I was asked to make an appearance at the World Science Festival Street Fair on June 3rd, 2012 in New York City. Due to issues with weather, and the nature of most conventions where I now make appearances, I don’t create as many outdoor chalk murals as I used to. It is fun to come back to this type of event, and have the rush of dealing with the elements, the nature of outdoor event crowds, and the difficulty of the surface. All add to the challenge, and all make the final piece that much more rewarding.

The theme of the Science Festival was both “Robotics”, and “This Elegent Universe”. My first task was to create an image that combined these two themes, plus worked as a 3D Anamophic Chalk Drawing, and could be completed in around 8 hours, which was all the time I would have while the event was occurring.

I arrived at the festival the night before, and was able to get about two hours of drawing time in before it was dark. This allowed me to figure out a lot of the 3D perspective details, and to get the finished outline on the pavement. I was able to come back the next day at the start of the festival and focus entirely on coloring the piece and completing the 3D look.

The crowd was great, the kids were really enjoying the event, and I heard nothing but positive comments about the artwork. My spot on the sidewalk was tricky and I had to work with the grooves in the pavement. I spent a lot of time putting a bunch of chalk into the grooves to make sure they were much less apparent when the image was done.

The race was on as I kept checking the weather on my phone, and watched storms grow closer and closer. In the end, I was able to complete the piece about 20 minutes before the first rain and thunder hit, sending the crowds racing for cover. The photo above where I am sitting next to the final art was taken just a few minutes before the rain arrived. My tarp protected it through the first round of showers, and when uncovered, people were able to enjoy the art for several more hours before more rains arrived.

I’ve posted my time lapse video for this mural online. It provides an excellent example of how shadows can make it difficult to work on a mural like this. You can check out my World Science Festival 3D Anamorphic Street Art video on my YouTube channel. Enjoy!