Ever since 2016, when photos of incredibly realistic oil paintings by a Nigerian artist flooded the Internet, more and more artists are adopting the art style.

Hyper realism is painstaking, demanding and usually worth it in the end. When Olumide Oresegun's paintings went viral in 2016, hyper realism as an art form began the mainstream path for many artists, especially as a way to draw attention to themselves and make money.

When Eli Waduba drew the attention of Kevin Hart with his pencil portrait of the comedian, it struck something with international media and the hyper realism trend in Nigeria.

For this reason, we have compiled a list of top hyper realism artists from and in Nigeria.

1. Arinze Stanley

Award-winning artist Arinze has been drawing since he was six years old. He uses hyper realism to create art that triggers a degree of emotional connection, highlighting pressing matters including Modern slavery , feminism and others. Many young hyper realists today mention Arinze as a major inspiration for their art.

2 . Olumide Oresegun

Olumide began drawing and painting when he was just four years old. Though he began drawing professionally in 2005, he received mainstream attention both in Nigeria and internationally when his oil on canvas paintings went viral on Facebook. He depicts mundane Nigerian life using children and water as his main themes.

3. Kelvin Okafor

Kelvin Okafor is an award-winning British artist of Nigerian descent. After trying out art skills in sculpture, glass, printmaking, painting and casting, he fell in love with pencil and charcoal, using them to execute hyper realistic art that compete with photographs.

4. Ayogu Kingsley

Ayogu Kingsley Ifeanyichukwu is another hyper realism artist that uses his stunning oil paintings to depict depths of his emotions.

5. Silas Onoja

Silas, from Makurdi, also uses water-themes to create oil on canvas paintings that compete with photographs.