The issue of whether art imitates life or the contrary can be a bit hazy for Aria (@aririria art), a 25-year-old self-taught color pencil artist. The gifted Japanese illustrator is a master at creating astonishingly realistic drawings that appear to be pickable and holdable, such as this magnificent 100 yen coin or this squid that appears to slide off the canvas.
Aria is making waves on Twitter once again with another jaw-dropping drawing, this time what may be their masterpiece: an incredibly lifelike catfish that appears to be swimming and serving straight off the paper!
Aria made this drawing with a photo of a real catfish as a reference, and it’s hard to believe they didn’t just throw it on the paper and photograph it. Every angle and detail of the catfish has been meticulously replicated, even down to its gleaming, fresh body and the darkness behind its whiskers.
Many people on Twitter were skeptical, so Aria released a video to show that the catfish is, in fact, an image.
Aria sketched the image on a huge piece of paper, then trimmed the top edge to make the fins appear to be protruding.
To keep up with Aria’s amazing artwork, be sure to follow on Twitter and Instagram!