An arm holding a giant gun appears to explode through a wall, while elsewhere a man walks a tiger on a leash. These breathtaking pencil drawings are the work of 31-year-old artist Ben Heine, who lives and works in Rochefort, Belgium. The “anamorphic illusions”, part of the artist's “Pencil Vs Camera” series, appear slightly distorted unless viewed from the exact same perspective in which they were created. Photo: Visual artist Ben Heine at work in his studio while he creates one of his “anamorphic illusions” in Rochefort, Belgium. (Photo by Ben Heine/Barcroft Media)

Organizers of an exhibition of ancient instruments of torture in Huai'an, Jiangsu province, have suggested that children, heart disease patients and people with high blood pressure stay away because of the vivid depictions of shocking cruelty. The exhibition has more than 200 instruments of torture on display in the 50,000-square-meter exhibition halls of a restored ancient building. Wax figures, along with sound and light techniques, are incorporated for scary effect. The local government said the exhibition is for tourists and historians to research ancient torture practices. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress)

In his book “Side Effects”, aerial photographer Kacper Kowalski took to the skies to paint a portrait of the complex relationship between humans and nature. From the sky, he captured where nature and civilization collide into aesthetic, abstract colors and shapes. Photo: A view over fields of grain in Spring chamomile, cornflower and other weeds growing amongst the grain sprouts. (Photo by Kacper Kowalski/Panos Pictures)

My name is Jakub and I’m a painter, illustrator & concept artist who lives and work in Poland. My speciality is dark fantasy, character design, concept art and portrait. Since several years I work and paint digitally, but I never gave up traditional drawing and painting. For me the most important in my work, is create unique atmosphere and tell some kind of story through my creations.

The 26th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest is now accepting submissions. Official categories include: “Travel Portraits”, “Outdoor Scenes”, “Sense of Place” and “Spontaneous Moments”. The contest is accepting entries until June 30. Photo: “Forest lights”. Aurora Borealis over the forest of the Pyhae Luosto National Park, Finland. (Photo and caption by Nicholas Roemmelt/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Where Children Sleep – stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms by James Mollison. This is a selection from the 56 diptychs in the book (Chris Boot November 2010). The book is written and presented for an audience of 9-13 year olds‘ intended to interest and engage children in the details of the lives of other children around the world, and the social issues affecting them, while also being a serious photographic essay for an adult audience.

Morgan Davidson is a twenty one year old artist who specializes in highly saturated, realistic color pencil illustrations. Her work includes detailed studies of body parts like the mouth, eye and heart. It also includes still life portraits like the one of herself in this series where the artist's hair is adorned with various found objects. Morgan's work is not simply realism, instead she stylizes the images to fit her own creative vision.