Image Selection

Q: I want to have an oil painting with theme but I can't get a nice photo. Can you help me to find the image?
A: Sorry, we do not help customer to find their image, however, you can easily find image thru Internet search engines. You can use the advance search option and select the ideal image with a resolution larger than 1024x768.

Q: For oil portrait orders, what is the different between self provided photo and those taken in your studio? 

A: Built in flashes are often being used in self taken photos, flat-lighting is also often being used during photo shooting sessions at most bridal studios thus causing a rather "flat" end result. Side lighting photo is ideal for oil painting conversion due to its enhanced 3-dimensial effects. At Magic Mirror Studio we provide side lighting best suited for oil paintings.

Q: Can I supply a black and white image to be converted into color image? 

A: Yes, we will charge 100rmb per image that need to be converted into color. We will first fill in the color in an assumption basis and follow by our customer opinion.

Q: What is the minimum requirement of photo resolution needed to process 22 inches and 34 inches of oil painting respectively?
A: We recommend 1 mega pixels for 22 inches painting, and 2 mega pixels for 34 inches oil painting. However, we have had many successes with low- resolution images taken with a low-resolution cell phone or downloaded from the Internet.

Photo Retouching

Q: Is the face re-sculpting done on Photoshop?
A: No, PS will take a much longer time of about 20 to 30 minutes to re-sculpting and retouching a single person whereas it can be done within 2 minutes using our system.

Q: Will the person become not recognizable after the face re-sculpting? 

A: No, the degree of change can be controlled. Of course you can also choose not to do facial adjustment.

Q: Can we add a different person from another picture into the image? 

A: Yes, but can vary due to the difference of lighting and angle that will affect the final artwork. You can send us both images, and we will send you a quotation if more than half an hour of retouching work is necessary.

Q: We have many retouching needs on my image, would I be charged accordingly? 

A: Yes, our standard price includes half an hour of retouching work; we will supply a quotation if it is more than half an hour. We will then send an email with oil painting effects attachment to you via email for confirmation before painting starts. If you request any additional changes, which were not requested at the time of order, we will give you an additional quotation for the changes.

Q: My photo is a big group picture. Do you charge by number of people in the image? 

A: No, we charge based on size of the ordered oil painting. However, if there are a lot of people in the picture, we recommend a picture with a higher resolution. Minimum resolution of 2 mega pixels is required for group pictures. We also recommend a larger size oil painting for group photo conversions.

Q: Can I change the background of the image?

A: Yes, but we can also make the background blurry and paint it with a stronger brush stroke. Keeping background also retains the time and space significance of the painting.

Q: Would these painting faithfully reproduce the color of the photograph?
A: No, we are trying to simulate the painting color and style of old classical paintings, so the color tones tend to be warmer. If you need to reproduce the color faithfully, please make it on a special request.

Oil Painting Effect

Q: I saw oil painting images done by using software called Painter on the Internet; they look really good and the paintbrush effects on the image looks very thick. Do you use Painter?
A: We do not use Painter for our product; the thick-paint brush effect was achieved through Painter looking good only on 2D media like the Internet, but may not look real when printed on canvas.

Q: Magic Mirror oil paintings seem a bit thin and flat; it doesn't look like my impression of oil painting. Can you make the paint thicker and more like an "oil painting" look? 

A: Most of our works are portraits; portrait painting is the hardest subject for oil painting. Classical style of painting is often used when painting of smooth skin. This is where the paint is thinner than painting of other subjects. We do have a thicker painting option that covers 70% of surface with real paint, and we charge 50% more than our standard price.

Draft Confirmation

Q: Can Magic Mirror Studio send me with a draft for approval before painting starts? 

A: Yes, we will send an email with painting effects attachment for your confirmation before painting starts.

Production Cycle

Q: How long will the oil painting to be ready to pick up after I sent the image and have made the payment made? 

A: It will take about 3 business days after we received your email of approval.
 

Payment

Q: Can I use online payment?
A: Yes, You can choose to make payment via 

Paypal: sales@picpaint.com or Alipay :pay@picpaint.com

Our standard steps would be:
1. Need 50% deposit, for us to start.
2. We turn the photo to painting effect and send you email for approval.
3. You approve the painting and we will start print it and paint on top.
4. We will send photos of the actual finished painting to your mail box.
5. You pay the remaining amount, and we will send the painting to you.

Maintenance

Q: How long would these painting last?
A: We use original Epson Ink which, awarded by third party certification, has proven to last for over 100 years. These paintings are also coated with a protection layer to protect against UV light and oxidization. We do not recommend the painting to be displayed under direct sunlight nor outdoors, but occasional outdoor display will not cause damage to the oil painting.

Q: How to clean these paintings if it gets dirty?
A: It can be cleaned gently with mild soup using a moist cloth.

Shipping

Q: How can we order paintings from overseas, as framed paintings are costly to ship? 

A: You can volume order our standard size frame and stretchers and ship by sea. Or you can also send paintings by air in a roll. You can then do the framing in your country.