A sculptor in Russia named Salavat Fidai carves amazingly detailed works of art - on pencil tips. Using small knives and magnifying glasses, Fidai makes tiny sculptures from pencil lead that feature famous people, monuments, animals, and other objects.
Not surprisingly, Fidai says that this type of work requires an incredible amount of patience. Sculpting something so small does require not only slow, careful moves and great control, but also multiple attempts. Fidai says that he often breaks the pencil tips as he is carving the figure. For example, it took him seven attempts to create the Darth Vader character from Star Wars.
Both of his parents are art teachers, but until recently, Fidai devoted his time to practicing law in Russia. He lost his job last year and decided to create art fulltime. In addition to his pencil-tip sculptures, Fidai creates regular-sized photographs and paintings, and miniature drawings on pumpkin seeds, including renditions of famous paintings and famous TV characters. He has customers from all around the world.