While in this digital age, I hardly remember how to properly hold a pen, let alone write with it without looking like a 3-year-old's first attempts at learning letters, some people master pens to the next level. The talented 28-year-old Egyptian artist Mostafa Khodeir creates incredibly realistic portraits that can be easily mistaken for photos using only multicolored ballpoint pens. They really leave us wondering what kind of magical pens this artist is using.
It took a lot of practice for Khodeir to reach his current level. You can see some of the earliest work on his social media, which only means there is no limit to how much you can improve your skills. In 2018, one of Khodeir's drawings of a young boy that took the artist 2 months to finish went viral on Twitter with over 200k likes. Today, with 122k followers on Instagram, over 64 followers on Facebook, and another 17.8k on Twitter, he is still at the top.
We've collected some of the best artwork from the artist, so check it out, and don't forget to upvote the artwork that impressed you the most!
More info: behance.net | Instagram | Facebook | twitter.com | youtube.com
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Ok I’ll explain this picture for people who might not know. This wonderful women here is a famous Egyptian actor who is in lots of older movies and series. I don’t remember the names of the movies she was in sadly. I’ll ask my aunt and see if she knows. UPDATE: her name is عبلة كامل
The colors in this one are amazing! She's so beautiful.
Wow! Zooming in and then zooming out on the blanket, you can see the pen lines, but it looks so real from further away.
Also another actor, who’s name I also don’t remember but do know that he had sadly passed away. UPDATE: his name is عزت أبو عوف
This is... I... I... Awesome... I’m at a loss for words. This is one of the best artists I’ve ever seen
I love that he sees the beauty in faces of those who have lived a long hard life.
man I can make realistic portraits like these with ball point pens but WOW this is so smooth. It would take me a long while to make a drawing this smooth so much cross hatching would be needed such light lines time and effort would be needed in drawings like these tbh I find it easier sometimes to draw with ballpoint pens
I wood never have the words to say how I feel after seeing this awesome unreal art!!!
This is... I... I... Awesome... I’m at a loss for words. This is one of the best artists I’ve ever seen
I love that he sees the beauty in faces of those who have lived a long hard life.
man I can make realistic portraits like these with ball point pens but WOW this is so smooth. It would take me a long while to make a drawing this smooth so much cross hatching would be needed such light lines time and effort would be needed in drawings like these tbh I find it easier sometimes to draw with ballpoint pens
I wood never have the words to say how I feel after seeing this awesome unreal art!!!