Who says doodling can’t be fine art? Tokyo-based artist Sagaki Keita combines the world of fine art with lowbrow illustrations in his highly creative body of work. Each of the artist’s drawings are made up of countless tiny sketches of his vast cast of characters. The tiny, animated subjects collectively compose each of Keita’s impressive creations depicting a staple of art history, whether it be the architecturally revered Statue of Liberty or painter Hokusai’s classic painting, The Great Wave.
From afar, Keita’s illustrations may seem like nothing more than a pretty good ink drawing of said works, but it’s when you get in close that his true artistry shines. One can appreciate the time and effort that goes into one of his imaginative recreations by viewing the variety of shapes and personalities present in just one square inch of any given frame. The artist remarkably utilizes every bit of the page to add form to the bigger picture while keeping the tiny subjects as random and entertaining as possible. He also skillfully creates shadows by populating areas with a lot of his small figures while adding highlights by simply presenting outlines of larger sized characters.
