Artist Steven Paul Judd recently completed this incredible portrait of Sitting Bull using 20,068 dice.

The Oklahoma-based Kiowa/Choctaw artist created this while an artist-in-residence at HixDesign. The work was unveiled on December 15th, 2019, on the anniversary of the famous Hunkpapa Lakota leader’s death in 1890.

To see more from Judd check him out on Instagram and Etsy.

The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo are fast approaching and the official art posters for the games have just been unveiled and they’re awesome!

The organizing committee unveiled 20 official posters for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We have shared a selection of our personal favourites below and you can see all of the official art posters here.

“As animals, each human being grasps the world with totally different perceptions. We see the world through our own umwelts. None are the same. No words are identical. No light is identical. lf the Olympic Games prepare themselves for that and address it honestly, then in time, a new ecosystem, filled with the senses, for a small organism, will begin to function.” – Artist, Tomoko Konoike

“I imagined the gods of sports descending on Japan from a sky filled with clouds resembling turbulent waves. The compositional motif was taken from Katsushika Hokusai’s print, The Great Wave off the Coast of Kanagawa. Deciding on the color of Mt. Fuji was difficult, but I finally settled on a honey color.” – Artist, Hirohiko Araki

“Sports manga is a genre of manga almost unique to Japan. Sports manga played a significant role in the evolution and success of Japanese manga because the weekly serial comic was the perfect format for capturing the excitement of sporting events. Manga artists through the ages have committed their talent to conveying the thrill of heated matches and games. Concluding with the line, “To be continued!” each weekly episode has left readers on the edge of their seats, just like watching a real match. This is a new work created exclusively for the Olympic Games. It is my attempt at representations that transcend sporting events, race and gender. Everybody gets a turn. Now it’s your turn!” – Artist, Naoki Urasawa

“Calligraphy has a history of over 3,000 years, and is a major pillar of Japanese culture and arts. I have continued to explore the history of calligraphy, and sought to create and exhibit works of calligraphy that are of our time. For my motif for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games Art Project, I chose the character “開” (“open”) out of tens of thousands of Chinese characters, and an infinite number of words.
 
‘Your entire body and soul open completely toward the universe. That is what I call an explosion.’ Underlying my work are the words artist Taro Okamoto chose to express his creative approach and philosophy. I imagined Olympic and Paralympic athletes working toward new heights every day, and told myself, “Open, open, open!” as I applied brush to paper until I felt myself to be completely “open.” I hope athletes and support staff gathering in Japan from around the world for this enormous festive event, as well as each and every one of us who is supporting the Games, will open our minds wide to our own possibilities, so that this celebration of peace can be carried on by future generations.” – Artist, Koji Kakinuma

“Moving forward. Human aspiration for ceaseless progress removes physical limits, removes handicaps and leaps over the boundaries of nationalities and gender. Each life living in the present in 2020—I wanted to capture all of them, equally, in their beautiful and iconic shapes.
 
The work’s main motif is an individual who moves forward. Arms swinging boldly, feet hitting the ground with full force. This primitive embodiment of movement represents the determination of all Paralympians trying to move forward toward a surer future. The work pays homage to what each and every athlete has achieved, and to the history of human endeavor and progress.” – Graphic designer, GOO CHOKI PAR

“Of the numerous sporting events, what should I choose as my subject matter? I decided on wheelchair basketball because I have watched various matches live, which resonated with me. The full-on engagement of players and their tremendous speed and strength makes the games extremely heated. I chose bright, uplifting colors. The crowd is totally enthralled by the passionate matches. Players are giving it their all. I tried to capture that energy using bright colors. I sincerely hope viewers, whether they are feeling cheerful or down, will be inspired and encouraged by the courage of the athletes, and by the appeal and compelling power of para sports.” – Artist, Tomoyuki Shinki

