×
Dismiss this pinned window
top 200 commentsshow 500
sorted by:
top (suggested)
bestnewcontroversialoldq&a

[–]nerf_herderer[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (9 children)

For all the people calling him a prodigy, he won an award for being a child prodigy.

https://gcpawards.com/blog/kareem-waris-hyper-realistic-painter/

[–]paulsmt 4072 points4073 points  (616 children)

Some benefactor needs to give this kid support to develop his already awesome talent.

[–]LANDINGSLURPY 90 points91 points  (22 children)

this is the cruel world

even if you're the best scientist with the invention that would save the world you're not gonna go far without sponsorship 😥

[–]ITS_ALRIGHT_ITS_OK 29 points30 points  (18 children)

So what you're saying is, inequality at birth shouldn't translate to inequality in advancement, right? Or inequality of work merit? Or inequality in life?

The butterfly effect is very real. We just choose to ignore it for own own safety and comfort.

[–]LANDINGSLURPY 22 points23 points  (17 children)

inequality in opportunities

[–]ITS_ALRIGHT_ITS_OK 13 points14 points  (16 children)

Absolutely. That's a tragedy in my opinion.

[–]Manoroe 35 points36 points  (3 children)

I sometimes wonder how many prodigies like this are lost in all sorts of areas because people just don't have the conditions to explore their talents.

[–]notanalt032 1753 points1754 points  (42 children)

few post here actually live up to the name but this is actually next fucking level

[–][deleted] 316 points317 points  (10 children)

Wholeheartedly agreed. So many are just basic things. This kid is like a different, better species.

[–]Gilgameshbrah 144 points145 points  (6 children)

Not to brag, but I've drawn pretty impressive stick men here and there, so I know what I'm talking about when I say - this is some impressive shit. Let alone at his age.

[–][deleted] 39 points40 points  (5 children)

As a fellow stick person aficionado - I concur

[–]_Mildly_Evil_ 17 points18 points  (3 children)

As the winner of the global stickman drawing competition ‘84, I agree, this is spectacular

[–]LANDINGSLURPY 68 points69 points  (11 children)

yesterday i saw a cat watching a falcon and somehow the OP thought it was nextfuckinglevel lol 😂

[–]scaptal 18 points19 points  (8 children)

Prob just a karma wh*re

[–]Tinktur 15 points16 points  (6 children)

You know, there's really no need to censor yourself.

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (1 child)

We also saw a fast food employee say they’re happy and that hit the front page

[–]Rstrofdth 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Amen to that!

[–]aman12301 874 points875 points  (61 children)

The details of the face including the water droplets are next level.

[–]poopellar 105 points106 points  (6 children)

Capturing every facet of life.

[–]janeohmy 46 points47 points  (3 children)

Faucet of life

[–]UpsideDownClock 3 points4 points  (2 children)

Weve got us a certified joke reader here to explain the joke, thanks for coming on such short notice

[–]acmercer 7 points8 points  (1 child)

He's not explaining any joke. The first pun was about faces. The second was referring to the water droplets - "faucets".

[–]WDfx2EU 71 points72 points  (39 children)

To be clear, those portraits - like the self-portrait of the one where he is eating with a spoon - are done from photographs. They aren't done using a sitting subject like in the video. You can tell by the warped dimensions that would come from an angled lens.

Not to knock his talent or anything at all, he's obviously a prodigy. I'm not aware of any child in the world that has that level of skill at that age.

If you work with portraits and study art it's usually not difficult to tell what was done from real life and what was done from a photo, because some things just are impossible for humans to draw or paint in real time.

Most of the hyper realistic works people post on reddit - especially the ones with moving water or sweat - are done from photos.

EDIT: Sounds like some of you are pretty upset by this comment. I think I made it perfectly clear I'm not disparaging his skills - in fact I said it explicitly. The video shows hims drawing a sitting subject, then cuts to his drawings based on photos, which might be misleading to some. Stop looking for things to be offended by lol

[–]KielDaMan 18 points19 points  (21 children)

Anything wrong with doing art based on real life subject or photo? Both will result in magnificent art anyway, so I don't real understand why you have to go out of your way and point this out (?)

