DnD character art: turn your own picture into a print
DnD character art you can print has to be art you have the right to use. We do not draw characters. We print the picture you bring, and this guide shows how to get one that holds up at poster size.
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A search for your hero's face turns up other people's work first. What you print should start closer to home: a pencil sketch made while the character was still a name on a sheet, or the miniature you painted and photographed. This guide follows a picture from the table to a wall or a mug, and says plainly what we make and what we don't.
What makes DnD character art printable
Before any file uploads, a checkbox makes you state that the image is yours or that whoever made it agreed, and that it may be transformed and reproduced for your order. That box is the whole of our rule, and it decides what belongs on this page. A drawing you made qualifies. So does a portrait an artist made for you, if printing was part of the deal. The tick is your statement, so make it only for a picture you can stand behind. Every product in the shop is made from a file you upload; there is no shelf of ready-made portraits.
Draw it yourself
A pencil sketch can be printed, provided the photo of it is good. Draw what the table already remembers about the character: the scar and the cloak. If the character is still vague, DnD character ideas that survive a campaign pins down a want and a flaw first, and how to draw an elf builds a head and shoulders from a single ball. No name yet? The fantasy name generator will offer some.
Photograph the page flat on a table in window light, with the phone square above it and no shadow of your hand across the paper. Faint pencil is the risk, so check the photo against the page itself. A light gray line that reads on paper can vanish at poster size.
| Route | What to get right |
|---|---|
| Draw it yourself | Photograph the page flat in window light; check faint pencil |
| Commission it | Agree printing first; get the full-size file |
| Paint the miniature | One soft side light, a plain backdrop, the lens at face height |
Commissioning a portrait
Many players hire an artist for the one picture that matters. Two things belong in the first message, before any money moves: that you plan to print it, and that you'll receive the full-size file, not a copy shrunk for a chat avatar. Say roughly how big, and ask for the pixel dimensions, because the upload blocks any size that would print below 140 dpi. For a file shaped like the poster, an A3 (11.7 x 16.5 in) needs at least 1,682 by 2,360 pixels and an A2 (16.5 x 23.4 in) at least 2,360 by 3,319. Those minimums are our own arithmetic from the catalog's print-file sizes, which include a margin for trimming.
Keep the agreement in writing. If the artist would rather not see the picture on a mug, that's their call, and the upload box cannot settle it for you.
Paint the figure, then photograph it
A painted miniature is a portrait in three dimensions, and a photo makes it flat enough to print. Use one soft light from the side, hang a plain sheet behind the figure and bring the lens down to the height of its face. Photograph your miniature has the full setup, and preparing your artwork explains resolution and crop.
Print the picture unchanged, or put the figure in a scene
The two routes behave differently. Print your artwork cuts your file to the product you pick and does nothing else, and you see the crop before you order. It takes any file you have the rights to.
Create a scene takes photos of painted miniatures and nothing else. Five settings are on offer: The Tavern, Into Battle, Woodland Path, Paintwork Portrait and Hero Portrait. Whichever you pick, the display base is replaced with matching ground. Your photo needs 800 pixels or more on its shortest side. Once your email is verified, a watermarked preview appears, up to three free a day, and you approve one before anything goes to print.
A new setting can change small details. Set the preview next to your photo and hunt for differences, starting with the face and fingers. The scene checklist lists what else to look for. If no preview keeps your character, print the untouched photo instead. The studio starts from a figure you painted; it can't make a character from a description.
| Detail | Print your artwork | Create a scene |
|---|---|---|
| Takes | Any file you have the rights to | Photos of painted miniatures only |
| Changes | The crop, nothing else | The setting; the display base is replaced |
| Minimum file | Sizes below 140 dpi are blocked | 800 pixels on the shortest side |
| Before printing | You see the crop | A watermarked preview you approve |
Will the file be big enough?
The upload accepts JPEG, PNG and WebP, each up to 10 MB. The page then measures your pixels against every size. At 300 dpi or more a size is graded Sharpest, from 140 to 300 dpi it prints well, and below 140 dpi it can't be chosen. A small file therefore loses its larger sizes and never prints soft. Art saved for a chat avatar or a virtual tabletop is often small, and the cure is the original from whoever made it, because enlarging a small copy adds pixels but no detail.
Which product suits a character portrait
For a wall, the art print has no frame and uses off-white 250 gsm uncoated archival paper. The smallest sheet measures 8 x 10 in. The largest measures 27.6 x 39.4 in, which the shop labels 70 x 100 cm. The sizes run from the squarer 8 x 10 in to the longer 24 x 36 in, so art of any other shape is cropped at its edges. The preview shows the cut; keep the head and any raised weapon well inside it. The framed print comes as A2 (16.5 x 23.4 in) or A3 (11.7 x 16.5 in), with a black or natural wood frame.
A wall isn't where the character gets used, though. The 11 oz mug sits on the table every session, and its product page says to check how the image fits the printable area, not assume it wraps the whole mug, so lead with one centered figure. The hoodie is a black Gildan 18500 pullover with an approximate 12 x 12 in print area above the front pocket; the back and sleeves are unprinted. Dark backgrounds sink into black fabric, so a pale panel behind the figure will show as a pale square.
Look at the art print or the framed print
Portrait questions that come up at the table
Can the portrait be of a made-up character? Yes. A character you invented is an image like any other, and it prints the same way. The tick box is the only rights question we ask.
Where the finished print goes
A portrait of one character hangs well beside others. Gallery wall ideas shows how to space a group, and gaming room decor is for the room where the game happens. If you are buying for a player instead of yourself, DnD gifts made from their own character start from the picture they already have. At Christmas, DnD Christmas gifts adds stocking stuffers and Secret Santa.
Brush & Paint is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast, and sells nothing of theirs. We print art and photos you own or have permission to use.
Each piece is made after you order it. Shipping is worked out at checkout from your US address, and USD prices for every size are on the shop page. Read shipping and returns before a fixed date.
The gifts in this guide
Questions and answers
How do I create D&D character art?
Draw it yourself, or paint a miniature of the character and photograph it. If you hire an artist, agree printing in writing first. Each route gives you a file that can be printed.
Where can I find good character art for D&D?
From your own hand or from an artist you commission. The upload asks you to confirm that you own the image or have permission, so use art you made or art whose maker has agreed to printing.
Do you make D&D character portraits?
We do not make portraits. Our direct route prints the file you upload unchanged, and only the optional scene studio for painted miniature photos changes anything: the setting around the figure.
What is a character portrait?
Here, a picture of one character that shows who they are, not a scene they’re in: a face, the head and shoulders, or the full figure on a plain ground. At the table it’s often a sketch clipped to the character sheet. On a mug or a T-shirt one subject on a plain background reads at a glance, and a poster gives a full figure room.