“Multicolored spherical celestial bodies hurtling through space at the speed of light. Never-to-be-repeated chance encounters of vivid, sparkling colors and heavenly beings—I was imagining an Olympic scene far removed from Earth. A pink figure appears out of nowhere. Without so much as a blink, the figure nonchalantly does kick-ups with a bright red ball. Is this the “god of games”? When Tokyo hosted the Olympic Games back in 1964, I was at elementary school, where we did papercutting in class. So I decided to create my imagined universe in papercutting. I cut out unfinished artwork and, along with scraps of printed matter and random bits of colored paper found in the studio, threw it in the air. And the “Space Kicker” spontaneously appeared where the multicolored fragments had landed.” – Artist, Shinro Ohtake

“It is unthinkable till now that skateboarding has become an Olympic sport as it seems contrary to its rebellious culture. Skateboarding has a language of its own and being a relatively new sport it is continually evolving and is a synthesis of art, design, fashion, music, and even having gestures of its own. There are three layers to this piece of work.
 
Firstly, Extreme Revelation conceived out of rebellious thinking. Skateboarding grind marks subverted to like brush strokes. Crisscrossing, working and reworking in the pursuit of articulation in perfection. Secondly, the cumulative layers of concrete, metallic, materials often associated with the sport represents the uncertainty, darkness and oppression. Yet, the extremely bright colours bursting forth from within celebrates youthfulness and brazen spirit which cannot be repress. Thirdly, the cryptic inversion of the numerals and figurative graphic which are almost invisible, question if there are merits in the established order.” – Artist, Theseus Chan

“Numerous lines intersect in this world: Lines of vision; parabola; boundaries; threads of narrative foreshadowing; and many more. At times becoming entangled with one another and at times coming loose, these countless lines form images in space, and in our minds and bodies. This work represents the anticipated line of movement of the Olympic flame from Greece to Tokyo for the 2020 Games, and the more than 800 municipalities on the course of the torch relay in Japan. What could possibly link an individual with an event in which world-class athletes compete? It is not easy to grasp what does connect a huge-scale event with an individual—such connections can be erratic, or elusive. Even in a diverse world full of confusing tangles of such difficult-to-define lines, I wish to maintain hope in the fact that the world has artworks that touch our hearts, and has places where our bodies can bask in excitement.” – Graphic designer, Daijiro Ohara

“The artwork I have produced for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games presents the image of a high jumper, arching in front of the red circle of the sun. The artist is performing a universal leap as signified in the achievements of the Olympic Games. The high jumper is employing the high jump technique popularized by the pioneering American athlete Dick Fosbury, the Fosbury Flop, showing the figure leaning into the jump, his body in rotation. A diaphanous female figure is visible, emerging from behind. In the vertical banner to the right of the image, the 33 sports that will feature in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are listed, and the names of the sports are just discernible again in the colourful waterfall behind the leading outstretched arm of the jumper.” – Artist, Chris Ofili

“Beyond the Curve (Five Thousand Rings)
High rises that look like bar charts
Junctions that look like intestines
Streets that feel like gingivae underneath your feet
Behind the birth of a new “Ultra C”
I give the cerebellum a prod with a brain spatula
Colorful mud
Heated bones and gusts around tall buildings
Springs made of air
Transparent curves”
– Artist, Chihiro Mori

A self-described ‘photorealist’, Dylan Eakin is an incredible artist best known for his hyperrealistic charcoal portraits.

Currently based in Seattle, Washington, Eakin says his amazing portraits take around 100 hours (give or take) each. In an interview with Artzine he adds:

As far as the reasons behind working in photorealism, it can get a bit tricky. With this genre, the art is so much more than the final product. For me, it’s an exploration of medium, an exercise in precision and self-discipline, and an attempt to engineer myself and my tools to produce the work of a machine.
 
