What Happens After You Order Your Custom Pet Portrait
You have just placed the order — or you are circling the checkout button, wondering what you’d actually be signing up for. Either way, the question underneath every other question is the same: what happens now?
Maybe the portrait is for a dog you still trip over in the hallway each morning. Maybe it is for one who is gone, and the house has gone quiet. Either way, you are about to hand a photograph to strangers and wait several weeks — which deserves a straight answer, step by step, with the slow parts left in.
Here is the whole sequence, honestly: a person reads your photo within about a day; a hand-drawn sketch arrives in two or three days, and nothing is painted until you say yes to it; painting and drying take most of the next four to six weeks; you approve photographs of the finished portrait before anything is framed; then it is framed by hand in our studio, boxed with its certificate and a handwritten note, and delivered to your door, tracked and insured.
Along the way, you are asked for a decision exactly twice. The rest is ours to carry.
The short answer. A person reviews your photo, usually within a day. A hand-drawn sketch arrives in 2–3 days — revise it as many times as you like, and cancel for a full refund any time before you approve it. Painting and drying take most of the next four to six weeks; order to door, that is the honest calendar. Before framing, you receive photographs of the finished painting and approve them — your second and final decision. Then framing by hand in our studio, the box with its certificate and a handwritten note, and tracked, insured delivery. Nothing moves without your yes.
A person reads your photograph
Every photo sent to us is reviewed by a person — not software, not a queue that clears when it clears. A human being opens your file and looks at it properly, usually within a day of your order arriving.
We are looking for one thing above all: whether the eyes hold detail — a catchlight, a ring of color, an edge to the pupil. If they do, your photo can make a portrait, whatever else is wrong with it. If they don’t, no artist can put that detail back, and you will hear that from us plainly. The full test — and the long list of things people apologize for that don’t matter — is in this guide.
If the photo passes, a short email says so, and your artist begins composing. If it doesn’t, you get an honest human reply: what’s missing, which of your other photos might work better, or — if nothing in your library holds enough — a plain statement that we would rather not take the commission. You won’t be charged for a portrait we don’t believe in; we would make that trade every time.
One more thing happens that first day. When you ordered, we asked for their name and a few sentences about them — including whether this portrait is a memorial. Your artist reads those sentences before the first line is drawn. He always looked like he was about to say something. A sentence like that changes brushwork in ways no photograph can specify; it is the difference between a likeness and a portrait.
The sketch: the first time you meet the portrait
In two or three days, a hand-drawn sketch of the composition arrives by email, on a private page where you look at it and make a decision. It shows the pose, the placement, the background, where the light will fall — the architecture of the painting before any of it is built.
This is your first approval, and it is the powerful one. Revise it as many times as you like. Change the tilt of the head, the direction of the gaze, the background, the crop. Remove the collar, the leash, a person from the edge of the frame. Add the favorite toy, or the blanket from the last photo. Nothing at this stage costs extra, and nothing is painted until you approve it. And until you do, you can cancel for a full refund — no questions, no conditions.
There is a practical reason the sketch exists, and it isn’t ceremony: the pencil is cheaper than the brush. A change made at the sketch stage is a line moved on paper. The same change made after three weeks of paint is three weeks of paint. The sketch is where the portrait becomes yours, deliberately, before it becomes ours, physically.
What goes into the painting is your call throughout. We paint what the photograph shows; anything you want changed — removed, softened, kept — costs nothing. Some families ask us to take the collar off. Some ask us to leave it on, because it was theirs. Both are right.
The painting weeks, and where the time actually goes
Once you approve the sketch, painting begins — and you will know it, because an email arrives: the first brushstroke has touched the canvas.
Most of the four to six weeks lives here, and most of that is two things: painting in layers, and waiting for oil paint to dry.
The drawing is already fixed by the sketch you approved. Then comes the underpainting that establishes light and dark across the whole canvas. Then the color passes, then the fur, then the detail — and, almost always last and quite deliberately, the eyes. A painter who does the eyes first is filling in a face; a painter who saves the eyes for last is saving the part that will look back at you. Yours will do the eyes last.
The waiting is not a style choice, and no seller can compress it. Oil paint dries slowly, and each layer must dry before the next can sit on it. That is the physics of the medium, and it is the honest reason a real oil portrait takes weeks. If you want the full argument — why the calendar is the cheapest test of whether a “hand-painted” portrait is actually hand painted — it is here.
