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Meet the Nepalese artist bringing famous faces to life with nothing but a set of pencils

The maestro is self-taught – and something of a Barcelona fan.
The maestro is self-taught – and something of a Barcelona fan. The maestro is self-taught – and something of a Barcelona fan.

Sanil Chitrakar’s artwork takes realism to a whole new level, bringing the faces of the famous and of his clients wonderfully to life.

The 35-year-old is self-taught, having started drawing when he was a child in Nepal.

Now living in Japan with his family, Sanil’s artwork is an integral part of his daily life.“Normally, a drawing like Sergio Ramos takes about 20 to 25 hours,” Sanil told the Press Association. “I used to do it as a hobby as I was busy at work but after having a baby daughter I got a lot of free time as I could not leave the house.”

Sanil is now a professional artist, drawing five days a week for clients and drawing for fun on his days off.“On my day off I draw footballers mostly and sometimes other celebs as well,” said Sanil. “My favourite player is Messi – I support Barcelona.”

Sanil’s art has had some recognition from those he draws too – with Barcelona legend Ronaldinho posting his work to his Twitter account.

Away from the more recognisable faces, Sanil produces a variety of commissioned works for clients across the world, such as this picture of Betsy, a girl from Alabama in the USA…

…this incredibly detailed piece of a young boy from Hong Kong…

…and this drawing a man ordered as a gift for his wife in Sevilla, Spain.

Other commissioned pieces include a piece for a college sports team in the US and wedding photographs for a couple in Germany. For Sanil though, it seems there’s one man who he likes to draw more than anyone else…

If you’d like to see more from Sanil, you can on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – he’s even got a YouTube channel.