AN artist has built up a worldwide following on social media thanks to his impressive Snapchat drawings.

So far Sajjad Riaz has racked up a portfolio of well known faces using the drawing tool, such as the Stig, Batman, Marilyn Monroe and rapper Notorious BIG — thanks to the tip of his finger.

Mr Riaz, aged 35, began sketching on his selfies in April and soon started receiving compliments from friends and family for his unique ability.

The civil servant from Halliwell often uses his own observations in his designs �— such as a picture of him wearing a gas mask over his face when there was a strange smell in his office.

Mr Riaz, of Chorley Old Road, said: "I have got hundreds of followers now — probably about 700 from all over the world including Australia and America.

"It's really nice to receive such positive comments from people you don't know about your creations. It proves that people like them and are sharing them with their friends.

"It takes a lot of patience to do. It did take me a while to get used to it, but I can do a drawing in as little as 10 minutes now depending on what it is. But sometimes they can take nearer to 40 minutes. My favourite one so far is my Marilyn Monroe drawing."

The Snapchat app allows people to send and receive photos which have been drawn or typed on — but only allows the receiver to see it for a few seconds unless they take a screenshot.

Mr Riaz said: "I only downloaded the app in April so I'm really pleased I have built up such a big following so soon.

"I started off just sending the usual pictures and then had a go at drawing on top of them. Then the more I did it the better I got at it and people started praising me for my work.

"It's really good fun. I love the fact I can be as creative as I like. I went to Comic-Con in Preston in October and saw Brian Muir who did the sculptures for Star Wars. I couldn't resist drawing a droid when I got home.

"Hopefully it will lead to something bigger in the future."

To follow Mr Riaz on Snapchat search for saj_r.