A Siberian eagle owl, which can grow up to 71cm tall, is among a collection of 60 birds of prey at SMJ Falconry near Oxenhope, West Yorkshire, England. (Photo by Charlotte Graham)

Italian artist Marcello Barenghi draws incredibly realistic everyday objects that appear almost three dimensional with the help of colored pencils and occasional enhancements using markers or watercolor. Each work appears ever so slightly stylized which I think sets these apart from similar hyperrealistic drawings that are meant to ‘trick’ a viewer. If you want to see more, Barenghi runs a YouTube channel where he documents the process of almost every drawing.

Armed with only paper, graphite and coloured pencils – plus his vivid imagination – the artist creates remarkable drawings that leap from the page when photographed. The 32-year-old, from Alkmaar in Holland, began experimenting with anamorphic 3D drawing five years ago. Photo: Ramon Bruin’s 3D illustration of two twins drawing each other. (Photo by Ramon Bruin/Medavia)

Russian artist Salavat Fidai is obsessed with things in miniature, and he has previously painted miniatures on pumpkin seeds and carved sculptures into the graphite tips of pencils. For this project, he's gone for something a little bit bigger, but not by much. One of Fidai's favorite painters is the legendary Vincent Van Gogh, so he decided to do a series where he recreated some of Van Gogh's famous works on matchboxes.

A teenager holds a bag of Mangos, a tropical fruit who grow up in threes in Caracas, Venezuela on June 22, 2016. The shortage of food especially in areas in extreme poverty had made Mangos the daily food. (Photo by Alejandro Cegarra/The Washington Post)

Izelle Nair, 39, the instructor at the Merschool poses for a portrait in her mermaid attire at the centre in Kayalami, Midrand, South Africa on June 3, 2022. Mermaiding is a fast growing sport world wide and includes several skills such as monofin swimming, sculling, tricks and breath hold. (Photo by Marco Longari/AFP Photo)

If we were to burn NH4Cr2O7 with HgSCN in the Dark Ages in Europe and show it to anyone, it is us who would be burning next on a fiery cross of Inquisition. And it’s no wonder, since this experiment produces a truly marvelous result. At first, as you ignite the mixture of NH4Cr2O7 and HgSCN, all you can see is that it is slowly burning with a reddish flame. After a while, however, a crater is formed in the middle of the burning pile, and then, suddenly, tentacle-like appendages start sprouting from the burning mixture. And you can almost hear the scream of the mad occultist – “Come forth, Kraken! Come forth!” But of course, this is simply a chemical reaction that is called the "Pharoah's Serpent". It was also often sold in firework stores until people realized that it was toxic.

Postcards for Ants is an ongoing painting project by Cape Town artist Lorraine Loots who has been creating a miniature painting every single day since January 1, 2013. The artist works with paint brushes, pencils, and bare eyes to render superbly detailed paintings scarcely larger than a small coin. After the first year, Loots relaunched the project in a second phase inspired by Cape Town’s designation as World Design Capital 2014.