[Halloween approaches! From The Daily Mail, where the article includes many more pictures; more information and a 2:52 minute video is available on the artist’s blog]

Invasion of the giant spiders – Seattle ‘under attack’ from creatures painted on to buildings

By Kerry Mcqueeney
14 September 2012

It’s the stuff of nightmares for arachnophobes: Giant eight-legged creatures, crawling over the rooftop of a building, seemingly waiting to pounce on their next victim.

But this is no arachnid invasion. It’s an optical illusion so realistic it’s enough to make the bravest soul’s skin crawl.

These images painted on top of a warehouse in Seattle of harvestman arachnids – otherwise known as a Daddy Long Legs – seemingly spring to life when viewed from a particular angle.

When seen at roof-level, they appear to be nothing more than an innocent work of art. However, it takes on a far more sinister view from the sky.

The incredible 3D paintings are the handiwork of Marlin Peterson, a self-confessed fan of all things creepy-crawly.

Peterson, who describes himself as a freelance scientific illustrator and muralist, wanted to create a large-scale version of tromp l’oeil – an art style in which 2D images appear three-dimensional when viewed from a certain angle.

He then decided to paint the massive 2,100 sq foot optical illusion of two harvestmen that appear to be perched on top of a warehouse.

Peterson used wire prototype models of harvestmen to help him develop his technique before taking his art materials to the roof and starting on a large-scale version.

The crucial component to the artwork is capturing harvestman’s shadow as accurately as possible, as this dictates how realistic the end result is.