Artists transform baby photos into incredible portraits for father's birthday gift to his wife

With his wife's birthday approaching, Ernst Berlin had the perfect gift in mind -- illustrations of their 8-month-old son Jacob drawn by artists on Reddit.

"Since our life seems to be completely revolving around the kid right now, it just seemed appropriate to do something along those lines," Berlin told ABC.

A few months back, Berlin had stumbled across the subreddit Reddit Gets Drawn and had been impressed by the work posted by the artists. With eight weeks until his wife Agnes' birthday, he gathered nearly 40 images of himself, Jacob and Agnes and posted them to the site with the simple instruction that artists pick one photo and then turn it into a portrait reflective of their personal artistic style.

As the illustrations rolled in, Berlin printed and framed them and tried his best to keep the project a secret. On the day, Berlin sent his wife to the spa as a diversion so that he could hang the 20 images in the bedroom of their Chicago home.

"I probably went a little overboard, but I don't have any regrets about it, especially after seeing her reaction," Berlin said.

Berlin was able to capture the big reveal on video. He says it was the most speechless he's ever seen his wife and there were definitely some happy tears.

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"It tugged at her heartstrings," he said. "You could really see it in her face just how happy she was."

You can see more of the original photos and finished portraits on Reddit.

Photos used with permission.