Dogs · Shiba Inu
Custom Shiba Inu Portraits, Hand-Painted From Your Photo
We paint Shiba Inu portraits by hand from your photo. Trade pricing applies from one piece, and you approve a digital proof before anything ships.
- Coat
- Thick, plush double coat with a stiff outer coat
- Common colours
- red, black and tan, sesame and cream
- Build
- Small, compact, fox-like, with a curled tail and the "urajiro" cream markings
- Canvas orientation
- Square or portrait — the fox face suits a square canvas
- Detail levels
- Painterly · Refined · Hyperreal
- Minimum order
- 1 piece — retail or trade
On the canvas
Painting a Shiba Inu: what we pay attention to
The Shiba Inu is a fox in a plush coat, and the portrait is about the face: narrow, confident, slightly triangular eyes; small, forward-tilted ears; a compact muzzle; and the cream urajiro markings on the cheeks that give the breed its expression. We draw the head carefully for the angle of the eyes and the set of the ears, then paint the coat from the dense undercoat outward with the stiff outer hairs shown as texture at the edges.
Red Shibas are painted as a range — deep fox-red along the back, warm gold at the sides, cream on the cheeks, chest and belly — with a feathered edge where red meets cream. Black-and-tans are painted as a black dog with warm points; sesames get black-tipped hairs at the edges of the mass over a red base; creams are painted with warm and cool greys in the shadows so they hold their form.
The tail, curled tightly over the back, completes the outline in a full-body composition. A three-quarter head-and-shoulders study on a cool grey or muted green ground — which makes the red glow — is the portrait most owners choose.
Scenes and settings
What do people have us paint a Shiba Inu doing?
A fox-shaped dog that keeps its own counsel. Shibas are clean, aloof and usually looking slightly away from the camera, with a tightly curled tail, prick ears and the cream urajiro markings on cheeks, throat and belly that give the face its structure.
Almost none of the photographs that reach us are posed. They are the ordinary moments somebody kept — and those are the ones worth a canvas. Any of the settings below can be painted as the Shiba Inu alone, or with the people the Shiba Inu belongs to.
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The fox face and the urajiro
Head-on, red coat with cream on the cheeks, throat and above the eyes. The urajiro boundary is painted soft and feathered — it is where the face gets its shape, and a hard edge there flattens the whole head.
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Curled tail, standing in profile
Side-on with the tail in a tight ring over the back. Painted on a landscape canvas where the tail and the arched neck make the composition.
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Sitting, looking away
Not at the camera, not interested. A square canvas; the refusal to engage is the breed and makes an unusually self-contained portrait.
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In snow
Red coat on white ground, prick ears up, feet lifted. Painted with the snow kept blue in shadow so the red coat sits forward.
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Alert, full body
Ears pricked, weight forward, something noticed. The short dense coat is painted as sheen over muscle, with the guard hairs breaking the outline at the shoulder and tail.
Something else in mind? Send the photograph — a Shiba Inu in a setting we have not listed is a normal request, not a difficult one. Portraits with people and pets together →
For the trade
Selling Shiba Inu portraits?
Breed-specific portraits are a strong seller for Etsy shops, breed clubs, groomers and gift retailers. Order one at trade pricing, or a set for a shop or a single interior, shipped to you or your customer. The same policies apply to every trade account.
See the trade program| Policy | What we offer |
|---|---|
| Minimum order | 1 piece |
| Trade pricing | Applies from the first piece |
| Capacity | 50+ painters in the studio; volume orders in the thousands, not the dozens |
| Largest single piece | Up to 5 m on the longest side — freight is checked before we quote |
| Ship direct to your customer | Yes, worldwide |
| Branding on the parcel | Yours, ours or none — you tell us |
| Sample policy | Discounted first sample |
| Digital proof | Sent for approval before every shipment |
| Payment | Deposit + balance after proof approval |
| Price list | On request |
Recent work
View portfolio →
Every piece is painted by one painter through eight documented stages — see how we paint.
Shiba Inu portrait FAQ
How do you paint the red coat and the cream markings?
The red is painted as a range from a deep fox-red on the back to a warm gold at the sides, and the urajiro — the cream on the cheeks, chest, belly and inside the legs — is painted with cool shadows so it sits in the coat. The two meet with a soft, feathered edge.
Do you paint black-and-tan and sesame Shibas?
Yes. Black-and-tans are painted as a black dog with warm points and the cream urajiro; sesames have the black-tipped hairs painted at the edges of the mass over a red base.
The expression is quite serious — will you keep it?
Yes. The Shiba's narrow, confident eyes and the slightly smug set of the mouth are the breed, and they are painted as your photo has them.
Do you paint from a phone photo?
Yes, as long as it is the original file rather than a screenshot or a photo of a photo. Sharp eyes and even light matter more than the camera. Send it and we will confirm whether it will work.
Can I order a single piece at trade pricing for a client?
Yes. Trade pricing starts from a single piece, and a project — a series for one interior, or a standing monthly order — is quoted the same way. Request the trade price list from the trade page.
Other dogs we paint
All dogs →Ask about a Shiba Inu portrait
Send a photo of your Shiba Inu and tell us the size you have in mind. We reply with a quote and tell you honestly whether the photo will work.
Thank you — we have your inquiry.
We reply within 24 hours on business days. Want an answer sooner? Message us on WhatsApp and mention your name.
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