Seal engraving or Zhuanke (Chinese/Japanese: 篆刻) is considered an art form in China and most East Asian countries as each is uniquely hand-carved. It doesn’t matter if you do not have a Chinese name as most names can be translated into appropriate Chinese characters. For non-Chinese names, the characters chosen will be phonetically close and poetically coined together (just like how most Chinese folks name their kids).

Seals are usually designed with traditional oracle or seal scripts which dates back from the Shang-Qin dynasties in China. Characters can be carved in either positive or negative (red or white characters) and they are read from right to left.

BigBrownMonster offers 2 different seal design services

1. Digital seal design package

Like traditional seal engravings, the characters are carefully selected (yes there are many ways to write a single Chinese character) and composed to give a distinct aesthetic to the name. The design is ‘handcrafted’ in a similar reductive fashion like traditional seal engraving. Hence the result is a unique seal design similar to that carved from a stone, but at a fraction of the cost of commissioning an actual seal. You may also request to have some English words incorporated as part of the seal design (refer to samples below).

As a digital file, it can be also be conveniently incorporated into your future print projects (name cards, letterheads, albums, website graphics, t-shirts etc)!

•  A translation of what each Chinese character in your name means
• Print ready and web ready files
• Digital formats of seal design:
  • adobe pdf
  • gif
  • JPEG (jpg)
  • PNG (png. PNG files can be saved with transparent backgrounds for web page if required)
• Files provided in CMYK and RGB colour

2. Traditional Chinese seal engravings package

BigBrownMonster also does traditional Chinese seal engravings too.

Traditional seals are carved on steatite (commonly known as soapstones). Each seal is approximately 2-3 cm square and would best fit 1-4 characters. The process of engraving a seal usually takes about 10 working days and the cost of each seal varies, subject to its design and complexity. The package includes the final carved seal, packed in a small fabric pouch.

Please note that that a non-refundable 25% of the quoted price must be received before the commencement of the work.

A LINK TO THE FINAL FILES ON A CLOUD STORAGE SPACE WILL BE EMAILED TO YOU / ACTUAL SEALS WILL ONLY BE POSTED, ONCE THE BALANCE OF THE PAYMENT IS RECEIVED. 

Bigbrownmonster takes no responsibility of damages incurred / lost of package enroute to client. Clients are advised to have their actual seals posted via registered mail/ be insured as the stones are fragile. Bigbrownmonster will endeavour to securely package the purchased item/s with bubblewrap/foamwrap before posting.

Payment by Paypal or bank transfer is preferred.

Get in touch with Bigbrownmonster today to find out more.

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