Photorealistic 3D Paintings of Sea Creatures by Keng Lye

The work of Singapore-based artist Keng Lye could easily pass for some nice photos of sea life – except that they’re not photos, but three-dimensional photorealistic paintings! Once you find out it was all created with paint and resin, the title of the series – Alive Without Breath – needs little further explanation.

Keng achieves the 3d effect similarly to 3d printer – he pours a layer of resin into a bowl and paints it with acrylics, layer by layer revealing more and more of each creature. His painting technique is almost the same as Riusuke Fukahori’s, but Keng found a new twist to it – he made his creations protrude from the surface. The artist came up with this idea while experimenting with the drawings of ranchu and octopus. Keng attempted to incorporate a 3-D element, a small pebble, and draw on top of it, making it a part of the creature’s body. This made his art look even more realistic.

For more photorealistic 3D art be sure to visit Keng’s flickr and deviantart!

Website: flickr, deviantart

Photorealistic 3D Paintings of Sea Creatures by Keng Lye