Custom Dog Portraits vs AI-Generated Art: Which Is Better For Your Home?

You love your dog. When you’re choosing wall art that looks like them, you have a few options: a custom dog portrait by a real artist, prints of work by a real artist or AI-generated images. If you ask me: anyone who cares about personality, likeness, and long-term value, custom art pieces win. 

Why Custom Dog Portraits Are Worth It

• This is about your dog and your dog only. I study reference photos in miniscule detail.​ I'll carefully refer to your photos for hours on end (upwards of nine hours usually) and picks up the little things—wonky ear, a scar from puppy days, that cheeky glint.

• It’s a collaboration. You share stories and quirks, and we build a portrait that feels like them together.

• You support independent artists. Your commission funds real creativity and craft. The picture you take home carries a little piece of me in it. ​

  At Bancroftio Draws, my goal is to hand-drawn digital portraits that capture the spirit of your pet, not just their outline.

At Bancroftio Draws, my goal is to hand-draw digital portraits that capture the spirit of your pet, not just a vague likeness.

The Reality of AI-Generated Dog Art

• It's fast and cheap, because it’s generic. AI outputs what it thinks it ought to based on huge data sets it has been trained on. What's produced isn't your actual dog, even when someone "feeds in" a photo of your dog to begin with. It's just a mish-mash of art from the data set.

• These data sets contain the art and images from artists who haven’t consented to their work being used in this way. Illustrators, painters, and photographers have had their styles and finished pieces scraped from the internet and fed into training models without permission, credit, or compensation. When AI generates an image, it’s not creating in a vacuum — it’s helping itself to the efforts, ideas and emotions of real people.

• Often, the results feel uncanny. Details get smoothed away or become the victim of AI peculiarities, expressions are flattened, and the spark that makes a portrait feel alive is missing. The output might (sometimes) be polished or cute, but emotionally hollow.

• There’s also no story behind the image. No relationship, no intention, no time spent noticing. AI portraits can be fun for a moment, but they rarely earn a permanent place on a wall.

• The people who sell products using AI images often pump out extraordinarily amounts of images because their game plan is "chuck everything at a wall and see what sticks" i.e. what customers will buy. Items for sale thrown together quickly and with little care because the seller is focused on quantity to sale not quality. AI images on these products of contain errors such as missing or too many limbs/digits/tails, strange mouths or teeth, background features that don't make sense.

Key Differences (Real-World Stuff)

Time

• Custom portraits: weeks (care takes time)

• AI: minutes to hours

Cost

• Custom: size dependent but around £70-150 for an A4 piece

• AI: under £30

Personalisation

• Custom: entirely custom - built from your photos and stories and incorporating your feedback

• AI: generic interpretation with little to no customisation

Emotional value

• Custom: made with you in mind, emotional value grows with time, becomes a meaningful keepsake (great for memorials)

• AI: initial novelty but no long-term value

Impact

• Custom: focal point, long-term momento of a treasured family member, conversation starter

• AI: cheap, filler decor likely in a 'trending' (i.e. saleable) style that quickly becomes dated

When Each Option Makes Sense

• Choose custom when you want a meaningful and long-lasting piece for your home, a gift with heart that shows you care, or a pet memorial portrait that feels like it truly honours your pet.

• Choose AI when you’re just experimenting, need something instantly or temporarily, or have a very tight budget.

Buying Prints from Real Artists: Affordable, Real Art for Your Walls

Not ready for a commission piece? Artist prints are a brilliant entry point into owning real art and supporting artists.

Why prints work

• You're buying real work from real artists ​

• More affordable than original pieces, still high quality

• Archival papers and pigment inks mean long-lasting colour

• Can be available in a range of sizes ​

Where to find them

• Artist websites (like this one, right here!), Instagram and other online marketplaces

• Local craft shops, independent boutiques, art fairs and markets

• Or contact artists directly

Bonus: It genuinely helps

Prints create steady income for artists and keep studios running. You build a real art collection from real artists. It’s a win win step before commissioning a custom dog portrait!

The Bottom Line

If you want quick and cheap, AI-generated dog art will do in a pinch. If you want a portrait with personality, story, and lasting value, go custom. And if you’re building an art-filled home on a budget, buy prints from real artists—you’ll support creativity and bring home art that actually means something.