Italian artist Franco Clun demonstrates incredible skill with a pencil in these hyperrealistic portraits of people, animals and places. Far from the rough doodles one might expect from one of the world’s oldest and most modest drawing tools, Franco produces a photographic level of detail in each piece. In fact, many have mistakenly credited him as a black and white photographer and frankly, it’s not hard to see why.

Every detail, right down to the last eyelash is produced with incredible sensibility and patience. It’s quite impressive how Franco manages to capture the soul and essence of his subjects with such a humble and what many would consider a limited medium. This body of work proves that in art, there are no limits but the ones in your imagination.

All images courtesy of Franco Clun. View more at his home page or visit him on Facebook .