S'pore student, 22, spends 1,737 hours over 2 years on super-realistic drawing of S'pore skyline, says some parts already 'slightly outdated'

A Singaporean architecture student spent 1,737 hours hand-drawing a hyper-realistic recreation of Singapore's iconic skyline.

Sim Heng Ee, 22, told Mothership that he did this over 21 months.

Some days, he would even spend up to 15 hours drawing, though he clarified that this was the exception, not the norm.

All those hours do not include the time spent on research and actually going down to visit the buildings.

It encompasses tourist areas such as Marina Bay Sands and the Sports Hub, as well as heartland areas like MacPherson and Aljunied.

Already outdated

Sim said that given Singapore's speed of development, it was a race against time to complete the drawing before the urban landscape changed too much.

As he began the piece in 2024 and decided to keep the whole drawing to the same time period, some parts are "already slightly outdated", he added.

To ensure that the drawing was entirely accurate, he would personally go down to double-check certain details, such as block paint schemes, which he said change very frequently.

He would also use websites to check on the progress of construction sites, all of which are drawn to be accurate to late-2024, he said.

Childhood dream

Asked about his inspiration behind the piece, the student said that he has been interested in architecture and the built environment since a young age.

While he has always wanted to create a large drawing of Singapore's cityscape, it remained a "pipe dream" due to his academic commitments.

It was only after the end of his National Service (NS) and before the start of his university studies abroad when he would finally get the chance to do so.

However, due to the intensely demanding nature of the artwork, Sim doesn't see himself completing another drawing of this scale anytime soon.

"I wouldn't discount the possibility of creating smaller pieces down the road, but as it stands I'm grateful that the piece has turned out rather well and would like to leave it as it is for the time being," he added.