How it's made

Every sculpture starts with your photos. You see it as a 3D proof and approve it before anything is made, then it's 3D printed in resin and painted by hand. Here is each step, and what you'll see along the way.

A long-haired black and white cat sitting in the sun on a wooden deck

Close-up of a black and white cat with yellow eyes, held gently in someone’s hands

A fluffy black and white cat walking across a wooden deck, tail up

Step 1 of 4

Their photograph

You choose a size and check out. No photos are needed yet, and a gift can be bought without them. Then you share photos privately, any time in the next 7 days. Everyday photos are fine. What helps most:

Their face in soft light. Daylight from a window, no flash.
Ears and markings. The details you'd recognise anywhere.
A side view, if you have one. It helps with shape and posture.
Older photos are welcome. Even a few can be enough.

A person looks at every photo before any modelling begins. If another angle would help, we'll say so plainly. If your photos can't support a likeness, we'll tell you before anything is made, and refund you in full if it still isn't possible.

Your part: Choose a size, then share a few photos within 7 days.

Not sure yet? We'll look at your photos first, for free

On your private page: 1 Ordered 2 Photos

The unmi founders at a table, looking over printed photos of a pet

The 3D model of a custom spaniel sculpture, before it is hand-painted

The 3D model of a custom cat sculpture, before it is hand-painted

Step 2 of 4

Their likeness

Messy, our in-house AI tool, builds a first digital model from your photos. Then our designers work by hand on what makes them yours: the posture, the proportions, the ears, the eyes and the markings.

You receive it as a digi-model. Tell us what doesn't feel like them yet, a softer ear, a kinder eye, the way they sat, and we'll keep refining it with you until it does. Each preview waits 7 days for your thoughts; if we haven't heard from you by then, we'll take it that it feels right and begin making their piece. If we can't get there together, we'll refund you in full before anything is made.

When it's right, you approve that exact version, and that version is what we make. If you need a little longer, just write to care@unmi.pet before the 7 days are up, and we'll hold it for you.

Payment never starts production. Your approval does.

Your part: Look over the 3D proof, ask for changes, and approve it when it's right.

Try what reviewing a proof looks like

On your private page: 3 Proof 4 Approved

An artist hand-painting a custom pet sculpture, with photos of the pet pinned up for reference

An artist hand-painting a custom dog sculpture from the owner’s photos

Step 3 of 4

Hand-painted

Once you approve, their form is 3D printed by stereo-lithography (SLA): liquid photo-polymer resin, set layer by layer with light, a process that captures far finer detail than standard filament printing.

Then it's painted by hand by our experienced painters, working from your photos. It's unhurried work, but it only takes a few days.

Every piece is checked against the digi-model you approved and photographed before it leaves.

Your part: Nothing at all. You'll see the digi-model before we make it.

On your private page: 5 Modelling 6 Hand-painting 7 Checked

Custom pet sculptures of a corgi and a black and white cat, hand-painted from photos

Step 4 of 4

A place in your home

It arrives at your door within 7 to 10 business days of your approval. Customs clearance can add a little time, depending on your country. If something arrives damaged, send us a photo and we'll remake it.

Three sizes: 7.6 cm, 12.7 cm and 20 cm, measured from the base to the tip of the ears. Every size is solid, in a high-detail resin.

It stands on its own paws, or on a base with their name if you add one, on a shelf, a desk or beside the bed.

Your part: Choose where it lives.

On your private page: 8 Dispatched 9 Delivered

Whenever you're ready.

Start now and share their photos within 7 days, or have us look at your photos first. Nothing is made until you've seen their preview.

Create their sculpture Check my photos first

A real person reads every message: care@unmi.pet. We reply within 2 business days.

A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel nose to nose with its own custom hand-painted pet sculpture