Team Umizoomi is a flash animated kids show. One attractive aspect of the show is that many things in the environment which are not usually decorated with patterns are decorated. I was impressed by a pattern design on the curb the characters were driving past. How could such a thing be done?
For
painted patterns one usually uses a stencil. This must be lifted, moved and reapplied and so there are inevitable junctions between panels and it is not smooth.
The rolling stencil basket is a clamshell-like basket device which holds a stencil in a round shape. It rolls along about an axis with a handle. The spray can is clipped into place on the axis such that it sprays onto the stencil interior and so generates the pattern as the device is rolled along a wall or curb. I envision geometric patterns along curbs in arty neighborhoods, twining vines decorating concrete freeway pillars, egyptian-style mural motifs etc. Obviously the larger the basket the longer the motif can be before it repeats itself.
Side scatter would be a nuisance for the RSB - flying paint leaving holes which were not yet in contact with substrate or which had already been in contact. One could address this by building up the interior of the holes such that there were little walls around each hole - this would discourage spray paint approaching at an angle, mostly allowing paint head on. The problem is that these would be custom stencils. Maybe a few of this sort could come with the RSB. These would be made of punched metal and be durable.
To facilitate the use of homemade cardboard stencils, the RSB comes with a custom spray can top. Rather than the conventional round hole, this top has a slit such that paint is emitted in a thin vertical line. This line will be oriented to spray the interior of the stencil where it contacts the substrate. The slit can top can be reused with different cans.