How our AI pet portraits are made
Each portrait is made by an image-editing AI model that receives your photo plus a written brief: keep this exact pet, then repaint it in the chosen style. We tested the briefs on 17 portraits of dogs, cats, a rabbit and a pet with its owner before launch. Here is what we do and what we found.
The process, step by step
When you click create, four things happen:
- Your photo is converted to a standard JPEG in your browser and uploaded over HTTPS.
- It goes through an automatic safety check that blocks explicit content.
- The image model (Google's Nano Banana 2.1 image editor, run through the WaveSpeed API) receives your photo and our brief for the style, costume or theme you chose. It outputs a square image at 2048 × 2048 pixels.
- For guests the result is shown as a small watermarked preview. Once you sign up, you get the full file without a watermark.
How we keep it looking like your pet
Every brief starts with the same instruction: keep this exact pet, with the same breed, face shape, eye color, fur color, markings and proportions, so the owner recognizes their own animal, and do not turn it into a generic breed. For several pets or a pet with its owner, the brief also says to keep the number of subjects, each face and each coat, and not to add or remove anyone.
We wrote these lines after testing. Without them, image models tend to "beautify" a pet into the standard look of its breed: a grey muzzle turns brown, an off-center blaze becomes symmetrical.
Our test results (November 2, 2026)
We made 17 portraits from casual phone-style photos: 8 single pets in different styles, 5 styles on the same golden retriever, a Christmas portrait, two multi-pet portraits and one owner-with-pet portrait. All 17 finished without errors.
| What we checked | Result |
|---|---|
| Pet likeness | Kept on all single pets: the French bulldog's head tilt, tabby stripes, the tuxedo cat's nose marking, a senior Labrador's grey muzzle, a lop rabbit's patches |
| Style separation | Oil, watercolor, pop art, cartoon, royal, admiral, memorial and Christmas were all clearly distinct |
| Multiple pets | Beagle + orange cat and two dachshunds: right number of animals, right colors |
| Pet with owner | The corgi stayed very close; the person was recognizable (hair, earrings) but slightly restyled |
| Line art | First version had broken, unfinished lines; we rewrote the brief (head and chest only, every outline closed) and the retest on three pets was clean |
| Speed | Most portraits took 15–45 seconds; two waited in the provider's queue for 4–6 minutes |
Resolution and print sizes
Portraits are 2048 × 2048 pixels. At 256 pixels per inch that is a sharp 8 × 8 inch print; at 200 pixels per inch, about 10 × 10 inches still looks good on canvas, where texture hides fine detail. We tested a 4096 px option as well, but it costs about twice as much per portrait, so we chose 2048 px to keep prices low.
Tips for the best portrait
The portraits are strongest when the photo gives the AI a clear look at your pet. Five tips from our testing:
- Use a sharp photo in daylight. Clear eyes are the single biggest factor in a perfect likeness.
- Keep the whole head in frame, ears included, so nothing has to be filled in.
- For pet-and-owner portraits, the pet stays photo-exact and the person gets a flattering painted finish that matches the style.
- Costume details such as medals, embroidery and crowns are hand-picked by the AI each time, so every portrait is one of a kind. Try again for a new variation.
- Names are added on a separate gold plate instead of being painted into the picture, so the spelling is always perfect.
See your own pet as a portrait
One photo, about 30 seconds. The first preview is free.
Create Free Preview