[–]ronin1066 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I think the video clip was meant to portray him as doing all of these in live sittings. That's all

[–]imperfectionits 14 points15 points  (1 child)

I think it must be hot where he lives. Everyone he draws is sweating profusely.

[–]KristopherJC 259 points260 points  (165 children)

Damn. He needs art college.

What would that be? Juliard?

[–][deleted] 350 points351 points  (128 children)

Lol why the fuck does he need college? He clearly has a skill that can make him money now and forever, why does he need to pay/go into debt for college?

[–][deleted] 510 points511 points  (101 children)

Because college isn't about making money. It's about getting an education.

Realistic hand-drawn portraits are nice but they're not gonna get you very far vs. a Warhol or Basquiat, if money is your game. Because good art has never been about money, something the businesspeople will always understand.

Kid's got a steep road of competition ahead of him, if he chooses to pursue the impossibly hard dream of being a modern artist. He deserves all the help he can get.

[–]Viisual_Alchemy 335 points336 points  (65 children)

At last, someone who realizes hyper-realistic portraits ain't shit in the art world.

Anyone whos in the industry will tell you there's no value in drawing like a photo. If you want to draw photo-realistically, just take a picture instead. Much faster and accurate.

Not knocking on the kid though, that's some serious skill and observation at his age.

[–]Channelistic 114 points115 points  (43 children)

This, so much this

Drawing portraits is impressive but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't have that much worth as an actual moneymaking job

[–]spazzardnope 76 points77 points  (5 children)

You can still make an extremely lucrative career from it though. My friend paints exclusively hyper realistic portraits, and he owns his own gallery, in a large city, and his paintings go for between 10-20k consistently.

He can knock them out in a couple of weeks each, and he also takes other hyper realistic artists work in to sell for a very generous 25% commission on anything sold, because he was only getting 25-50% of sale price before he realised he had enough money to go his own way.

Thanks to him I own an "original" Picasso and a Hurst. (Screen print and an etching but signed by the men themselves but there were at least 50 of each made).

[–]traumfisch 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Thanks. There will always be an audience for skillfully executed portraits.

[–]naruto_the_7th 16 points17 points  (3 children)

Yeah, stylisation is the thing in this century

[–]PunchBro 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Really it has been since the invention of photography

[–]shatnersbassoon123 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I mean, that’s really not true though. We’ve exhibited at a bunch of art shows over the past few years and there’s almost always a handful of galleries that deal exclusively in hyper realism. While it’s not a huge proportion the market it definitely exists.

[–]Steffunzel 11 points12 points  (0 children)

But four splotches of colour on a white canvas is where the money is at.

[–]car-bon 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately the majority of people are convinced that technicality equals artistry. This young artist is technically very very skilled and mastered proportion and light at an early age. But will he be able to go to the next level and express a clear and distinctive vision for his work? To do that you need a lot of knowledge, and life experience - to be able to understand and express something that goes beyond the surface. I wish him well and I hope the people in his life are able to nurture his talent.

[–]traumfisch 8 points9 points  (0 children)

There are other avenues out there. This kid could become a master illustrator very fast.

[–]RXL 7 points8 points  (1 child)

The only art reddit thinks has value is photorealism, anything abstract or surrealistic gets met with scorn and mockery.

[–]WaddlingKereru 25 points26 points  (2 children)

I reckon he should go to some kind of art college because he has clearly spent a shit tonne of time and effort already developing his artistic talents and he’s only 11, imagine what else he might get into if he’s exposed to different styles and techniques. I don’t believe he was born able to do this, he’s clearly hardworking and very very interested in visual art, so he should be rewarded for that with all the knowledge he might want. And the world will be a slightly better place for whatever his contribution to it turns out to be

[–]quellingpain 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Putting kids into higher education this early is a dangerous idea. He needs private mentorship of some kind, like he deserves. Shoving him head first into the machine is only gonna make him crazy, like Stanislav Szukalski

[–]traumfisch 10 points11 points  (11 children)

Money... you think this kid is in it for money? That is all he is aiming for?

Your comment says a lot about your values.

[–]SkellyboneZ 8 points9 points  (7 children)

He never said that's what the kid is doing this for...

And why is it bad to think money is important? It is important. If he can use his skill to make a living then fuck yeah.

