Hyperrealistic art from Paul Cadden

Wdd Logo.
June 08, 2012

The images Paul Cadden creates are so incredibly realistic that you might first mistake them for photographs. But look closely and you’ll see that they’re actually drawings. Cadden creates hyperrealistic” portraits and landscapes, which so resemble real life that the subjects seem to come alive. The difference between hyperrealism and photorealism is subtle, but the two are distinct styles. In photorealistic drawings, the purpose is to recreate reality exactly. In hyperrealism, the drawings are meticulously detailed to evoke a reality that wasn’t evident in the initial photo the illustration was based on. In this way, hyperrealistic art is an illusion of reality, rather than a recreation. These hyperrealistic images often incorporate emotional, social, cultural, and political thematic elements to extend the visual illusion. This makes it a distinct departure from photorealism. In an interview with the UK-based Daily Mail, Cadden states that his inspiration comes from the phrase to intensify the normal’.” He further said: 

I try to study the internal aspect of the image rather than focusing solely on the external part. I can fall in love with an image — if that doesn’t sound too hippy. 

Below are a sampling of his drawings, all created with pencil, paint, or charcoal on canvas. You can check out more on his website.

WDD Staff

WDD staff are proud to be able to bring you this daily blog about web design and development. If there’s something you think we should be talking about let us know @DesignerDepot.

Read Next

Are Simple Websites Better For Business?

As web design technologies raise the bar on what it is possible to achieve on a realistic budget, there’s a rising deba…

Apple Opts for AR over VR at WWDC

An Apple VR headset has been one of the most widely-rumored devices of the last few years, and it was finally settled a…

Exciting New Tools for Designers, June 2023

We’re halfway through 2023 already, and the number of incredible apps, tools, and resources for designers is mounting.

3 Essential Design Trends, June 2023

This month we are focusing on three trends within a bigger website design trend – different navigation menu styles and …

15 Best New Fonts, May 2023

The choices you make when selecting a typeface have more impact on your design than almost any other decision, so it’s …

10+ Best Tools & Resources for Web Designers and Agencies (2023 updated)

Having the ability to envision a tastefully designed website (i.e., the role creativity plays) is important. But being …

20 Best New Websites, May 2023

This month, there are tons of great new agency websites to get excited about. 3D animated prisms are a popular theme, a…

How to Find the Right White Label Website Builder for Your Agency

Web design agencies face a lot of obstacles in closing the deal with new clients. One of the most common ones is the ar…

Exciting New Tools For Designers, May 2023

There are hundreds of new tools for designers and developers released each month. We sift through them all to bring you…

3 Essential Design Trends, May 2023

All three of the website design trends here mimic something bigger going on in the tech space, from a desire to have mo…

10 Best AI Tools for Web Designers (2023)

It’s time to stop worrying if AI is going to take your job and instead start using AI to expand the services you can of…

10 Best Marketing Agency Websites (Examples, Inspo, and Templates!)

Marketers are skilled in developing strategies, producing visual assets, writing text with high impact, and optimizing …