Between your sketch approval and the finished photographs comes the quietest stretch, usually two to three weeks. You will not hear much from us, because there is nothing to report except work happening and paint drying. We try not to interrupt the artist at work — but if you’d like to see how your painting is coming along, just email neo@maelinstudio.com and we’ll send you the latest progress.
For some families that quiet stretch is the hard part — the house is silent, the calendar is long. We know. The painting is being made the entire time, and the approvals are placed where they are so that you never make a blind decision: composition before paint, painting before framing.
The finished-painting photographs
When the last pass is done, the painting rests and dries. Then — before you ever see it — it goes through our own inspection: eyes, coat, background, checked against the photograph and the approved sketch. If something isn’t right, it goes back to the easel and you never hear about it.
Then a set of photographs arrives, on the same kind of private page as the sketch: the whole portrait, a close-up of the eyes, and the surface lit by raking light — a low lamp grazing the canvas, so the relief of real paint catches light and casts tiny shadows along the strokes. We shoot them that way on purpose: raking light is where the difference between paint and anything flat becomes visible, and we would rather show you the surface honestly than ask you to take our word for it.
This is your second and final approval. Look closely — especially at the eyes; it takes a minute, and it matters. If something is off, say so. Adjustments at this stage are complimentary, and in practice we keep working until it’s right. Nothing is framed, packed, or shipped until you have approved the finished portrait.
Framing, by hand, in our studio
About a week after your approval, an email tells you the framing has begun — and asks you to confirm the delivery address, so the portrait goes exactly where it should.
Framing is optional: your portrait can ship unframed, or be framed by hand in our studio — Black or Gold for $99, warm Wood for $129. The full size range, 12×16 through 24×36, is on the Classic Realism portrait page.
The box
When it arrives, the portrait is only part of what is in the box.
Beneath it, the paper layer: a certificate of authenticity, signed twice and embossed, carrying a unique edition number — one number to one painting, never reused. It certifies exactly two things: that the portrait was painted by hand in real oils — not printed, not digital, not generated — and that this canvas is the only one of its kind. Beside it, a care card, written like a gallery note rather than a product manual. And a handwritten note, because a commission this personal should not end with a tracking number.
Shipping is tracked and insured, nationwide, at no charge.
Can you change something along the way?
Two windows, stated plainly.
At the sketch: unlimited. Pose, background, gaze, what’s in and what’s out — revise as many times as you like. This is what the sketch stage is for.
Once painting has begun: adjustments are complimentary, and in practice we keep working until it’s right. Small things are usually quick; larger things may add time, and we will always say so first.
What’s in the painting is always your call. The worn collar, the grey muzzle, the notch in the ear — removed, softened, kept, whenever you ask, and it never costs anything. We paint what the photograph shows; what stays is up to you.
What if you’re not happy?
The whole structure exists so that this question has a clean answer.
Before you approve the sketch: cancel for a full refund, any time, for any reason or none. Nothing has been painted; there is nothing to argue about.
After sketch approval, until you approve the finished photographs: cancellation is refunded at 50% — the other half stands behind the weeks of work already on the canvas. Our refund policy spells out the rest, plainly.
After you approve the finished photographs: the portrait is a made-to-order original, one of one, and it is yours — it cannot go back on a shelf, because there is no shelf. That is precisely why the two approvals exist: nothing becomes final until you have seen it and said yes to it.
And if your photo could never have made a portrait we believe in, you were never charged in the first place. That gate comes first, not last.
On the wall, and after
The care card in the box says this better than a page can. Real oils age slowly and beautifully; treated kindly, this painting will outlive all of us. What it asks of you is small:
- Hang it out of direct sun, and off the wall above a fireplace, radiator, or heating vent.
- Let it breathe. Oil keeps curing for months; a faint scent in the first weeks is normal and will fade. Never seal the surface behind glass or plastic.
- Dust it — a soft dry brush, once or twice a year. Never water, sprays, or household cleaners; they dissolve paint and varnish.
- Carry it by the frame, two hands at the bottom corners — never by the canvas or the hanging wire.
