9/26/18: When these eye-popping balloon animals by Masayoshi Matsumoto came up in my Facebook feed a few days ago, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The Japanese balloon sculptor’s creations are phenomenally realistic and can legitimately be considered art!

Matsumoto says that he comes to each sculpture intuitively. He lets himself be led by whatever he’s feeling at the moment. His incredibly intricate pieces take between three and six hours each, depending on how many folds and colors are involved.

As one article about this phenomenal, self-taught artist warned, you might not want to show these to your kids unless you want them to be terribly underwhelmed by the balloon animals at their next birthday party.

You can follow Matsumoto on Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram.

(By the way, I really wanted to know how Matsumoto achieved the realistic eyes in his creatures. During my research, I came across this tutorial. So now I know!)

All images property of Masayoshi Matsumoto.