These hyper realistic drawings are so lifelike they could pass for photographs. The incredibly detailed works of art were created by self-taught artist Ivan Hoo, from Singapore, who earns a living from his realistic drawings and paintings. The 31-year-old takes up to three days to complete the impressive pieces, which include animal portraits and still life drawings of everyday items such as a Starbucks cup. The A3 sketches are completed using a range of soft pastel pencils and are drawn from still life, or a photograph taken by Ivan himself. Here: Ivan Hoos drawing of a pug. (Photo by Ivan Hoo/Caters News)

I was born in Calella (Barcelona) in 1956, and nowadays I live in Vilassar de Mar (Barcelona). Since I was a child I have been fascinated by painting and I think I'm a self-taught painter because, despite I was taught drawing at Primary School, I have acquired my knowledge thanks to my environment. Painting is my own way to express myself. I can shape my inward in the canvas with the essential help of the palette knife and the colours. As a nature’s lover and great observant, my environment has always been my source of inspiration. At present I devote myself exclusively to painting, my true passion, and that is why I feel extremely fortunate.

A view of a turtle during an event at the Ministry of Environment in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 24 June 2020. A Cambodian woman recently bought endangered Royal Turtles from local villagers and gave them to Ministry of Environment. (Photo by Kith Serey/EPA/EFE)

Alligator trapper Mark Whitmire prepares an alligator he caught in a lagoon on a golf course to relocate it to a more natural environment in Orlando, Florida, U.S., June 19, 2016. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Children stand in a boat at the banks of the polluted Yamuna River during a dust haze as they wait to give a ride to worshippers in New Delhi during World Environment Day June 5, 2010. (Photo by Reinhard Krause/Reuters)

A person walks by an Ocean Rebellion activist taking part in a demonstration outside Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in London, Britain on September 15, 2021. (Photo by Hannah McKay/Reuters)

Entitled Feasting at Sunset, this photo of a Brandt’s cormorant among pilchards was the winner of the Birds in the Environment category in the 2025 Bird Photographer of the Year competition. (Photo by Franco Banfi/The Guardian)