- Hang it from two points, into a stud or anchors rated well above the painting’s weight, and check the hardware once a year.
- Before you fix anything — a scuff, a tear, water — write to us with a photo and the certificate number. Home repairs are what make a painting unrestorable; we will tell you what it needs and who should do it.
A few weeks after it is home, one more email will arrive — an invitation to show us how it hangs, if you’d like to. Other than that, everything goes quiet, which is as it should be. A painting’s job is to be looked at, not managed.
The short version
The sequence, in six lines:
- You order, upload a photo, and tell us about them.
- A person reviews your photo — usually within a day.
- A hand-drawn sketch arrives in 2–3 days. You approve it — first decision.
- Painting and drying — most of the next four to six weeks.
- Photographs of the finished painting arrive. You approve — second and final decision.
- Framed by hand in our studio, boxed with certificate, care card, and handwritten note, delivered tracked and insured.
You approve exactly twice — the sketch, and the finished painting. Nothing is painted without the first yes; nothing is framed or shipped without the second.
Your money: a full refund any time before sketch approval. After that, 50% until the finished painting is approved. And no charge at all if your photo can’t make a portrait we believe in.
The calendar, honestly: a hand-drawn sketch in 2–3 days, then four to six weeks from order to door, most of it painting and drying time.
The short form of all of this lives on our How It Works page; this page is the long, honest version.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a custom pet portrait take?
A hand-drawn sketch in 2–3 days, then four to six weeks from order to door. Most of that time is painting in layers and waiting for oil paint to dry between them — the physics of the medium, not a style choice and not a delay. Framing and packing take about a week at the end.
What happens in the first days after I place my order?
Two things. Your confirmation email arrives with the whole sequence and the calendar in it. And a person — not software — reviews your photo, usually within a day: if it holds enough detail, your artist begins composing; if it doesn’t, you’ll hear from us honestly about what might work instead.
Will I see the portrait before it’s shipped?
Twice. The hand-drawn sketch comes first, 2–3 days after ordering — nothing is painted until you approve it. The finished painting comes second, as a set of photographs: the whole portrait, a close-up of the eyes, and the surface in raking light. Nothing is framed, packed, or shipped until you approve those too.
Can I make changes to my portrait?
At the sketch stage, as many as you like — pose, background, gaze, what’s in and what’s out. Once painting has begun, adjustments are complimentary, and in practice we keep working until it’s right. Changing what’s in the painting — removing a collar, softening the grey muzzle, keeping a scar — is your call and never a charge.
What if I don’t like the finished portrait?
Before you approve the sketch, you can cancel for a full refund at any time. After sketch approval, cancellation is refunded at 50% until you approve the finished painting, and our refund policy spells out the rest. The two approvals exist so that “didn’t like it” is a hard outcome to reach: you see the composition before paint, and the painting before framing.
Can I see progress photos while it’s being painted?
We try not to interrupt the artist at work — but if you’d like to see how your painting is coming along, just email neo@maelinstudio.com and we’ll send you the latest progress.
What if my photo isn’t good enough?
Then you will know within about a day, from a person, at no cost. We’ll tell you what the photo is missing, go through your alternatives with you, and — if nothing works — say so plainly rather than take a commission we don’t believe in. Here is how to choose the strongest photo, including video stills and old prints.
Do you frame the portrait? How is it shipped?
Framing is optional and done by hand in our studio: Black or Gold for $99, Wood for $129, or unframed. After your final approval we confirm your delivery address, frame and pack the portrait, and ship it tracked and insured, nationwide, at no charge to you.
What comes in the box?
The portrait — framed, if you chose a frame — and beneath it: a certificate of authenticity signed twice and embossed, with a unique edition number, one number to one painting; a care card written like a gallery note; and a handwritten letter. The certificate records the pet’s name, the style, the materials, the size, the completion date, and the edition number of your painting.
How do I care for the painting once it’s hung?
Six small things: indirect light only; let it breathe (never behind glass — a faint scent in the first weeks is normal and will fade); dust with a soft dry brush once or twice a year, never water or cleaners; carry it by the frame; hang it from two points; and before any repair, write to us with the certificate number — home repairs are what make paintings unrestorable.
Nothing is painted without your yes. Nothing is framed without your yes. The wait in between is the work. Start from a photo →