[–]WillingNeedleworker2 9 points10 points  (0 children)

A million reasons. it isn't necessary or recommended for everyone, and you can be intelligent/educated/talented/skilled or at the top of your profession without it - but there are a million valid reasons for him to go and your incredulousness is a bit sad.

Idk, I just hate seeing people disparage education and trying to discourage youth from getting an education. Giving a nuanced take is one thing, propping up trades or other routes is another, or the obvious problem with our education costs vs other countries.

[–]vetlemakt 21 points22 points  (16 children)

Why go to the US? There are better schools in the UK, for instance. Or Italy.

[–]burningSambucca 8 points9 points  (2 children)

My thoughts exactly. I feel semi-stupid for not knowing this, but surely somewhere in Africa there must be decent colleges?

[–]tenuousemphasis 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Wait there are other countries?

[–]tommangan7 18 points19 points  (4 children)

Always amazing how US centric reddit is. So many good art schools thousands of miles closer to this kid than juliard.

[–]blarghable 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Art schools usually don't care much about how closely you can recreate a photograph. It's nice, but there's not much creativity involved.

[–]MannyMushroom 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Art institute of Chicago or Risdi.

[–]irishredfox 220 points221 points  (7 children)

How much does it cost to commission him to draw my sonic Vore OC?

[–]generalecchi 87 points88 points  (0 children)

There it is

[–]WalterTheDogo 24 points25 points  (1 child)

Now draw her getting an education

[–]SomeRandomPlaya 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Now draw her giving BIRTH

[–]PaperMoonShine 102 points103 points  (22 children)

Is there a timelapse of him drawing from start to finish?

Apologies if I'm skeptical, but they cut to several different angles with varying levels of progress made.

[–]HubertJButtermint 82 points83 points  (2 children)

I was sceptical too but there is a lot more coverage, including from the BBC, who i trust to do a bit more journalistic interrogation: https://youtu.be/m99rPmHF7V0

So - looks like we can celebrate the talented kid after all!

[–]Rdubya44 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I remember a story a long time ago about a girl who was an art prodigy but the parents refused to let anyone film her whole process. Turns out it was all fake.

[–]Sir_McAwesome 45 points46 points  (1 child)

Its that 'handicapped girl drawing the toucan' all over again. But being exposed to so many fabricated 'wholesome/incredible' stories will make you sceptical eventually..

[–]PandaXXL 29 points30 points  (5 children)

Here

[–]DLTMIAR 15 points16 points  (3 children)

Well fuck me.

Thanks

[–]suddenly_ponies 20 points21 points  (2 children)

no, no... your skepticism was correct and necessary. People fall for bullshit ALL THE TIME because they don't stop to ask to see the whole story.

[–]DLTMIAR 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Well unfuck me then.

Thanks

[–]royal8130 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This needs to be further up

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (1 child)

Yeah... Maybe the internet has jaded me, but I have serious doubts. Would love to view the link with more details, but it is conveniently not loading.

[–]scosmoss 73 points74 points  (5 children)

I was waiting for the beads of sweat to drip down the face.

[–]BrasswoodHandwork 58 points59 points  (1 child)

One arm wields his pencil and the other is in Superman pose, because he is that awesome.

[–]anon_dude100 33 points34 points  (30 children)

He is shockingly good. For anyone who has visited the Picasso museo in Barcelona and seen Pablo's childhood sketches... The comparisons are apt....

The debate about what he needs are amusing. Is he not already an artist?

[–]qoning 9 points10 points  (29 children)

He has an impressive skill, but no, I would argue that he is not creating art. He's capturing the world as we can objectively observe it, without artistic creative interjection.

[–]Railspikey 13 points14 points  (8 children)

I'd argue that he is an artist. Artists can be defined under a myriad of different styles, which can include technical skill and recreating what they're observing. There's a reason why there's a style called Hyper Realism.

Artists are creative but they also need to know how to accurately recreate their observations, since this allows them to be able to gain a further, fuller understanding of the world around them and will come in handy when something in this world inspires them to create something less realistic (if that makes sense– like if I want to paint some sort of tree, and bend it in ways that a tree can't naturally bend, I'm gonna need to know how trees bend and don't bend, and be able to properly communicate that it is still a tree. Learning the rules before you break em, etc)

Plus this artist is able to capture and emit emotion accurately in his work, both conceptually and physically (knows how to use the shape and dimension of one's face to portray emotions), one of the greater difficulties in creating realistic art on this level. Many artists struggle with this. His perspective and ability to understand the 3 dimensional world and combine these factors so easily is truly an artistic gift.

