Bringing a certain subtly and sense of humor back to three-dimensional chalk art, David Zenn creates highly-contextual scenes using an array of animal characters, all interacting with urban environments.

For decades, he has used chalk and charcoal to feature pieces that tie into their surroundings, relating to anything from fallen flowers to cracks in the sidewalk.

Rats, bears, lizards, dogs and other less-identifiable animalian hybrids can be found lounging around, floating balloons or hiding in imagined holes, like refugees from a wild children’s book.

Over time, a cast of regular characters has evolved, appearing in different places, telling a story through each sequential work of art. Some of his archival prints are for sale, as well as his book Temporary Preserves (via Colossal).

Hyper realistic art is stunning for a variety of reasons: it pushes the limits of skill, it’s incredibly detailed, etc, but what really elevates the style is creating something in high definition that is even brighter and more detailed than possible in life. For the casual observer, however, it’s the dissonance between looking at something that must be a photograph, and realizing it was actually created by hand that makes it jaw-dropping.

Diego Fazio

Diego Fazio is an Italian artist whose careful portraiture is notable because his subjects are active. There are few things as tough to capture withe a pen or pencil as splashing water across a human subject, but Diego does it with excellent effect in Sensazioni, the piece on the left of these examples. The top right piece is Il Silenzio Del Dolore (English: The Silence of Pain), and the bottom right image is titled Come Il Vento (English: Like the Wind). According to Diego’s DeviantArt page, he began as a tattoo artist and then decided he preferred to draw bodies rather than draw on them. If there weren’t photos of Diego working on his pieces, it would be difficult to believe they were drawn by hand. Still can’t believe it? Check out the progression here, here, and here.

Dirk Dzimirsky

Dirk Dzimirsky is not playing around. When he wants to capture a moment, he captures every miniscule detail. One can look at Dirk’s collection here (warning, some images are NSFW). In Dirk’s artist statement, he discusses why he chooses drawing over painting. He notes that drawing allows him “to create many layers over layers of lines and dots which react to each other in order to create a vibrant texture with directions and movement” and argues that this layering makes his portraits more warm and alive than a photograph would. Picture above are four of his works. Clockwise from top left: Drawn Face VI 2009, Black Sun 2011, Frozen 2010, and Breath 2010.

Paul Cadden

Paul Cadden is a Scottish born hyper realist artist whose incredibly popular art is prized for its detail and subject matter. Cadden doesn’t shy away from the gritty, and uses subjects with an incredible amount of character. In describing hyper realism on his site, and how he draws based on photographs, he hits on a point that seems to be a lesson in hyper realism, that “the virtual image becomes the living image, an intensification of the normal.” All of Paul’s work can be found on his main site paulcadden.com (some of the portraits are nude, and possibly NSFW).

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These Arent Photos 28 Examples Of Hyper Realistic Art

What happens when the neighborhood kid who likes to draw in the sidewalk with chalk, grows up? That kid becomes an artist who gets paid mad money to illustrate awesome 3D advertisements on city streets! And damn is it cool.

(Images via hongkiat, comedygoogle, forgetmenotmmm)

Alcohol is an internationally popular topic. One Moscow artist added a Grant’s advertisement in the middle of a shopping mall. Featured also is a Taipei artist’s refreshing glance into the world of Johnnie Walker’s Green Label. One of the most famous 3D sidewalk artists, Julian Beever, created this mind-bending vision of a brimming flagon of ale.

(Images via the-dot, beautiful-modernwallpaper, crainium)

Michigan native Kurt Wenner created this Dunkin Donuts ad for their smoothies. It’s fun, festive, and the perfect location for a photo op. Julian Beever drew the Sony Vaio laptop ad, smartly placed in the middle of a popular urban plaza where it’s sure to be seen by a ton of eyes. In 2011, Reebok’s Crossfit shoes beat the world record with the help of 3D Joe and Max, the duo that created the largest and longest 3D street artwork (over 106 meters long).

(Images via cleancutmedia, amazingdata)

3D artists aren’t too picky when it comes to their day jobs, and they certainly take the quality seriously. This Coca Cola sponsorship by Julian Beever is quite impressive, as is the incredibly realistic Lucky Strike car created by renowned artist, Kurt Wenner.

(Images via kurinjikathambam, weirdomatic)

This Mountain Dew ad climbs up out of the street with an uncanny play on perspective. Aveeno also gets in on the action, with a refreshing dip in an urban oasis, courtesy of Julian Beever.

(Images via davidstreetart, geekartgallery, likecool)

The artist group Planet Street-painting created this epic LEGO masterpiece depicting soldiers lined up for battle. It took a full 5 days to achieve the final product, with several artists working around the clock. The different angles of these images give a great glimpse into the size required to achieve the perfect perspective.

(Images via opticalillusion, designyoutrust)

Movies are great fodder for street sponsorships partly because everyone wants to take photos interacting with the ad, and share it across all their social networks. These examples depict an ad for Journey to the Center of the Earth and the epic film, Avatar.

In an urban environment, it seems that nearly everything is fleeting. Nothing – not even the tall buildings or long-standing sidewalks – is immune to change. Urban art that aims to make the most fleeting parts of the urban landscape inspires us to grab onto the instant and enjoy the momentary beauty found in the temporary parts of our urban life.

(images via: ArtMostFierce)

Shadow art has been a mainstay of the urban artist for many years. Although there are different takes on the idea, the most common way to catch the shadows seems to be to outline them on the sidewalk. When the light hits the shadow-casting object from precisely the right angle, observers see the shadow line up perfectly with the outline.

(images via: Sweet Station, Ellis Gallagher)

Most urban shadow art is just as transient as the shadows themselves. Chalk makes a big visual impression but quickly fades with rain or with time. Brooklyn artist Ellis Gallagher‘s work usually consists of chalk silhouettes drawn with child-like enthusiasm on New York sidewalks.

(images via: Roadsworth)

Other artists, however, choose to play with shadows in a different way. Canadian artist/activist Roadsworth uses night shadows as props for sidewalk paintings: a telephone pole shadow becomes an ivy stalk or a branch upon which birds perch. The shadow of a fence becomes a cage for wild animals. Overhead power lines are transformed into a tightrope for a brave shadowy man.

(images via: Michael Neff)

For artists like Michael Neff, the art is both in the moment and more permanent through photography. Neff traces shadows on the ground with chalk, then photographs his urban interventions. While both parts of the work – the impermanent drawing and the longer-lasting digital record of it – are important to the creative process, it is hearing that someone has seen one of his drawings in the wild that really thrills Neff.