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Fighting Through Mental Struggles: Incredible Renderings Created with Only a Pencil

Kohei Omori is like Chuck Close, but with products

By Rain Noe - August 15

in Fine Art

From a young age, artist Kohei Omori was diagnosed with OCD and struggled in school. He has described his obsession with detail as a disadvantage that makes everyday life difficult; and while he was able to gain an equivalency diploma after dropping out of high school, he was not able to make it all the way through art school.

After dropping out, he became obsessed with a nut and a bolt, and began drawing them. Using only a pencil, this is what he produced:

His sister posted it to Twitter, and unsurprisingly it went viral.

Other work Omori has produced:

This one in particular blew me away, where he nails the fonts traveling over a curved surface:

He posts process videos on his Instagram, like this one:

The online attention hasn't always been helpful; Omori recounts someone commenting "You should have just taken a photo." And as his symptoms worsened, he stopped drawing altogether and resolved to burn his drawings.

Luckily Kazuomi Kishimoto, a supporter of Omori's work and the Director of the Setouchi City Museum of Art, intervened; he convinced him to let the museum display his drawings, rather than Omori turning them into ashes. The exhibition was held earlier this year.

Omori sells prints of his work here, and you can keep up with his stuff on X or Instagram.

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kent murphy

3 months ago

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I think the term is savant. In the bad old days, it was "idiot" savant.

I remember seeing a report of a young lad from Britain who was brought to New York, and he just sat down on a bench and proceeded to sketch a brilliant rendering of New York.

Centuries ago, certain artists produces amazing paintings. They were surely "idiot" savants.

Some of them, I think, were sponsored by the royal and wealthy class. Obviously, they were head-hunted.

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- kent murphy
  
  kent murphy
  
  3 months ago
  
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  Got it wrong. They didn't sit him down on a bench, they flew him in a helicopter.
  Stephen Wiltshire - Autistic Savant Artist Draws City From Memory
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1O_TMTc660
  
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Alan Nomoto

3 months ago

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Stunning! I’m so glad there were people there to convince him of his talents.

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Michael DiTullo

3 months ago

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amazing work!

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