The absolute hardest thing to draw are light textures on light surfaces, it takes a super subtle hand, and way more restraint than I have the patience for. But I’m also going to take this as a chance to vent some frustrations about highlights. Highlights are impossible. Not difficult, impossible. Because there’s no way to make a 2-dimensional charcoal drawing emit light. It took me a couple of years to come to terms with that. [source]

Below you will find some of Dylan’s remarkable work. I also embedded some timelapse videos so you can see how his portraits take shape from beginning to end. If you’re interested in purchasing his original works click here. To see more, check him out at the links below!

In an ongoing series of works, American abstract artist Tyler Foust uses a single, continuous line to create amazing illustrations like the one above.

It’s fun to start at one end of the line and just trace along with your eyes or finger through the artwork. Below you will see some of our personal favourites, but you can find many more at the links below along with links to prints, patterns, and more.

Also be sure to check out the timelapse video embedded below to get a sense of how the pieces comes together.

[via Tyler Foust on reddit]

Artwork by Banksy

Feels like an appropriate time to once again send our love, gratitude, and respect to all of the healthcare professionals around the world battling this pandemic. Thank you.

Philippines-based illustrator Kerby Rosanes (featured previously) works mainly with ink, fineliners and markers to illustrate his “doodle” world.

At 28, Kerby has already published ten books including The New York Times best-seller, Animorphia in 2015, which is now available in 30 language editions in over 40 countries.

In an ongoing series entitled Sketchbook Illustrations, Kerby fills moleskines with not just quick concepts, doodles, and ideas; but fully fleshed out works of art—transforming the concept of a sketchbook into a beautiful work of art unto itself.

The featured doodles and illustrations below are from Kerby’s 2016-2017 sketchbooks, all done using markers and multiliners on Moleskine pocket sketchbooks. For more incredible work from Rosanes, check him out at the links below.

“Stolen” is a powerful series by artist Adrian Brandon that is dedicated to Black people that were robbed of their lives at the hands of police.

The 11 x 14″ portraits were first drawn with graphite. Brandon then used time as a medium to define how long each portrait was colored in for. 1 year of life = 1 minute of color.

The gripping results are unfinished portraits of people whose lives were cut short. Brandon explains:

Tamir Rice was 12 when he was murdered, so I colored his portrait for 12 minutes. As a person of color, I know that my future can be stolen from me if I’m driving with a broken taillight, or playing my music too loud, or reaching for my phone at the wrong time. So for each of these portraits I played with the harsh relationship between time and death. I want the viewer to see how much empty space is left in these lives, stories that will never be told, space that can never be filled. This emptiness represents holes in their families and our community, who will be forever stuck with the question, “who were they becoming?” This series touches on grief and the unknown.

The original series of portraits were exhibited at Brandon’s first solo show in November 2019. He has since updated the series to include more recent portraits including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. To see more of Adrian’s powerful work, please visit the links below.

[via Kottke]

“I feel rushed as I create these pieces. I want to complete their portraits so badly. To be able to see all the layers of colors in their face come to life. I feel a strong sense of panic during the process, which is a feeling Black people experience far too often when engaging with police. The timer (which I cannot see) is always in the back of my mind. How much time is left? When will this be over? I need more time… They deserve more time.”

Check out this lovely free pour pegasus latte art. While I have no idea how it tastes, I found the process quite soothing to watch. For more, check out @milkyfinesse on Instagram!

Artwork by Mr Brabbel

Dutch artist Mr Brabbel recently challenged himself to make 3 drawings inspired by a single piece of crumpled paper.

I love the idea of the challenge and am amazed by how differently each drawing came out! You can see how each one relates back to the original piece of paper but it just shows how differently people can interpret the world around them

@mrtstucklife is an incredible tattoo artist based in Stockholm, Sweden. The artists works out the Stucklife studio and where he has become well known for his hyperrealistic, black and white style.

While he doesn’t strictly do Ancient Greek and Roman-inspired tattoos, those were the ones that really caught my eye on his Instagram page. For more, be sure to check him out on Instagram!

How cool is this flipbook?! I came across it yesterday on reddit and apparently it’s available on Amazon Japan for ¥1,320 (US$12.65). You can see the listing here.

