Looking at the stitched patch tattoos of Eduardo “Duda” Lozano, it’s hard to believe that he only pioneered the new style three months ago. Photos of his amazing creations have been doing the rounds online ever since and he’s already been invited to tattoo conventions all over the world.

The Sao Paolo-based artist has been doing tattoos since 2002, but he only recently got the idea for the stitched patch style, as a throwback to his days working as a logo designer for caps and embroidered shirts. Three months ago, he created a Garfield patch tattoo design as an experiment, and that very same day improved on the new style with a tattoo of Courage the Cowardly Dog. After posting the photos on his Instagram and receiving positive feedback from his fans and other tattoo artists, Lozano realized he was on to something special and decided to focus on stitched patch tattoos going forward. He is now recognized as the pioneer of the style.

Photo: Eduardo “Duda” Lozano/Instagram

Lozano’s colorful creations really look like stitched patches on his clients skin. His past experience with actual patches allows him to recreate the thread lines to perfection, including the binding that keeps the edges from fraying, and the subtle shading creates a realistic three-dimensional effect. In fact, the Brazilian tattoo artist told Tattoo Life that highlighting and shading are key to creating this style of tattoos. Of course, tiny details like tiny loose threads help too.

Ever since his first stitched patch tattoos went viral, Duda Lozano’s career took off in a massive way. He recently started tattooing at Tattoo You, the oldest and largest tattoo shop in Sao Paolo, and he’s been invited to conventions in France, Germany Spain, Italy, Colombia, Mexico, among others.