Famous French artists send your personalized portraits online

Those lucky few of you, who have toured Paris, would perhaps be aware of Montmartre. If there ever was a ‘Silicon Valley’ for European artists, that would be the place. Salvador Dali, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh, you take a name, and all of them worked or lived there at some point in their lives.

Today it’s fondly identified as Paris’s prime artistic district. Its lanes and public places are akin to second home to many caricaturists and artists, all looking to attract curious tourists with a portrait. But now we can soak into its tradition sans actually going their; well, almost! One can check Google Earth/ Street View for a quick tour, but that won’t be a substitute for the amazing interaction with the artist community of Montmartre.

And while it is rather unlikely for a digital product to replicate the whole experience, Artistoon has taken a step in that direction. Thanks to the French startup, street artists can get digital. Cleverly terming itself the ‘Montmartre of the web’, it resembles Wittygraphy, the California-based caricaturist community.

The venture, officially launched in November 2011, let one get a personalized caricature or portrait from the local artists you would meet on the streets of Montmartre. There are 15 artists, selected through a meticulous process, are working with Artistoon. It’s developing its artist base on basis of Based on an actual portrait test and/or their portfolio quality.

The site visitor gets to see various portrait & caricature styles that cost between €18 and €400 depending on the finesse, size, style, and the medium. Select your options, send your digital photograph (after payment) and receive their portrait. That’s all it takes. Users can opt to have up to 6 faces in a single portrait and can send requests for additional image personalization during check out.