Miru, a Tokushima-based wool felt artist, has been getting a lot of attention on Japanese social media for his incredibly realistic wool-felt animals. Looking at some of his works, it’s not hard to see why everyone is so impressed.

Miru discovered wool felt art in 2010, when he saw a master of the craft work his magic during a TV show. He was captivated by this art form soon started experimenting with the material. However, at one point he realized that he needed a bit of guidance to unleash his full artistic potential, so he bought a book on wool felt art that he claims opened his eyes to the possibilities of the material. Over the last 8 years he has honed his skills to the point where it is sometimes nearly impossible to tell some of his wool felt animals apart from live ones.

Photo: Gardenia Woolart

Talking to Japanese arts&crafts blog IroIro, Mr. Miru said that one of the secrets to making his wool felt artworks look so life-like is time. Instead on trying to complete a project as fast as possible so he can move on to the next one, he likes to take his time, and leave the unfinished piece in a place where he can see it every day. This way, he notices certain details that he couldn’t notice the day before, and make changes accordingly.

The talented artist showcases his most impressive creations on his Twitter and Instagram profiles, where he has thousands of followers. He occasionally takes on custom commissions, so if you’re interested in a life-like wool felt animal, check out his website and maybe leave him a message.

Mr. Miru’s amazing artworks remind me of another talented Japanese artist we featured a couple of years ago, Terumi Ohta. he too specializes in insanely realistic wool felt animal sculptures.