How to Design the Perfect Custom Pet Tote Bags

August 26, 2021 11 min read

The bond between humans and their pets has never been stronger. We dress our pets up for holiday photos. We feed them the highest quality pet food available. 

For a lot of people, pets are our families. Millennials, in particular, have been adopting pets instead of having children. But regardless of age, there's nothing we wouldn't do for our pets. 

Custom Pet Tote Bag

Commemorating our pets is a great way to honor them. Custom pet gifts are perfect for any pet parent. Custom pet gifts are even better than just getting them another toy or treat bag. 

There are so many different ways to create a custom pet gift. Custom pet portraits, custom pet blankets, and custom pet mugs are all popular options. Not everyone has the space for a beautiful custom pet portrait or room for another mug in their cabinet.

But everyone can use custom pet tote bags. 

What makes custom pet tote bags so special? How do you create the perfect custom pet tote bag? Why are they the perfect way to remember your pets?

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know when designing your perfect custom pet totes. From why totes are the perfect gift to finding the right seller, keep reading to learn more. 

What Makes Tote Bags the Perfect Pet Memorabilia 

Tote bags are the perfect gift for any occasion. It has a lot of benefits that elevate it to the next level. 

Reusable and Durable

Tote bags are a great eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags! Its durable material can hold as much pet food as you can fit in it! 

These bags can also be washed and reused over and over again. This reduces the amount of plastic bags entering landfills. If you or someone you know is concerned about the environment, tote bags are a great gift. 

Many stores are also starting to charge for plastic bag usage, which can add up over time. Using a tote bag can help eliminate that charge and save money over time. 

Can Take it Anywhere

Tote bags are appropriate for any occasion. If you're going to the beach, you can put your towels in it. It can hold all the books you purchase or check out from the library. 

Tote bags can go from a day at the beach to bringing files to the office. Anywhere you go with your pet, a tote bag will be able to hold all the treats you bring with you! 

The places you can take it and ways you can use it are endless.  

Totes are the New Purse 

The latest trend online has been using a tote bag to carry your items instead of a purse or generic bag. Not only are totes a great gender-neutral accessory, but they can also hold more than a regular purse or bag. 

Totes go with any outfit and style. It also shows that the wearer cares about the environment. 

Easy to Show Off Your Pet

Adding an image of a beloved pet adds even more personality to the bags. Having the face of a pet on the side of a tote bag makes it easy to show your furry family off to the world.

As you'll learn, the image of your pet can be done in a variety of styles. Regardless of the style, the drawing of your pet will have life in its eyes. Everyone will see how amazing your pet is when you wear your tote out in the world. 

Some pets can even fit in the tote for a fun carry around town!

Benefits of Custom Pet Portraits 

Custom pet portraits make the perfect gift for any animal lover. They are a step above and beyond just purchasing treats or toys as gifts. It shows that you really know and understand the animal lover you're purchasing this portrait for. 

Custom pet portraits are also a great form of self-expression. Rather than just screen printing an image of your pet exactly, pet portraits can be customized. You can add fun hats or text to really bring out not just your personality but also the personality of your pet. 

You can also include yourself or the person you're gifting this to in the design with their pet! It will show close you are to your pet. This style design really commemorates the love you share.  

Decide How Many Pets You Want On Your Custom Pet Tote Bags

Many people have more than one pet, which can make designing a tote bag tricky. But, there are great ways to include all of your pets on one bag or one pet per bag. 

Having More Than One Pet on a Bag

The best places that offer pet designs on tote bags will have an option to do more than one pet on a bag. When you have more than one pet on a bag, it's important to consider how those animals will be posed on a bag. 

If you have four pets you want on a bag, a square composition with one animal on each quadrant is a great layout. It gives you space for each pet to shine and isn't crowded. 

For three pets, a triangle composition will look best. It has a clear shape that looks good both up close and at a distance. 

Another option for three or four pets is having them in a horizontal line across the bag. A line across the bag showcases each pet without the hierarchy of a triangle design. 

For two pets, you can have them side by side. Or profile views facing each other. Or one on top of the other. 

