Body artist challenges prejudices by painting illusions

A young Chinese artist has amassed a large online following for her shockingly life-like body paintings.

Hikaru Cho, who' has lived all her life in Japan, says she first had the idea to use skin as her canvas when she ran out of materials to draw on:

The 21-year-old student at Musashino Art University in Tokyo initially started posting her work online, where she built a following for her illusive illustrations.

Her work has since caught the eye of Amnesty International, who used it in a global campaign for sexual and reproductive rights.

As a Chinese national living in Japan, Cho said she was frustrated about people's preconceived ideas of her, based on her nationality.

Cho also uses stop-motion animation to make videos to deepen the sense of illusion.