David Zinn is a street artist who specializes in small-scale chalk art. Every character David creates — from a sidewalk tennis ball collector pup named Rufus, to a green troll called Alice — has a name and a backstory.

His growing world of chalk characters has amassed 1.2 million followers on Instagram (and counting!), and his fans have described his unique gift of turning a mark on the pavement into an adorable character that seems to jump off the concrete as everything from “uplifting” to “supernatural.”

Listen in as we chat with David about his process, his inspiration behind his work, and if social media photos do his 3D art justice.