Believe It or Not, These are Drawings Not Photos

Artists have been working to make their art realistic for centuries and as time goes on, the art gets better and better. The official realism movement began in France during the 1850s and most of the paintings depicted working class farmers and laborers working in fields. It was a rejection of the previous painting style, romanticism, which emphasized nature and the imagination. This new movement not only showed the reality of France’s farmers, but techniques were used to make the pieces look like photographs—which was long before photography was commonplace. Artists Gustave Courbet and Jean-Francois Millet were leaders in this movement, helping to inspire fellow artists for generations.

Although Sheila R Giovanni has chosen to draw celebrities and models over common folk, she’s certainly nailing the aspect of realism. Her drawings, yes they’re drawings, are so hyperrealistic that many could mistake them for photographs. This Brazilian fine artist uses colored pencils to create unbelievable portraits of famous faces—from David Beckham to LeBron James to Joaquin Phoenix. She’s also very captivated by textures on the face, whether that’s water or honey. We’ve put together a gallery of some of her most impressive works. Take a peek at her creations in the gallery below and let us know your thoughts on her realism drawings in the comments section on social media.