-built studio software places your pet into the scene, then a designer matches your pet’s markings from your photos and retouches by hand in Photoshop. The judgment calls, the corrections and the final approval are human.
4. Revisions. Some sellers charge for changes. Here, digital portraits get changes within 7 days of delivery, and prints and canvases get up to two rounds of changes at the proof stage.
5. Turnaround. A digital portrait arrives within 3 business days of receiving your photos. A print or canvas takes about 1 to 2 weeks from photos to doorstep. Busy seasons can run longer. The delivery page has the full timeline.

Is the cheapest pet portrait a good deal?

Sometimes. The question to ask isn’t “how cheap?” but “does it look like my pet?” A portrait that gets the ear wrong, or turns a tabby into a generic orange cat, isn’t a bargain at any price. It’s a very specific way to disappoint someone.

The things worth checking before you buy anywhere:

• Is a person checking the result against your actual photos?
• Are revisions included, and for how long?
• Is shipping included, or added at checkout?
• Can you see before and after examples from real customers’ photos?

How do I order?

Choose a design, choose digital, print or canvas, and order from the product page. After you order, you upload your photos right in your order at full size. Then a designer gets to work, and your cat gets to continue ignoring the entire process.