Five things to check before you buy a textured canvas.
From anyone, including us. Most of what is sold as a 'textured oil painting print' is a flat picture of a painting; most of what is sold as a 'custom portrait' has no one checking the likeness. Here is how to tell, and how we answer each one.
1. Is the texture real, or pictured?
What to check. Ask for a photo of the surface in raking light, from the side, or a video of a hand running over it. If every product photo is head-on and evenly lit, assume it's flat.
Why it matters. Most 'textured' canvases on marketplaces are ordinary flat prints of a painting: the brushstrokes are in the image, not on the surface. From a metre away in even light they look the same as the real thing. In a room with a lamp or a window, they don't.
How we answer it. The brushwork is built up in layers of UV-cured ink that physically stand off the cotton canvas. You can feel the ridges, and the piece changes as the light moves across it. The close-up at the bottom of this page is what that surface looks like.
2. Will it actually look like them?
What to check. Ask whether you see the painting before you pay, whether a person checks the likeness, and what happens if it isn't right after it arrives.
Why it matters. AI does the first pass for almost everyone now, including us. Left alone it drifts: a slightly different muzzle, the wrong eye colour, a stranger's smile. The difference between vendors is what happens after the first pass.
How we answer it. The first painting is free and takes about fifteen seconds, so you decide with the picture in front of you. After you order, a person reviews the full-resolution proof for likeness. If it's not them — before printing or after delivery — we repaint it free and don't ask for the piece back.
3. What exactly are you approving, and when?
What to check. Ask to see the print-resolution file before anything is printed, and how many rounds of changes are included.
Why it matters. A low-resolution preview hides the problems that show up at 24×36. If the first time you see the real file is when the box arrives, every fix costs a reprint, and most vendors won't do one.
How we answer it. The proof we email is the exact file that goes to the printer, at full resolution. Tap the painting to mark a spot and say what to change; changes are free, as many rounds as it takes. If we don't hear from you within two days, we send a reminder and then print the proof you were sent, so a busy week doesn't hold up your order.
4. What is it printed on, and stretched over?
What to check. Ask for the canvas material, the bar depth and material, whether the edges are finished, and whether frames are real wood.
Why it matters. The cheap way is polyester canvas on 0.75-inch fingerjointed or MDF bars, edges left white. It warps in a humid room and looks thin from the side.
How we answer it. Cotton canvas on 1.5-inch solid wood bars, painted around the edges so the gallery wrap is finished from every angle. Float frames are solid wood in black, white oak or antique gold. Hanging hardware and corner protectors are in the box.
5. What does it cost all-in, and how long does it take?
What to check. Add shipping, frame and any 'proof' or 'rush' fees to the headline price, and count the days from order to door rather than the days in production.
Why it matters. A $49 headline often becomes $90 with shipping and a frame, and 'ships in 3 days' can mean three days after a proof round that takes a week.
How we answer it. Sizes run from 8×10 at $69 to 36×48 at $549, canvas included, shipping free within the contiguous US. The proof arrives within about a day of ordering; after you approve it, printing and stretching take 7–10 business days. Ready-made pieces from The Collection and Heritage skip the proof step. There is no rush fee because there is no slow lane.
Questions people ask
What is a textured canvas print?
A canvas print whose brushstrokes are physically raised off the surface rather than only pictured. At Afrodie the relief is built from layers of UV-cured ink that follow the strokes of the painting, so the surface catches light the way paint does and can be felt by hand.
How can I tell a real textured canvas from a flat print online?
Look for side-lit close-ups or video of the surface, a stated printing method (layered or raised UV ink, gel texture, or hand-applied medium), and a returns policy that covers likeness. If all the photos are head-on and evenly lit and the method is not stated, it is probably a flat print of a painting.
Is an AI-painted portrait worth buying?
If you can see the painting before you pay, a person checks the likeness, and it is remade free when it isn't right, the risk is close to zero and you get a painting of your own pet or family for a fraction of a commissioned oil. If any of those three is missing, be careful.
What size textured canvas should I buy?
Above a sofa or a bed, 24×36 inches; in a hallway or beside a bookshelf, 16×20; on a desk or nightstand, 8×10. Texture reads from across a room, which is why most people go one size larger than they first planned. The studio shows your painting on a wall at true scale so you can judge rather than guess.
See your photo as a painting — freeOr pick a ready-made piece
Related: what a raised-texture canvas print is · sizes and prices · the guarantee