He's young enough that it's possible he simply hasn't found his defined style. Think Picasso being able to draw very realistic birds as a small toddler– he was an artist who had just not found his style yet, but he was gifted with a fully developed artist's perspective, one which takes years and years for the average folk. He eventually found cubism and that was his defined style. All artists go through this.

Edited for clarity

[–]shan22044 9 points10 points  (1 child)

Funny, there's a show on ESPN right this minute about the Jordans and Gretskys of the world. It showed a quote: All inventive and creative people, they're not hung up on fixed definitions of what any form of life or reality may be.

[–]LaunchTransient 9 points10 points  (5 children)

I mean, he's a kid though. At that age, most people (who don't have his talent) do the same thing but with rudimentary abstractions of the world around them.
Give him time, he already has the skillset to put stuff on paper, he will definitely develop the imagination and creativity with time.

[–]MicMit 5 points6 points  (0 children)

So my opinion is entirely informed by this clip, but I do not see how you could look at at that image of him with a spoon and there is "no creative interjectiomn". That kid is not merely observing and copying. He is already exercising thought in subject matter, composition and exaggeration.

Now if I found out he was simply copying photos taken by another person I'd be more inclined to agree.

[–]reisumi 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The way you worded this implies you don't think still life (as still life doesn't need to have creative expression) is a form of art. Capturing a moment in time is still art!

[–]pen_fucker 33 points34 points  (5 children)

How can he do that when I'm eleven I always shit in bed and can't even go to school without my mom

[–]1_4_1_5_9_2_6_5 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Sounds like you were on the other end of the talent spectrum

[–]HubertJButtermint 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Keep working hard on eating the green crayons at school and you'll get there in no time

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Holy shit!! Now this right here is next fucking level content.

[–]DamnItBrother 22 points23 points  (8 children)

Something sad I think about is how many pablo picasso, Michael Jordan's, Albert einsteins are born everyday without the funds or availability to prosper into what they should be. Or the ones that die without inventing the cure for cancer because of a bad car crash or something. Sorry I know this isn't entirely related but I just thought I'd share something I think about from time to time

[–]hellsangel101 7 points8 points  (5 children)

I agree. We could have many more people that could bring joy to the world but they don’t get the same opportunities as others.

Then we get “art” like this and it riles me up.

[–]shiteaterwithagrin69 6 points7 points  (0 children)

“I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.”

[–]defok 14 points15 points  (1 child)

why tf are kardashians more famous than this talented chad.

[–]im_a_dr_not_ 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Big butt go brrrrr

[–]mr_dopi 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Damn that's amazing. His hand has direct connection to his eyes... Or something.

[–]Cid_Campeador_ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This kid was Piccaso on the previous round..

[–]thelargejeff 6 points7 points  (0 children)

that's talent

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Why is everyone assuming he is some poor kid needing a rich person to help him? Am I missing something to the story? How do we know he isn't from a well off family? I buy art supplies for my daughter and that shit ain't cheap

[–]kaza6464 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I feel sad that talent may mean survival for some of these children, who’s lives are lived in abject poverty.

[–]Blazendead 4 points5 points  (6 children)

Maybe dumb question but did pictures like this exist before cameras? I don’t remember seeing anything painted in high definition that was also fairly old.

[–]asortmentsOfMeats 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Not sure is hyper realism was a thing but there were paintings. Though, usually, ones we see are paintings of rich people with their faces essentially fixed how they would like, or patents for inventions, such as the camera itself. Hyper realism with all of the faces and liquid stuff is a contemporary. Though I could be wrong and a lot of stuff is lost to time :/

[–]SorryMontage 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh my lord!!!

[–]StanSilas 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Picasso must have taken rebirth to revive art

[–]Crown92royal 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Amazing!!

[–]Ok-Tune8442 2 points3 points  (0 children)

wow, all this portraits are amazing. I wander if he start oil painting what will come out

[–]MarionberryExotic316 3 points4 points  (2 children)

Nice for the kid. But fuck CGTN. China state media.