Intricate Sculptures On The Tip Of A Pencil

Plenty of artists count pencils among their most indispensable tools. But none more so than Salavat Fidai. The artist works in a number of mediums—many of them miniature, including paintings on matchbooks or pumpkin seeds—but his most striking creations are carved into the tip of a pencil. With just an X-ACTO knife and some carpenter pencils with thick lead, Fidai creates faces, figurines, and even a teeny tiny Colosseum.

Here's a sped-up video of the carving process that reveals an insanely detailed Eiffel Tower:

Eiffel Tower Pencil Carving by Salavat Fidai from Colossal on Vimeo.

You can check out even more pencil tip sculptures on Fidai's Instagram.