These Whimsical Sculptures Portray Lifelike Forest Animals

Yoshimasa Tsuchiya’s makes lifelike sculptures of fantastical forest creatures, that look as if they were taken out of children’s books, or perhaps a whimsical cartoon.

Based in Japan, Tsuchiya carves his creations out of solid blocks of wood, using a chainsaw and other heavy machinery. Besides wood, his works are adorned with carefully placed crystals, that shine as if they were the sculpture’s real eyes.

Tsuchiya envisions his animals “as if something is borrowing the posture of the animals and it’s suddenly appearing” in front of him. “Nobody has ever seen unicorns but I imagine the shape of them by knowing the characteristics of their horns as medicine and that they don’t get attached to, or domesticated by, humans.”

He explored various mediums in college (clay, metals, stone), before finally, finding his true love in woodwork. “When I carved wood for the first time, I thought, ‘this is it,’” said the artist in an interview with Beautiful Bizarre Magazine. “I felt the comfortable feeling like gnawing on fruits when I carve the wood.”

Take a look.

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