Some pet parents have more than four pets and will want them all showcased together! A great solution for this is a movie poster-style structure. This is a great way to include multiple pets and have a great design on a single bag. 

Having a Single Pet on a Bag 

Having a single pet on a bag is a great look. Whether it's because you have one pet or you want one bag per pet, it's one of the easiest requests to design for. 

The most common way to show one pet on a bag is with a headshot. Custom pet tote bags can also have a full-body image of your pet.

Focusing on one pet per bag also means your pet will be front and center at all times. The image can be bigger on the bag. Having multiple bags with different pets also means you can wear different ones on different days. 

Does the Artist Charge More for Multiple Pets? 

The general price you see on sites for custom pet tote bags will usually be for one pet. It's important when you're ordering to check for extra charges for more than one pet. These chargers are not unreasonable since the artist is drawing more than they would be if you requested a single pet. 

Choose the Style Bag You Want

Now that you know how many pets you want on your tote, the next step is picking the style you want them drawn in. Regardless of the style you choose, each is super customizable. You can have the designer add funny glasses, a hat, or text to your design to make it unique. 

Minimalism

A minimalist design can also be considered a modern design. Minimalist designs include just linework or color blocking. Some designs will have a combination of simple line work with single color included.

These designs are known for their simplicity.

Minimalist designs are great options for someone with a modern aesthetic. They are not as flashy as a realistic design. This can be a hindrance since it becomes harder to tell what your pet looks like from a distance. 

Realism

Realistic paintings on custom pet tote bags are one of the most common ways to show off your amazing fur-baby. Realistic custom pet portraits will capture the likeness of your pet exactly. It will also be visible at a distance so everyone can see your pet. 

Realistic designs don't have to be photographic. They can still have an artistic look to them and a sense of life. 

While more detailed than a minimalist design, a realistic image is a great way to remember exactly what a pet looked like. It's a fantastic homage to a fantastic friend. 

Tan Bag

Tote bags come in a variety of colors, but classic tan coloring is the most common. This can be ideal for the background of a pet portrait because it makes the portrait stand out. Tan tote bags also go with any color, so you don't have to worry about them clashing with what you're wearing. 

Tan tote bags are also easy to clean. If you're using your tote bags to carry groceries or art supplies around, this is a must. 

Tan is also the most common color option for the bag itself when ordering from artists since it's the easiest type of bag to print on.

Colored Bag

A colored tote bag can make a statement, but it can also wash out the main image of your pet. Colored tote bags can also be more expensive. A colored tote is a great option if you're looking to add a pop of color to your wardrobe. 

Bag Sizes

Tote bags come in a variety of sizes. The most common sizing option is 13in by 15in. Bags can come in larger sizing depending on where you're commissioning the custom pet tote bags from. 

The standard-size bags can hold many items and won't be as heavy as some of the larger sizing options. Regardless of what size you pick, your bag will be durable and easy to clean. 

Send a High-Quality Photo of Your Pet

You've picked the style you want the pet portrait done in for your bag! Now you just need to send in images of your pets! 

When sending in photos of your pets, you want to send in as high-quality of a photo as possible. The higher the quality, the easier it will be for the artist to see what your pet looks like. 

High-quality photos will have good lighting. The face of your pet will be clearly visible. And it will be easy to tell what color your pet is or any patterns they may have on their fur. 

You can also send more than one photo of your pet to the designers. Sending multiple photos from multiple angles can really help the designer capture the three-dimensionality of your pet. It also helps show all the fun patterns and colors that might be on your pet's fur. 

Sending a low-quality photo runs the risk of your pet's portrait not coming out as close to them as it could. If the photo is blurry or too dark, it can be hard to see what the pet actually looks like, which makes creating a likeness difficult. 

Your artist or the company you work with will most likely notify you if the photos you send aren't good enough for them to use. This is great because it ensures that you'll be getting the best product possible. 

Work With a Reliable Seller

When deciding if the seller you want to work with is reliable, there are a few things to keep in mind. And easy ways to check the quality of their work from other customers. 

