When artist Pietro Cataudella wants to keep a memory of a place or a famous landmark he has visited, a simple selfie isn't enough for him. Instead, Pietro creates sort of a photo manipulation of the landmark. His ongoing project, CityLiveSketch -- a collection of these playful alternate reality images -- is like a bridge, linking Pietro's imagination and the real world.

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"When I created CityLiveSketch in 2014, I was doing clear and simple pencil sketches of landscapes and buildings," Cataudella told Bored Panda. "A year later, I decided to do something different. I began creating images in which the cartoon drawings are only part of the full piece, modifying and completing the actual photo. After doing so, I saw everything in a new light. Now, I often see an object very differently from how it appears in reality (for example, as part of a famous character from a cartoon)."

Cataudella has trained his eyes this way totally on his own. "I have never studied illustration or any other art discipline. I learned everything I know - from photo editing to drawing - by myself with a lot of practice, patience, and passion driving my endeavors."

"My current pieces begin with an object, typically a building. After I find something that intrigues me, I try to think about a link between the object's shapes and something that I'm already familiar with. This step might take up to a few hours. After that, I start creating the augmented reality image, combining all of the pieces."

Sometimes the artist uses royalty-free images he finds online to start the process, but Cataudella loves to travel in search of inspiration. "I always prefer to use my own pictures. Thanks to CityLiveSketch, I visited a lot of places in Italy and Europe. I hope I can continue working on this project for years to come."

#4

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citylivesketch Report

Rain79
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Makes me ready to go on childhood adventures.

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#5

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citylivesketch Report

Giacomo Medici
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

wow cant see the point where reality and imagination meet!

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#9

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citylivesketch Report

Link
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He was a Sailor. She was a Mermaid. Can I make it anymore obvious?

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#10

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citylivesketch Report

Link
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That plant works really well for the Demigorgan.

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#14

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citylivesketch Report

Lilli
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yesss! my little sister would adore this! :3

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#16

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citylivesketch Report

Michele Ottone
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

On a second thought. The drawing was taken some 8-9 years ago, when the tower was not completed, yet, and the Eastern wall bore the number of floors being erected. The Majesty of the spear could only be imagined, back then.

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#19

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citylivesketch Report

Link
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And here is another plant that works perfectly well with it

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#20

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citylivesketch Report

Podunkus
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cinque Terre is even more beautiful at night! Night-5d2c...35-png.jpg Night-5d2c9a46df035-png.jpg

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#23

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citylivesketch Report

Lil Bare
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah! Its a giant's arm that sticks out! Now it makes sense why its tilted :)

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#30

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citylivesketch Report

Note: this post originally had 74 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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