It can be difficult to find pet portraits that aren't too cutesy, overdone, or expensive. These custom animal portraits from Chicago-based Etsy shop, Unless Someone Like You, meet all 3 requirements. They're sweet (but not sappy), subtle, and affordable...

Artist Leslie Hamer lives in Oak Park, Illinois, where she creates custom wedding invitations, posters, and portraits. The pet portraits are $75 each.

To order, you email a photograph of your pet and Leslie works with you to create an image. Portraits are drawn by hand on a Cintq Tablet and then printed.

Custom colors and text are available at no extra charge, and the portrait arrives archivally matted. For more information, visit Leslie's Etsy shop, Unless Someone Like You.


Sheex Bedding
I found a similar artist on etsy and loved the results.
http://rearrangeddesign.blogspot.com/2008/08/merry-christmas.html
These are perfect! I love them
Maybe it's me, but these look like typical clip art.
Besides that, these are extremely easy to do if you have the right graphic design program, which is basically PhotoShop.
Sorry, but the appeal is lost on me.
I had one done of my horse from another artist on Etsy.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5030361
She did a fantastic job and it was only $25.00.
I really love Unlesssomeonelikeyou! Leslie did a great portrait for our wedding--we used it matted and framed as a modified guest book. It turned out great! She's also very sweet and easy to work with.
These are basically traced pictures. There is certainly a style to them, but anyone can do it with a vector program or Photoshop's pen tool and a photo. That doesn't mean this isn't nice art, but just that the price tag is a bit high for how easily it can be done. If you were given the completed vector files and able to use them for other purposes (web work, even making custom fonts), it'd be more worthwhile than just a simple print.
The artist linked to by Laura (Toxicguineapig) looks like she does less generic work at a lower price.
Totally agree with comments above that these look like glorified clip art.
I just had a custom work made of our dog by an awesome Chicago artist on Etsy, Gemini Studio.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5577650
I have bought several pieces from him, he is super talented. He layers strips of antique paper and newsprint on his canvases to give them a really neat textured quality. His pieces are around $65, and he charges a little more for a custom design. I LOVE the work he just made for me.
Leslie does fantastic work -- she did a wonderful pet portrait for us that we used at our wedding (signature mat for guests to sign). Plus, she's great to work with.
Picture of our poster here -- it's on the left of this sort of compilation photo that our photographer made.
Clip art...yes, that's what's bothering me about these. They look like clip art.
I do pet portraits also, thanks to Laura for mentioning me :)
http://www.oreillyink.com/
theres a link to my etsy store there.
But yeah, not toot my own horn or something, but that looks like vector art. Which is a nice way to do an illustration, however when you're looking for something with more of a personal touch such as a portrait of an animal or what have you, I'd like to think people want something a little more "one of a kind." They are very nice pieces, different stokes for different folks, I suppose.