Vincent Bal is the kind of artist who accidentally created an entire genre of art because he was procrastinating on a film script. While most of us just see a teacup shadow and move on with our lives, he saw an elephant, grabbed a pen, and—boom—Shadowology was born. “Like all good things, it started by accident,” he admits, which is both inspiring and mildly frustrating for those of us who try way too hard to be creative.

Eight years later, he’s still at it, turning everyday objects into clever doodles that make you wonder why you never thought of it first. He describes his process as “a real treasure hunt,” just playing with shadows until something appears—because, apparently, that’s how genius works. Meanwhile, the rest of us are still trying to figure out how to doodle a decent circle.

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