The first step is deciding the size of your portrait. This will depend on your budget and where you’re thinking of hanging the final piece. In my opinion, the bigger the better so that all the tiny details that go in to making your pet come to life are easily added and easily seen. However, a lot of people do opt for a smaller size and I am still able to get full detail impact even on a small scale.

Next is looking at photographs you have available. Ideally, clear, well-lit, high resolution photos are best however, I know in some cases that this just isn’t possible and I will do my best to work with what you have. I like to have a selection sent over so that I can really see the character of the pet – even if they’re not ones in a great pose, send them over so I can see just how goofy or straight-laced your pet is.

Once you’ve got both those in order, the next step is to contact me with your ideas, photos and portrait size and we can discuss a composition that works for both of us. Usually full head or bust portraits look best, but sometimes a portrait with your pets favourite toy is just too cute to pass up.

Once we’ve had a discussion and you feel confident to continue to book, a 20% deposit is required to secure your space in my diary. Be sure to tell me if the portrait is needed for a specific date and I will do my best to accomodate this for you.

Once the deposit has been received – that’s it! Now it’s just waiting until your date comes up and we can begin the best part of the commission process – the updates!

Throughout the process, I will send you updates and lots of pictures to make sure you’re happy with how to portrait is coming together. I’ll send you a mock up of the composition and once that’s approved, the colouring can begin and you can watch your pet come to life on the paper.