At first glance, some of these images look like pixelated renderings of familiar scenes and faces, created by a computer program. Others look like paintings, composed by a very peculiar technique. What they really are, however, is far more interesting: Each of the points of color on these images were either created using hundreds of small painting of people, or actually *are* people. Artists like Craig Alan and Sam Gellman have created these amazing works using different techniques, utilizing either hundreds of people or hundreds of dots of paint, capturing scenes from all over the world. Alan’s work is an homage to American pop culture, while Gellman took his camera to North Korea for a different perspective on an incredibly mysterious nation. See their unique, but still similar work below, along with other examples of this type of imagery.
**Craig Alan creates images of American icons using tiny people — he paints each and every one, all of them with microscopic clothes, faces, and shadows. His tiny people come together to form one incredible painting.**
Here, Craig Alan recreates the face of Marilyn Monroe.
This is his portrait of Michael Jackson.
His Elvis Presley portrait is incredibly beautiful.
As is his version of Audrey Hepburn.
Finally, Alan captured all of the mystery of James Dean in this painting.
**Alan’s work is created with paint, but these types of images are often captured using actual people, like these scenes from American history.**
“The Human U.S. Shield” created by 30,000 officers and men at Camp Custer in 1918. The image was taken by photographers Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas, who donated their time to the U.S. military to help garner support for World War I. The portraits are made entirely of soldiers and other military personnel.
This Statue of Liberty was made of about 18,000 men, with the photographer shooting from half a mile away.
This is called the “Living Emblem of the United States Marines” from 1919.
Here, a human portrait is set up in Grenzhausen, Germany, created by the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, 1st Division in 1919.
“Sincerely yours, Woodrow Wilson” is composed of 21,000 officers and men, Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio in 1918.
**Finally, there is the work of Sam Gellman. The Hong Kong-based photographer had the opportunity to visit North Korea for a total of four days. While there, he witnessed scenes of propaganda and performance unlike any other. These images come from those performances, and their precision will blow your mind.**
