It never ceases to amaze me what some people can do with a little chalk and their imagination. This amazing street art optical illusion comes from a combination of angle and proper scaling. Unlike some other 3-D chalk drawings, this unique design makes the gazer look as if he is standing above the sidewalk hole. This creates more depth and helps make the design all the more impressive.
When you first take a look at this street art drawing, your mind thinks that a perfect square was cut in the middle of a thin layer of the street. The thin layer reveals a whole city below, which has erected an advertisement several stories tall. As the person a top the advertisement gazes with wonder at the people below, it is hard to think that he has not risen above the street. I’ll admit, even I had to do a double take on this one. Has this man risen above the street to stare at the chalk city below or is he part of the illusion?
The key to this amazing street art illusion is in the shadowing, scaling, and all around details of the art. If you ever have the opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of a city, which in this case would be between five and ten stories tall, you would be able to see how small people look. The design here takes advantage of size, both with people and cars, to show depth and realism. Without realistic scaling, the people, cars, and other fine details would be a dead giveaway that something just isn’t right.
Shadows also play a huge role in how this drawing is meant to be viewed. In order for the street art illusion to work just right, the viewer has to be facing the picture at roughly 3 p.m. The real shadows will then align perfectly with those in the drawing, making the picture seem all the more real. In addition to playing on natural shadows, the shades help to portray the scale of the tower in a more natural way. If a large towering advertisement was placed in a town center, you can safely bet that it would cast a bit of darkness on the area for a good portion of the day.
Personally, I like this modern design over some of the other 3-D chalk designs I’ve seen lately. Not that this illusion is any more grand than the others, I like that it plays on realistic scenery. Its not very common to see a waterfall or Ferris wheel poking out of the ground. With modern architecture and plenty of buildings having very elaborate floor plans, you really need to double take and remind yourself that you are on the ground floor of the street when viewing this 3-D chalk drawing.
Optical illusions can be fascinating when they play off of our natural senses and can literally place us in a whole different world. When the artist can not only capture our imagination but do so in a realistic way, the illusion can stand strong.
