The Carved Pencil Sculptures of Salavat Fidai

Russian artist Salavat Fidai demonstrates that great things come in small packages with his incredibly detailed tiny paintings and sculptures. By far his most mind-boggling feat is what he is able to accomplish with the tip of a pencil. Armed with a magnifying glass and his trusty X-acto knife, Salavat carves the most intricate shapes from graphite - which itself is not the most friendly medium for a sculptor. It is notoriously hard, brittle and prone to breakage. Even someone with his astonishing skill level is not immune to the fickle material, as demonstrated by this video.

But this does not deter the Ufa native in the least, as he cranks out the most unlikely shapes and characters from a humble piece of lead. Some of these are almost too good, enough to make you want to cry Photoshop, but all of that goes out the window once you visit his Instagram page, which features multiple videos of the artist at work. This is pure talent and sage-like patience at work here.

All images courtesy of Salavat Fidai. View more at his home page .