A giant head, patch for patch
A Great Dane's head is long, flat-topped and enormous, and the coat on it, whether harlequin patches, a fawn's black mask, merle marbling or a mantle's white blaze, is laid out differently on every dog. The artwork starts from your photo, so every patch sits where yours has it and the ears stay as they are, cropped or natural.
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How this coat prints
Danes come in more patterns than almost any breed, and the two shirts here split the difference between them. Berry is dark enough to make a harlequin's white and a fawn's gold glow, and a mantle's black or a fawn's mask turns into the berry of the fabric itself - a softer outline than the hole a black shirt leaves. Grey suits the black-and-white Danes, harlequin and mantle, because it's a true middle tone: both colours in the coat sit clearly on either side of it. A solid black or blue Dane is the exception and shows more of itself on a light shirt like ivory. Harlequin and merle patches carry through patch for patch on the photo presets, with only the finest flecks softening.
The photo to use
Sit down to take it. A standing Dane's head is roughly where a seated adult's is, so a chair or the sofa puts the camera at the right height without anyone crouching, and the long muzzle isn't shortened by a lens looking down on it. Fill the frame with the head: a full-length photo of a dog this tall leaves the face a small patch in the middle once the app crops to a square. And wipe the jowls; Danes carry a lot of loose lip, and anything hanging from it becomes part of the picture.
Presets that suit this dog
A Dane leaning out of a car window is a joke about legroom that tells itself: head and front paws over a cherry-red door, ears streaming back, and a great deal of dog still inside.
The breed's old nickname is the Apollo of dogs, and Your Majesty plays it straight: a jewelled crown, an ermine-trimmed cape and gold rays fanning out behind that enormous head.
Over the Moon draws the dog in pale cream strokes on a dark shirt, so a harlequin or merle becomes a map of bright strokes and bare fabric, chin raised toward a gold crescent moon.
Questions
My Dane's ears are natural, not cropped. Does that change anything?
Nothing. The artwork keeps the ears from your photo: natural ears fold forward close to the cheeks and never get clipped by the frame, while cropped ears stand tall and need clear space above them in the photo.
My Dane is blue. Which shirt?
A blue Dane is a cool steel grey, and it reads best against something warm or light: ivory, butter or khaki on the photo presets. On a grey shirt the two greys are too close to separate.
Could the artwork turn my merle into a harlequin?
It shouldn't. The artwork is instructed to keep coat colour and markings exactly as photographed, so a grey merle base stays grey. Very fine mottling can soften at print size, which you'll see in the preview before you've paid for anything.
Ready to see yours?
Upload one clear photo. We'll make the artwork and show you the shirt before you pay anything.
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