Russian artist Konstantin Hlanta recently completed this incredible portrait of the late Chester Bennington, who was the lead vocalist for Linkin Park.

Incredibly, the moving portrait is made entirely of thread and nails and took the 27-year-old artist roughly 400 hours over the course of 8 months to complete.

Konstantin began his art career with pencil drawings in 2008, but now primarily works with thread and nails. You can find many more of his amazing artworks on Instagram.

Below you can find some detail and close up shots of the artwork.

When lockdown started, Anna Chojnicka decided to attempt a daily art challenge to help pass the time and keep her creative juices flowing.

To make things even more interesting, Anna chose bananas as her medium, poking holes and depressing the skin, causing it to bruise. Believe it or not, no ink was used in any of the illustrations below! Anna adds:

“I just bruise the peel by pressing into it with a blunt point and the marking goes gradually darker over a couple of hours (so can create graduation of shades based on timing – by doing that darkest parts first).”

For those wondering, Anna says she eats every banana she doodles on, so nothing goes to waste. She also launched a fundraiser for her daily banana art to raise money for FareShare, who strive to “fight hunger and tackle food waste in the UK”.

To see more, check out Anna’s banana art on Twitter and Instagram.

Illustration by Tyler Foust

Artist Tyler Foust (featured previously) shared his latest work on reddit, a map of the USA drawn in only 3 lines, doing his best to separate states using gaps.

When you realize 2 of the 3 lines are for Alaska and Hawaii, it makes the single continuous line used to draw the contiguous US all the more impressive! And if that wasn’t enough, Foust even managed to sneak in an Easter Egg… if you look closely you may find ‘Tfoust’ somewhere in the drawing (hint: it’s upside down and mirrored somewhere in the midwest)!

In the comments on reddit, Foust said he started the line at Washington and ended in Maine and that the illustration took him a few hours to complete. Tyler says he is working on a book with each state drawn in a single line. For those interested, prints will be available soon on his Etsy store.

Artist and redditor Xiao-Mein recently shared his ongoing series of recursive self-portraits, taking the series 7 levels deep.

The artist shared his work on reddit where several users wondered why he wore his mask in what appeared to be in his own home. He replied that sometimes he was working in his family’s convenience store and that it also made drawing the next self-portrait easier since the face didn’t require as much detail.

Now the question remains, how deep can he go?

[via Xiao-Mein on reddit]

In an ongoing series entitled, “Icons Unmasked”, artist and illustrator Alex Solis imagines what the true identities of famous characters in tv and film might be.

The Wisconsin-based artist uses a wacom tablet to draw his digital illustrations and he has amassed a huge following online for his entertaining artworks.

For those interested, Alex has an upcoming show starting January 29th, at Gallery1988 in Los Angeles, where prints will be available. Below you will find some of our personal favorites, but you can find dozens more on his Instagram page.

Pablo Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was truly prolific. Widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he was also extremely productive and is thought to have made about 50,000 artworks during his lifetime, including: paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, and ceramics. [source]

Throughout his lifetime, Picasso frequently painted self-portraits. Seen above is his first documented self-portrait in 1896 when he was only 15 years old, and his last known self-portrait, drawn on July 3rd, 1972, when he was 90 years old. And in between, some 50,000+ artworks… incredible!

[h/t Mackelowsky on reddit]

Heavy metal birds? Heavy metal birds. This is what the Internet was made for. Artwork by LeopARTnik

Oleg Shupliak is a Ukrainian artist living in Berezhany. The artist has gained a large following online for his Dali-esque portraits that reveal the surreal faces of famous artists like van Gogh and da Vinci. The artist uses a variety of mediums and techniques like painting, photography, graphics, illustration, and animation for his works.

Below you will find some of our personal favourites but you can find many more at the links below.

From the amazing artistic skill and dedication, to the fantastic way he documented the process and edited the final video, this whole art project is a delight to watch.

All credit to dp Art Drawing on YouTube.