Home > How It Works > FAQs
For those unsure about Blurred Reality, or how everything works, we have compiled a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions for you to browse. Hopefully any general questions you have about our site and business will be answered by some of the questions below.
If you are still unsure about something, or your question isn't covered here, then do not hesitate to Contact Us with your questions and queries
The questions have been divided into categories to aid your navigation of different issues. You can click on any of the below links to go straight to that section or ou can simply scroll down through the various different questions.
General
Styles
Printing
Payment
Delivery
How To Order
Photo Guidelines
My Order
Contact Us
Blurred Reality transform a photo of your choosing into a pop-art portrait. A person (animal/car/object/group) of your choosing is 'converted' into one of our contemporary and modern digital art styles by one of our talented and experienced artists. So, you send in a photo (more information on how here), and we transform it and send it back as a pop-art portrait. Your final product can either be printed on canvas or poster, or you can simply ask for a digital copy.
Our portraits are ideal for those who want something a bit more exciting than a regular photo hung on the wall. They combine the personality and sentimentality of family photos with the style, class and modernity of pop-art pictures. They are designed to be eye-catching, unique and contemporary, and add that extra bit of wow-factor to your wall.
A Blurred Reality portrait is also ideal to give as an original and memorable gift for those hard to buy for people/ occasions. For instance, why not give a Gift Voucher set as a wedding present, allowing the happy couple to convert pictures of their happy day into something that extra bit special. It certainly beats a toaster!
Whether buying a gift voucher set or a portrait directly, the scope for those who will enjoy and appreciate one of our artworks is potentially limitless.
We aim to majorly undercut the prices our competitors charge while retaining a higher standard of art. Our prices are on average only 25% that of our biggest competitor, and we believe our standard of work is in most cases superior.
There is more information on why you should choose us on our Why Us section.
You can certainly try, and there are indeed filters on graphics programs that do replicate some of the styles we offer. However, we find that filters give a dramatically worse standard of portrait than hand-drawing the artwork - which is why we always opt for the latter method of creating our work.
Our styles take our artists an average of 5 hours to complete, and the time invested shows in the end product. The quality of our work is a major priority for us and we aim to use the experience of our team to create the highest standard of art that is possible.
The price of all artwork includes the design costs of creating your portrait. This usually represents the bulk of the cost, and it is the charge we apply to cover the work of our artists. The design costs of the different styles vary depending on the amount of time they generally take to create.
If you want more than one person featured in the portrait this adds an extra design charge on because it creates extra work for the artist. Again this charge will vary depending on the style (and the number of people included)
We also factor into the final price the cost of printing. Different print options have different costs to produce, as do the different sizes. We offer as low a price as possible for printing. If you are not getting your portrait printed by us (and only want a digital copy), you simply pay for the design costs.
A full pricelist can be found on our Pricing page.
A full range of modern pop-art styles are on offer here at Blurred Reality. If we think it looks good, and we have tested that we can reproduce it, then we will offer it. You can browse the different options on the Styles page - which includes links to example pictures and further information.
We have chosen these styles for the simple reason that we think they look awesome. We also ensure, of course, that we can reproduce these styles to a high standard.
Our passion and admiration for the different styles is hopefully reflected in our work - we endeavour to emulate them as closely as possible and to as good a standard as the originals. It has to be said, we get a kick from creating good art in styles we like, so that is hopefully reflected in our end product.
Put simply - yes! Our styles are all inspired and based on popular contemporary images, videos or films, so a lot are probably familiar to you. We have no affiliation with any of the original artists or companies who created these styles - we are simply fans of the work who want to reproduce the looks they have created. More information about the inspiration for the styles can be found on their individual pages (access via this link).
We are always looking out for new styles to try out and eventually incorporate into our shop. Initial plans are to develop an Andy Warhol style and also an abstracted style similar to the Scanner Darkly work we create.
If there is a style you are particularly keen on seeing (or having done) then please contact us to let us know - it may be possible for us to do it for you.
Customers can choose to have their personalised portrait printed on canvas, poster, laminated poster, plastic poster, or laminated plastic poster. There are a wide variety of different sizes and dimensions of printing we offer on all of these mediums. Our Pricing page has full details of the different sizes on offer (and how much they cost for each different medium).
Alternatively, customers can simply request a digital copy of their portrait, sent as a high resolution image via e-mail. With this option there are no printing costs (given that nothing is being printed!).
The canvas we use is 100% cotton with a superfine texture and a white, semi-matt appearance. It's water-resistant and has high resistance to edge cracking and abrasion. We hand-stretch your canvas over a 38mm thick, pressure treated wooden frame and multi-staple it in perfect position. Quality shows. Of course there is no point using the best materials if you don't use the best inks - we do both - and our state-of-the-art machinery ensures that we achieve stunning results.
As for the wrapping of canvas (wrapping is the term for what is printed on the top, bottom and side edges of the canvas), we use a mirrored effect as standard, meaning that the content on the edges of the front side of the print is reflected and duplicated on the sides. This creates a uniform and consistant style for the edges without losing any of the picture content from the front face. Other wrapping options are available on request.
Our full colour posters are printed on high-grade, 170gsm coated stock with a range of finishes to match your needs. Simple, unlaminated posters suit general indoor use, and if you want a wipeable, scratch resistant surface then opt for a laminated version. If you need tough, waterproof posters for use outdoors (or simply a different look and feel) we'll print onto plastic for a bright, resilient finish.
Again we use the best inks, materials and print technology to ensure our customers are completely satisfied with their product.
This is absolutely fine. If you do not want us to print the portrait for you, simply select 'digital copy only' when choosing your print medium during the order process. We will then send you several high quality digital copies of the portrait for you to then use in whatever manner you want.
