# Photoshop or really great art? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001 "2005-07-25T03:56:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001/1 "2005-07-25T03:56:22Z")
[http://www.rense.com/general67/street.htm](http://www.rense.com/general67/street.htm) Looks like photoshop to me. But what do I know. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001/2 "2005-07-25T03:58:58Z")
Wow, these are amazing. I’ve seen some of these trick-of-the-eye perspective drawings, so I believe they are real. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001/3 "2005-07-25T03:59:15Z")
I’ve seen a lot of these. I’m 90% sure they’re real. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001/4 "2005-07-25T04:17:37Z")
That last one doesn’t make sense (yeah, okay, the angles), that leg stretches past way too many bricks to coincide with the proper viewing angle. And in the wrong angle pic, see the white piller on the right? Shouldn’t it be on the left in the correct angled pic? Where is it? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001/5 "2005-07-25T05:14:21Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > That last one doesn’t make sense (yeah, okay, the angles), that leg stretches past way too many bricks to coincide with the proper viewing angle. And in the wrong angle pic, see the white piller on the right? Shouldn’t it be on the left in the correct angled pic? Where is it? For some reason, I think those two sketches are not the same instance. If you look at the one from the “wrong” viewing angle, then check out [this](http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever/missuk-cutting.htm) photo of the same sketch at the “right” viewing angle, you’ll see that these images coincide with each other. Take a further look from [this](http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever/pave.htm) site. Especially the Globe one at the end. He must have drawn the same image twice in two different cities. Unfortunately, he didn’t pair up the same sketch with each other. Crazy. Anyway, this guy is for real. Not sure exactly how he achieves the result, but it’s not easy to distort the image to compensate for the right viewing angle. That takes some real skill. Does he use a camera feed from the angle he wants, and use that for reference? Does he keep running back to make sure he’s got it right? Or is he some sort of freak, that just knows how far the image needs to distort? My guess is something akin to the former. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001/6 "2005-07-25T07:44:44Z")
He’s definitely for real, and in my opinion, not even the best at it. I’m a fan of [Kurt Wenner](http://www.kurtwenner.com/)’s work myself. He even has one where he [reflects human actors](http://www.kurtwenner.com/images/reflect.jpg). My two favorites are [Dies Irae](http://www.kurtwenner.com/images/diesira.jpg) and [Muses](http://www.kurtwenner.com/images/muses.jpg). On the opposite end of the spectrum is [Calum Colvin](http://www.calumcolvin.com/), who creates 2D art in 3D space. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001/7 "2005-07-25T08:00:50Z")
Could you not achieve this by projecting a photo onto the pavement, then drawing on the pavement using the projection as a guide, then view the drawing from the point where the projector was? Or something like that? ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001/8 "2005-07-25T08:29:41Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Could you not achieve this by projecting a photo onto the pavement, then drawing on the pavement using the projection as a guide, then view the drawing from the point where the projector was? Or something like that? From what I’ve seen of Wenner’s work is that he’ll make a drawing on paper, getting the geometry just right, then rule it. Then, he’ll lay down a chalk grid to act as a guide, matching up with the ruled drawing. I’m making an assumption on the ruling part, as I’ve only seen his compositions unruled, but since he does draw a grid, it would make sense. [Here](http://chronicle.augusta.com/images/headlines/043098/street_painting.jpg) is a picture of him at work, so you can see the composition and the grid. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001/9 "2005-07-25T14:30:34Z")
The [Snopes article](http://www.snopes.com/photos/arts/sidewalk.asp) on Wenner’s work. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-or-really-great-art/314001/10 "2005-07-25T15:18:02Z")
These are more compelling in a photo than in real-life since he has, with the camera, total control over your point of view and you don’t get binocular vision, but still very nice. This trompe-l’oeil style goes back a long way. A great painter was Sam van Hoogstraten who played a lot with perspective, like this [fake doorway](http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/h/hoogstra/) (first image) which, when viewed from the right height is pretty convincing. Also he did a couple of perspective boxes like [this thing in London](http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/artistBiography?artistID=340) .