Signs of a Reliable Seller

A reliable seller will make the whole process clear from the get-go. Their process should be easy to use. An easy ordering process shows that they know what they're doing when creating custom pet tote bags. 

You should also be able to leave notes for the designer of the bag when placing your order. The best companies will also send you a rough mock-up of the design for your approval before they print it out. Having a designer that works closely with you helps ensure that the designer is doing everything right. 

Reliable sellers will also give you the option to receive a high-resolution copy of the illustration beyond just the tote bag. This is great because you can use this awesome design for other things, like screen savers or Instagram posts.

A sign that the designer or company you work with is reliable is that they love pets! An artist who loves pets will put that love into the portrait they create for your tote bag. If you work with someone who does not like pets, the design will not be as strong. 

Picking sites that work with individual artists and designers is also a big plus. This means that every design they create can be individual and unique to you. You're also supporting artists and designers rather than a larger, generic manufacturer. 

The quality of the product will also be higher if you are working with individual artists and designers. They are hand designing something special for you.

A larger, more generalized manufacturer might cost more, and they will just be printing the photos right onto the tote bag. This means all of their bags will look the same, and there will be no personality to them. 

A reliable seller will also have a clear shipping policy. They will offer to track your package, so you know exactly where it is and when it will get to you. Many will also give you an estimated delivery date when you place your order, so you don't have to worry about guessing when it might arrive.  

What Customers Think 

Another easy way to know if a company is reliable is by checking out customer reviews. Many sites will have customer reviews located below the product you want to purchase. These reviews can come with images of what people actually received. 

Looking at the past work of the seller can also show how reliable they are. While images of past work can be found on the designer or company's website, many images of past work can be found on social media. 

Sellers will have a social media page you can go to to see various work they have produced in the past. Reading the comments under work can give you insight into what other people think of the designs. The more designs they have experience with, the more they know about creating high-quality products. 

Doing a general search on social media for the company or designer's past tote bag creations will also bring up any image they may have been tagged in. This is a great way to check what other people who have purchased custom pet tote bags received. 

Figure Out Your Price Range  

You've done your research. You know what you want, and now you're ready to purchase it. The next step is deciding what your price range is and what you can get for it. 

The average price for custom pet tote bags with one pet on them is around $29.99. Adding more than one pet can cost extra, and each site will note how much extra it costs if they offer it. For example, having two pets on the bag adds an extra $9.99 to the price. 

Some sites also offer the ability to receive a digital copy of the illustration along with the tote bag. This can add an extra $9.99 to the price. But, that can be cheaper than if you just ordered the illustration individually. And then you get another image to use for whatever you want. 

Many designers and companies will do their pet portraits in the order they were commissioned. If you need custom pet tote bags as soon as possible, a reliable seller will offer a "skip the line" option. This option will move your order to the front of the queue, and you will get it sooner. 

Skipping the line prices vary from site to site. The average cost is around $9.99. But, you get the design sooner and will be rocking a beautiful portrait of your pet on a tote bag sooner. 

Create the Perfect Custom Pet Tote Bags 

Tote bags are useable, reliable, durable, and a great way to show off an adorable pet to the world. With these tips in mind, designing custom pet tote bags is an easy task. 

Custom pet portraits are a great way to remember your pet. They can last a lifetime, and you want to work with a company that understands that.

Impersonate Me specializes in custom pet portraits of any kind. They know how much love people have for their pets, and they love pets too! They are an independent business that wants to create the perfect custom pet tote bag for you. 

Impersonate Me was created to fulfill the needs of pet lovers. Their purpose is to create amazing custom gifts for pet lovers anywhere. The ordering process for Impersonate Me custom pet tote bags is simple.

You pick the photo or a variety of photos to send in. Then you pick what you want your design on, in this case, a tote bag. You include any notes for the designers, like any fun text or images added to the bag.

The team of designers will verify that you like their design before they place the image on a high-quality fabric built to last. Then, they send it off in the mail, and you receive it within 1-3 weeks. 

If you're ready to get the ball rolling on custom pet tote bags, click here to start creating yours today.