When you find out that the works of Robin Eley are actually oil paintings, and not photographs, you immediately go back to have another look. It takes a really good eye to actually see the paint strokes: hard as it is to paint people in such a realistic manner, Robin also “wraps” his models into plastic, which makes it all the more impressive.

Samuel Silva, a 29-year-old Portugal-based attorney, describes his artwork merely as a hobby, and Bic ballpoint pens – as only one of the mediums in his creative work. It takes time to believe that his drawings are not actually photographs, and then to absorb the information that they were created using only 8 different-colored pens.

It’s hard to believe, but the picture above is not a photograph! It is a photo-realistic oil painting by Teresa Elliott called “Deliverance” – one of three Grand Prize Winners of the second annual America China Oil Painting Artists League competition.

We’ve already looked at some unbelievably realistic drawings and paintings before but it’s nothing compared to what you are about to see. This time, let’s take a look at the works of some of the world’s greatest photorealism masters – Roberto Bernardi, Steve Mills and Erich Christensen. Forget about Photoshop, Maya or 3Ds Max – these guys have gone the old-school way.

It’s hard to believe, but the pictures you’re about to see are not photographs – they were all drawn using a single pencil! Paul Lung, a Hong Kong based graphic designer doesn’t even use an eraser – all he needs is a 0.5 mm technical pencil, A2 paper and some time..Well, about 60 hours. The artist even has to document his work process in order to prove that his works are actually drawn.

While many artists strive to glamorize, and portray our world to be better than it actually is, others simply find art in our ordinary lives and our simple bodies. Mueck is one of those artists, and is now well known for his sculptures where he portrays humans at key stages in the life cycle, from birth through middle age, to death.