If you're on a diet, we have the perfect zero-calorie meal replacement for you: Feast your eyes on some of these delicious images! It may be hard to believe, but they're all created pixel by pixel by student, amateur and professional artists.

This cornucopia of computer graphics comes courtesy of DELL Japan. On June 10th, they announced the winners of its CGごはん CG Gohan, or "CG Food" contest, which opened for submissions on March 31, 2020.

Our header image of a delicious-looking tray of takoyaki (octopus dumplings), for example, is the work of Yuya Fujiwara 藤原優哉, who won second prize in the student division. You can almost imagine the bonito shavings dancing in the steam of the piping hot tray.

Still can't believe it's not a photo? Here's his proof:

This talented first-year student at OCA Osaka College of Design and IT used Maya, Substance Painter, Photoshop and Blender to create his work, which he entitled 『#たこ焼きパーティー』 takoyaki pātī (takoyaki party).

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We're just getting started.

Sit back, get comfortable and start scrolling, because we're going to take you on a gastronomical tour of CG food. (You might want to have a handkerchief ready in case you begin drooling)...

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Dell "CG Gohan" contest selected winners

Professional Category First Place 『潮の香り』

Yasuko Amano 天野靖子 won the highest award for her oyster, in a work entitled 『潮の香り』shio no kaori (the salt tang of the sea). In addition to this recognition, Dell gave her a Precision 5550 laptop as a reward.

Tools used: Cinema 4D, Octane Render and Photoshop.

If you'd like to see more of her amazing food-related graphics, she has a curated list here.

Professional Category Second Place 『納豆ご飯』

Coming in second in the professional category was Shunsuke Nakajo 仲條駿輔 of Modeling bros Inc. for this work entitled 『納豆ご飯』nattō gohan (nattoh on rice). Fans of the fermented soybean dish who know what it is to whip up a serving and watch it transform from a solid clump into a foamy yet viscous concoction will surely recognize how well the artist as conveyed its texture, color and consistency, complete with chopped chives and an egg yolk resting on top. It just makes you want to reach out with your chopsticks, stir it up and enjoy. (If you're not a nattoh lover, you won't understand)

Tools used: Maya, Zbrush, SubstanceDesigner, SubstancePainter, and Photoshop

Professional Category 7th Place: "BaconEggMuffin"

Jumping down to 7th place, we have Watanabe Takuto 渡邊拓人, also of Modeling bros Inc., with this delicious-looking breakfast creation.

Tools used: Maya, Blender, ZBrush, SubstancePainter and Photoshop.

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Student Category First Place: 『喫茶店の味』

The first prize winner in the student division was Kengo Ito 伊藤賢吾, for this work entitled 『喫茶店の味』kissaten no aji (Kissaten taste) portraying a dish of Naporitan, a spaghetti dish made with ketchup, sausage and green peppers inspired by GHQ military rations which has been on the menu at kissaten (old-style Japanese cafes) since the 1950s. For those who have fond memories of eating it since the Showa Era, this work surely evokes nostalgia.

Ito won a Dell digital high-end series UP27220Q 27-inch 4K wide monitor as a reward.

Tools used: Cinema 4D and After Effects

Student Category 6th Place: 『カスタードとベリーのタルト』

If you have a sweet tooth, there's something for you to ogle at too. For example, in sixth place in the student category was Juri Kanazawa 金澤珠里. The Kobe Institute of Computing student created this winning entry entitled 『カスタードとベリーのタルト』kasutādo to berī no taruto (custard and berry tart), which looks just as delicious as it sounds.

Tools used: Maya and Photoshop.

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This is just a small sample of all the amazing and delicious-looking digital creations which won the contest. You can see them all, together with comments from the jury, at CG World here.