We also send out these digital versions with any print orders as well - so that if you later want to make more prints of the portrait yourself you have that option.
If you do not want your portrait printed in any of our offered sizes or mediums (or if you want something extra special), please contact us with details of your preferred print type and we will see if we can help you.
Customers can choose to pay by cheque/ postal order, or by using any major credit or debit card via PayPal.
PayPal is the most trusted and secure way of paying for goods online - as well as being quick and easy to use. You do not need to sign up to PayPal in order to pay online - you simply need to have a major credit or debit card and you can pay via PayPal simply and easily.
For those who do not want to pay online for one reason or another, we offer an alternative of paying via cheque or postal order - as this is a method the vast majority of people can use and are comfortable with.
When you have placed your order, send a cheque made payable to "Josh Oldham" (Blurred Reality owner) to:
Blurred Reality
16 Dorchester Road
Fixby
Huddersfield
HD2 2JZ
The amount payable will have been made clear during the order process, and in your order summary (accessed via your account, or found in
your order confirmation e-mail).
You should include your order number or order name either on the reverse of the cheque, or enclosed in the envelope you send in.
Paying by PayPal is simple. During the order process, if you have selected this method of payment, you will be redirected to the PayPal website to make your payment.
If you are already a member of PayPal, sign in and follow the guided steps to complete your transaction and then return to Blurred Reality.
If you are not a member of PayPal, simply enter in your credit or debit card details and your payment will be made directly in this way.
To reiterate, PayPal is a completely secure and safe way to pay online, and its reputation and credentials are the reason we decided to accept our online payments this way.
PayPal is the safest way to pay online. It is the de jour standard of payment on thousands of websites, including the online auction site eBay. For more information on PayPal and its security guarantees, please visit the PayPal website.
If sending a cheque or postal order, we recommend you send it via recorded delivery to ensure it reaches us safely.
We strongly recommend using either of our listed methods, but if you do not want to use either of these methods for whatever reason then please contact us before making an order to see if we can accept your alternative method of payment.
Delivery is absolutely free for all UK ground orders.
Delivery takes 2-5 working days from when you have approved the proof copy of your portrait.
At present, we only deliver (as standard) to the UK mainland. Anyone interested in having deliveries sent to an address outside the UK should contact us with details of their location for us to evaluate the logistics and cost of such an order.
Your canvas is fitted with corner protectors, and is bubble wrapped and packaged with care and delivered to you by courier within 5 working days of proof approval. We go to extreme lengths to ensure your package arrives safely and on time.
The same applies to our poster prints. We want to be sure you receive your posters fast - and in perfect condition. We pack all posters carefully in tubes and send them to you by courier within 5 working days after proof approval.
We do not use Royal Mail (we send with UK Mail Couriers), so none of our orders are affected by any postal strikes or union action. You can rest assured your portraits will arrive on time!
If you have urgent need for a quick order than please contact us via e-mail or by phone (07966593612) to discuss your requirements, and we will endeavour to ensure we get your portrait out to you in time.
Ordering a picture from us really is easy, and should hopefully be self explanatory as you proceed through each stage of the process.
However, if you would like full information on how to go about ordering from us then please visit the How It Works section of the site.
You can submit your photo either by uploading it during the order process, or by later e-mailing it to images@blurredreality.co.uk.
To order a gift voucher set, please visit the Gift Vouchers section of the site and fill out the order form there. You will be contacted with further information on how to pay and use your giftcard, along with the gift voucher set itself (which will be received within a maximum of 3 working days of confirmed payment).
The general rule for sending in photos is that the better the quality of the photo, the better the quality of the portrait.
Photos should be high quality and resolution, with the subject being crisp and clear in the photo. The more detail we can see in the picture, the more detail our artists can include in the picture (so the photo should retain quality when zoomed in). Well lit photos are also highly preferable, as our those in which the subjects' face isn't obstructed by anything. Straight on face shots work best.
Despite this, we judge each picture on an individual basis, and given that these are general rules we do not want to discourage anyone from submitting a photo if it is a particular favourite! Where possible we will do what we can with it and hopefully still achieve good results.
Your photo should be submitted in jpeg or bmp format.
If your photo is not of a suitable standard to create a portrait from, we will get in touch with you and let you know. You then have the option of choosing a new photo and sending that to us, or of cancelling your order and receiving a refund.
When you have made your order you will be sent a confirmation e-mail confirming your purchase, and also specifying your order number (which is very useful to remember in case you have any questions regarding your order at a later stage).
What happens next depends on how much of the order process has been completed. If you did not upload a photo during the order process, you will need to send one in to us via e-mail. Please send it to images@blurredreality.co.uk, stating clearly the order number you wish the photo to be used for (your order number can be found by accessing Your Account).
Similarly, if you are yet to send payment, you need to do this before we can start working on your portrait (click here for more information on how to pay)
Once we have confirmed payment and have received a photo, we can start work on your portrait. The first proof of your image will be e-mailed to you within 2-5 working days of receiving payment and your picture. You then review this proof, and either request changes are made, or accept it as complete.
Once a proof has been confirmed, we print your portrait (if you have ordered a print copy), and you should receive it in another 2-5 workings days.
You can check on the status of your order(s) in the My Account section of the site.
Once we have confirmed payment and received your photo, the total time it takes for you to receive your print is approximately 4-10 working days.
The status of your order will be regularly updated in Your Account and updates will also be sent to you via e-mail. To understand what these statuses mean, click on the question mark icon next to the status section on your order history page.
Any further questions, queries, suggestions or feedback can be made either via the contact form or by e-mailing help@blurredreality.co.uk.
Alternatively you can ring 07966593612 between the hours of 10am and 6pm (Mon-Fri) and we will happilly discuss any issues you have over the phone.
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