Residents of the Toadstool Kingdom have been spotted around campus lately and students couldn't be more excited. Drawings of many of the characters from the "Super Mario Brothers" videogame have been left on buildings, steps and walls with little answer to who was creating them, until recently.

Henry Davis, a 23-year-old music education major, has stepped forward as the artist and has claimed responsibility for all of the chalked characters.

Davis, who has no training, and two friends have seen waves of praise from the student body and scorn from some administrators.

Students have helped grow the popularity of drawings by posting them on several websites. The drawings have reached the number four most popular photos on collegehumor.com, a popular website for many college students around the country.

Two Facebook.com groups have sprung up praising the young man for his work, and a petition was even sent to chair of UNC Charlotte's Art Department, Roy Strassberg to ask for his help.

After he drew his first "sprite" (as he calls them), Davis inadvertently inspired another student to help him out. Fellow music education major, Thomas Reaves, didn't know what to expect when he saw Davis drawing on the wall of Robinson Hall. "At first, I just sort of chuckled but once I actually went out and looked at the finished projects, I was very impressed," he said. "I decided to go out with him one night while he was drawing and I just asked if he needed any help."

The process of drawing these characters isn't an easy one. "It usually takes about half an hour for every 16x16 pixels," Davis said. The process is a tedious mathematical calculation to help design and staging, but "after that's done, it's basically color by numbers," he said. Davis deals with all of the calculations, while Reaves shades in the colors.

Davis chose the Mario characters after seeing a similar feat on Collegehumor.com where students used Post-It notes to create the figures. The Mario characters are a common heritage for many college-aged students and Davis hoped that the drawings have taken many students back to their childhood gaming roots.

Reaves says that there's no hidden agenda for the drawings for him. "I just enjoy helping out and it relieves some stress after long hours practicing in the music department," he said.

These drawings have created a campus-wide conversation between students and administrators about their value to campus morale. Darren Moorehead posted on one Facebook.com group, "Who's doing that wonderfully super art? They are my heroes!" There are many other comments with similar messages that can be found on Facebook.com, flickr.com, and many other sites where the photos have emerged.

"I'm honored that people liked this stuff enough to take pictures," Davis said, "I'd like to offer a public 'Thank You' to anyone who is a fan of my work and especially anyone who put pictures up online."

But not everyone loves the artist's work.

Frank Milone of Facility Management said, "Taking these things off of the bricks takes a great deal of time and effort. I wouldn't mind so much if the artists would get permission from the Chancellor."

"I don't really fear getting [in trouble], but it could happen," Reaves said. The pair doesn't seem to be phased by the repercussions that the University could implement against them, they're more interested in using these drawings to help bring the University together. It is unknown at this time what punishment if any the two will face for their work.

Regardless of the punishment Davis doesn't plan on stopping his artwork anytime soon.

In a twist, new drawings have shown up in front of the Friday Building and a large drawing appeared on the base of the Belk Tower Wed. Jan. 31. Other drawings have shown up that were not created by the two as an homage to the original spirit of the caricatures. "I'm honored by any copycat as long as they do it right," Davis said.

Davis has plans for many more sketches around campus in the near future. And he's always checking the Facebook.com groups, trolling to thank fans of his work. So leave a comment and you may just get a reply from the artist himself.

If fans wish to ultimately thank the two, Reaves has asked friends of Mario to attend the Percussion Ensemble Concert on April 30 at 8 p.m. in Robinson Hall. The two will be performing in the concert.

If you have any photos of the drawings please send them to editor@nineronline.com so we may create a student submitted slideshow.