It never ceases to amaze me the kind of amazing things talented people can create using only the simplest of materials. Case in point, artist Shinichi Furuya, who uses pencils and paper to make these stunningly-realistic portraits of Japanese celebrities.
The level of detail in Shinichi Furuya’s artworks is so breathtaking that it’s hard to believe they are only pencil drawing. But even more unbelievable is the fact that Furuya is just an amateur artist. He describes himself as a “middle-aged businessman who wasn’t able to become a professional illustrator” and says that creates these masterpieces in his free time. So this guy couldn’t find a job as an illustrator?!? There must be something very wrong with the world…
From the way light reflects in the eyes of his subjects, to the perfection rendition of their flowing hair and the glossy lips, Furuya’s work is nothing short of photo-realistic, yet they are all done with Staedtler Lumograph carbon pencils on simple sheets of paper. That can be hard to believe precisely because of how perfect they look, but luckily, Shinichi Furuya was kind enough to upload videos of the drawing process, as proof. Some of these clips are over one hour long, but they only represent a fraction of the work that goes into these portraits. If I were to guess, I’d say he spends several days working on a single artwork.
Most of Furuya’s work are black and white and depict Japanese female celebrities like actresses Yui Aragaki and Kasumi Arimura and model Suzu Hirose, but he has also tried his hand at color drawings, like a hyper-realistic portrait of Taylor Swift.
Shinichi Furuya joins the ranks of other pencil wizards featured on Oddity Central, the likes of Monica Lee, Flavio Apel or Adolfo Fernandez Rodriguez.
Photos: Shinichi Furuya
via Grapee
