Sketching the line with TTC employee and artist Marek Badzynski

If you commute on the subway with Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), you might be intrigued by a collection of posters that capture ordinary people riding the rocket.

Marek Badzynski is the mysterious artist behind the pencil sketches displayed on subway cars. He manages the TTC's computer-aided drafting and design systems and creates drawings for the TTC using computer software.

But that's not enough for him.

"I do use computer for my work, but when I go away, I want to go back to traditional means," the artist said Friday while on-air with Gill Deacon, host of CBC Radio's Here and Now.

"A normal wooden pencil and piece of paper does really well for me, especially when I'm sketching someone on the subway," Badzynski added.

The artist brings a rustic flavour to your ordinary subway ride. His characters mirror the drowsy commuters everywhere, but they have been uniquely rendered by the artist's eye.

"I love sleepers, I love people who read books. Smartphones are great for that — sometimes they miss their own stop," he said.

The fun does not come without challenges since Badzynski must work with the lacklustre underground lighting.

"The models are very unco-operative — they have a tendency to walk out on you," he said with a laugh. "They don't know they're hired models."

The sketches have brought Badzynski a lot of positive feedback, with people reaching out to him over social media when they think they have been his models.

Badzynski said these creative works of art provide a way for him to "go back into something that really gives me joy and a little space of my own."

Keep an eye out for the TTC sketch artist the next time you are on a subway. His favourite line is between Bloor and Finch and you just mind end up in one of his sketches.