Everything you need to know

TraceAndTale is a platform that lets you organize a collaborative art gift. You create a campaign, invite the people who matter, and each person draws one small piece on their phone or computer. We assemble all the pieces into a single artwork and ship a professional print to the recipient.

Not at all — and neither do your contributors. The drawing canvas is intentionally simple: a brush, a few colors, a blank square. Whether someone draws a detailed portrait or just writes their name in cursive, it becomes part of something meaningful. The beauty is in the collection, not any individual piece.

It depends on the print format you choose. Our Poster 30×40 accommodates up to 12 contributors, the Large Poster up to 25, the Canvas up to 20, and the Art Book up to 40 — one full page per contributor.

No. Contributors receive a unique private link by email and open it directly in their browser. No sign-up, no app download, no password. They draw, they submit, they're done — in under 2 minutes on any device.

Yes. As the organizer, you can view all submitted drawings from your dashboard at any time. Contributors cannot see each other's drawings until you choose to reveal them.

Each contributor receives a private square canvas in their browser. The canvas comes with a color palette tuned to the theme you selected, and a simple pencil brush. They can choose brush sizes and colors, undo strokes, and redraw as many times as they like before submitting.

Yes. The canvas is touch-friendly and works on iPhone, Android, and tablets. For the best experience on phones, we recommend drawing with a finger or stylus in landscape mode.

Contributors can resubmit their drawing any number of times before the campaign deadline. Each new submission replaces the previous one. Only the final submission at the time of campaign close is included in the print.

Yes — optionally. In addition to the drawing, each contributor can write a short message. Whether messages are included in the final printed artwork is up to you when you approve the assembly.

Posters are printed on 270 gsm fine art paper — the same material used in museum-quality prints. Canvases use premium cotton canvas gallery-wrapped on a solid pine frame. Art Books are printed on 170 gsm coated paper with a linen hardcover.

Once you approve the assembled artwork, production takes 2–3 business days. Shipping within the United States typically takes an additional 3–5 business days via ground shipping, or 2 business days with expedited shipping.

Yes. International shipping is available to most countries. The cost and delivery time are calculated at checkout based on the destination. International orders typically take 7–14 business days.

Absolutely — that's the most popular option. You enter the recipient's shipping address during checkout, and the package arrives beautifully packaged with no prices included, ready to be unwrapped.

We'll make it right immediately. Email us at hello@traceandtale.com with a photo of the damage within 14 days of delivery, and we'll ship a replacement at no cost.

If you choose the organizer-pays model, you pay at checkout when you launch the campaign. If you choose group funding, contributors chip in as they draw, and you pay any remaining balance when the campaign closes.

We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) via Stripe. Apple Pay and Google Pay are also supported on compatible devices.

You can cancel your campaign for a full refund before production begins (before the artwork is assembled). Once assembly or printing has started, the order is non-refundable — it's a custom product made just for you. See our full Refund Policy for details.

When you use the organizer-pays model and enable optional chip-ins, any contributions from your contributors are stored as platform credits in your account. Credits can be applied toward your next campaign. They're not redeemable for cash.

Only you (the organizer) can see all submitted drawings from your dashboard. Contributors cannot see each other's pieces. Recipients never see the drawings until the gift is physically in their hands.

Contributors access the platform via a unique token link — no email address or account required. We store their drawing and optional message. If they didn't provide an email, we have no way to contact them. See our Privacy Policy for the full picture.

We never store your card number. All payment processing is handled by Stripe, which is PCI DSS Level 1 compliant — the highest level of payment security certification.