While most see Microsoft Excel as endless blank rows and columns, others view it as a platform to bring their artwork to life.

Many have managed to push the limits of the spreadsheet-making software that most of us try to avoid at all costs. From landscape masterpieces to recreations of our favorite video game characters, Excel has been unexpectedly used as a drawing tool to create some of the coolest illustrations.

See also: 6 Entertaining Games Made Entirely in Microsoft Excel

Below, we've put together 10 incredible works of art made in Microsoft Excel.

1. Japanese art by Tatsuo Horiuchi

After watching his co-workers use Excel, 74-year-old Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi began to experiment with the software. He mastered how to use the spreadsheet-maker's autofunction feature, and has designed beautiful works of traditional Japanese art.

When he entered and won an Excel autoshape contest in 2006, his work received attention and made its way around the web.

To see more of Horiuchi's work, visit his website here. If you can't read Japanese, you may want to use a third-party translator service or your browser's translator tool to navigate his website.

2. Mona Lisa

The world's most famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci still looks impressive in Excel form.

But don't be so quick to think this took a lot of time and effort. Flickr user Amit Agarwal admitted to using an Excel art software that automatically converts images to pixel art. Many generators like Think Math's Pixel Spreadsheet will easily let you to turn an image into pixel art in less than a minute.

3. Avatar

Don't let this spreadsheet fool you either. Like Mona Lisa above, this scene from the science-fiction movie Avatar was generated with an Excel art generator. But it still gets cool points.

4. Drawings by Danielle Aubert

The designs above were published in artist Danielle Aubert's book 16 Months Worth of Drawing Exercises in Microsoft Excel. Aubert says her "drawings were created by changing cell preferences for background color, fill pattern and border styles, and from time to time inserting 'comment' boxes and letters or words."

To see more of Aubert's work, visit her website here.

5. Nyan Cat

Nyan Cat is a YouTube video, an Internet meme and now an Excel spreadsheet. In the image above, Imgur user Michelleasaurr recreated the famous animated cartoon cat with a cherry Pop-Tart body flying through outer space.

6. Super Mario Bros.

Here's another impressive sketch by Imgur user Michelleasaurr. This scene from Nintendo's popular Super Mario Bros. video game was created entirely in Excel.

7. President Obama

Image: deviantART katak888

Excel can create beautiful portraits of humans, too. DeviantART user Katak888 from Indonesia used pixel art to depict a highly detailed portrait of President Obama.

8. Batman

Everyone's favorite fictional superhero comes to life in this Excel sketch. DeviantART user Katak888 used the software to recreate Batman swinging on a rope while wearing his iconic cape and mask.

9. Pikachu

Pikachu, one of the most famous and lovable Pokémon creatures, is shown in this spreadsheet by Imgur user VagabondGiraffe.

10. Grand Theft Auto

Chilean artist Felipe Velásquez, who goes by Shukei, has made a hobby out of Excel art. Using vectors and the autoshape tool, Shukei has created numerous illustrations, and has recorded his process in creating them on his YouTube channel.

The Grand Theft Auto drawing (seen above) took him 12 hours to design, but in this YouTube video, you can watch him draw it in a nine-minute time-lapse.