Look: Taiwan craftsmen creates miniature worlds

From a bucolic rural grocery shop to fictional battlefields and robot warrior bases, Taiwanese artisans are meticulously handcrafting miniature worlds that fuse reality and fantasy. When he is not designing interiors, 51-year-old Hank Cheng can usually be found in his studio conjuring tiny but intricately detailed scenes.

In his youth, Cheng studied illustrations in Japan, where miniatures and dioramas have long been popular. But he only started making miniatures himself five years ago, after spotting a photo of a Japanese artist's work that was so realistic he thought it was real at first sight.

"When people ask me is there anything I can't make, I joke: 'Only air and sunshine.'"

One of Hank Cheng's favourite design is a run-down bar with rowdy patrons, graffitied walls and a back alley littered with garbage so realistic Cheng hopes viewers can "smell the odour" just by looking at it.

Hikari Yang, 39, started making miniatures at a time in her life when she was feeling low. She set up the FM Dioramas studio in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, in late 2016 with several partners, maintaining a day job until she was recently able to switch to making models full time.

Her partner Chen Shih-jen, 45, said building dioramas helps take the edge off his full-time computer programming job.

The group's portfolio is filled with detailed models featuring real-life or sci-fi scenes that on average take some eight to nine months to complete.

One of the minature model art by artist Chen Shih-jen.

Miniature model artists (L-R) Leon Huang, Hikari Yang and Chen Shih-jen at FM Dioramas in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan.