For the Best Artwork

The most important thing when choosing a photo is to pick one where the pose and expression is what you want. The focus should be sharp, the color accurate, and the eyes clear. If the pose you want has bad eye clarity or redeye, please include another picture where the eyes are clear. Select a close-up unless the entire scene is the desired end-result. Try to avoid dark shadows and background objects that are hard to distinguish from your pet.

A great close-up that will provide plenty of detail.

This is also fine, and provides more of the dog's chest to work with, especially for a portrait.

A good picture, but from too far away, unless the overall scene is what is desired.

When Great Photos Aren't Available

That said, a terrific digital painting can be accomplished even if the picture is sub-par. This doesn't mean that any picture can produce a stellar result, but with some digital artistry, most pictures are useable. This is because your picture isn't just transformed — it's completely recreated through a handcrafted digital painting process. The far-from-perfect photos below were used and generated great results, which can be seen on the Digital Paintings page of this site.

A lack of contrast, made the dog blend into the background and the colors are dull.

This photo started out blurry and had a strong red color cast.

The subject here, although clear, was small in this low-resolution digital photo.

Please note that if significant digital repair is required, additional charges may apply.