A studio service
One story, made into a comic.
Some comics are commissioned once, for one reason: a proposal, a retirement, a company's founding story, a gift nobody else could give. You send the story and the reference photos; we handle the script shaping, the illustration, the lettering and the print files. A commission, start to finish, quoted per project.
N° 01What people commission
The comics that only exist once.
A custom comic works because it does something a photo album can't: it edits. It picks the six moments that matter, gives them panels, and lets the people in them be characters rather than snapshots.
Most commissions fall into a few shapes. All of them are about a real story someone already has and can't currently show anyone.
01
How we met
The story a couple tells at dinner parties, drawn as a short comic. Anniversaries, engagements and weddings — the most commissioned personal comic by a distance.
02
Milestone and retirement gifts
A career, a decade of friendship, or a leaving gift from a whole team — a short comic that a card cannot possibly carry, signed by everyone on the back page.
03
Company origin stories
The founding story, drawn: the garage, the first customer, the near-miss. Used at anniversaries, in onboarding, and on the wall behind reception.
04
Family history
A grandparent's story, or a family's move across a country, illustrated so the next generation actually reads it instead of inheriting a folder.
05
A child's own story
A story a child made up, turned into a real printed comic with them as the lead. The most-loved commission we do, and usually the shortest.
06
Explainer and internal comics
A process, a product or a piece of company culture explained in panels, because people read a comic and skip a slide deck.
N° 02How it works
You supply the story. We supply everything else.
Commissioning a comic sounds harder than it is. You don't need a script, a page plan, or any idea of what a panel should contain — that's the part we do.
What you do need is the raw material: the story in whatever form you can tell it, and enough reference for us to draw the people in it recognisably.
01
1 · Tell us the story
In an email, a voice note, or bullet points — however it comes out naturally. We'll ask follow-up questions about the moments and details a reader will need.
02
2 · Send references
Photos of the people, the places and anything that matters — a car, a house, a dog. More reference means more recognisable, and it's the single biggest lever on how the finished comic lands.
03
3 · We shape the script
We cut the story down to the beats that fit the page count, write it into comic script form, and send it back for approval before anything is drawn.
04
4 · Character designs & thumbnails
The people in the story get quick character designs, and the pages get thumbnailed. You approve likeness and layout while changes still cost minutes.
05
5 · Finished pages
Illustrated, coloured and lettered pages produced in the agreed style, delivered as a complete comic rather than a sequence of separate images.
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6 · Print-ready delivery
Print files sized for the format you want — a stapled short book, a small perfect-bound edition, or single pages for framing — plus digital files for sharing.
N° 03Scope & timing
How long should it be?
Almost everyone overestimates the page count they need. A tight eight-page comic that keeps moving beats a loose twenty-four-page one, and personal stories especially benefit from ruthless editing.
Page count and deadline are the two things worth telling us first, because they set everything else — and gift commissions have real dates attached.
01
4–8 pages
One story, one arc. The right size for a proposal, a leaving gift, or a single unforgettable episode — the most commonly commissioned length.
02
12–24 pages
Room for several beats, a supporting cast and a proper ending. Suits a company origin story or a relationship spanning years.
03
Longer commissions
Family histories and full memoirs run longer and are produced in chapter batches with approval gates, exactly like a graphic novel.
04
Deadlines and gift dates
Tell us the date at the first email. Commissions are scheduled backward from it, and we'll tell you honestly at the start if a date isn't realistic rather than discovering it late.
05
Style choice
The illustration style is agreed upfront — lighter and warmer for gifts and family stories, cleaner and more graphic for company and explainer comics.
06
Print and presentation
We supply print-ready files, and can specify a printer, a trim size and a binding suited to the occasion — including single-page files sized for framing.
Investment
Named engagements. Quoted per project.
Three commission shapes, from a short gift comic to a chaptered family story. Every commission is different, so each one is quoted per project once we know the length and the deadline.
Short commission
Quoted per project4–8 pages
One story, one arc — the classic gift or milestone comic.
- Story shaping into comic script
- Character designs from your reference photos
- Thumbnails approved before finished art
- Illustrated, coloured and lettered pages
- Print-ready and digital files
Full commission
Quoted per project12–24 pages
A longer story with several beats and a supporting cast.
- Everything in Short commission
- Extended cast designs
- Cover and title page
- Back page for signatures or dedications
- One revision round on finished pages
- Print specification for your chosen binding
Chaptered commission
Quoted per project25+ pages
A family history, memoir or company story told at length.
- Everything in Full commission
- Produced in chapter batches with approval gates
- Consistency pass across the whole book
- Structured research and interview notes
- Perfect-bound print specification
- Layered working files handed over
Quoted per project. Page count, cast size, colour treatment and turnaround set the number — a rushed deadline costs more than a comfortable one, so tell us the date early. Printing itself is arranged separately; we supply the print-ready files and a specification your printer can work from.
Questions
The answers we give most often.
- What do I need to send you?
- The story, in whatever form you can tell it — email, bullet points or a voice note — plus reference photos of the people, places and objects that matter. You don't need a script, a page plan or any idea of what goes in a panel. That's the part we do.
- How long does a custom comic take?
- A short 4–8 page commission typically runs four to six weeks from approved script; longer commissions scale from there. If it's a gift with a fixed date, tell us at the first email — we schedule backward from the date and will say honestly at the start whether it's achievable.
- Will the people actually look like themselves?
- That's the whole point of a personal commission, and it depends almost entirely on your reference. Several clear photos per person, from different angles, gets a genuinely recognisable likeness. One blurry group photo does not. Likeness is approved at the character design stage, before any finished page is drawn.
- Can you print it, or do I?
- We deliver print-ready files plus a specification — trim size, binding, paper — that any printer can work from, and we'll recommend a route for the format you want. Placing the print order stays with you, which keeps you in control of quantity, cost and delivery date.
- Can I commission a comic for a company?
- Yes — founding stories, anniversary comics, and internal explainer comics are a regular part of this line. They follow the same flow, with the reference material coming from your team and the script approved by whoever owns the story internally.
- Do I own the finished comic?
- Yes. Full rights to the artwork and files transfer to you on final payment — print it, frame it, reprint it years later. We only ask before showing any commission publicly, and if you'd rather it stayed private, it stays private.
Next step
Tell us the story you want drawn.
Send the story, roughly how long you'd like it, and the date it's needed by — we'll reply within two business days with a per-project quote and a schedule that hits your date.