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!