VISTA -- A long walkway at Rancho Buena Vista High School came alive Tuesday with movie-themed drawings created by nearly 200 students and teachers for the campus' annual ArtSplash festival.

Throughout the day, 48 teams of students and two groups of teachers used chalk to decorate 8-foot-by-8-foot sidewalk panels, which will line the campus' rear walkway for Thursday's art show.

"You get to freely express yourself, and you can't usually do that at school," said Joe Tanner, a junior participating in the festival. "Who wouldn't want to draw all over their school?"

The theme of this year's ArtSplash is film, and students created illustrations representing a bevy of movies, ranging from Disney cartoons to slasher flicks.

Many of the school's more than 3,000 students got to see the bright images take shape as the students drew them Tuesday. The rest of the community will get a chance to check them out, along with plenty of other student artwork, at Thursday's ArtSplash. The event will start at 3 p.m. at the campus and last until the sun goes down.

That night, there will also be a festival of short films made by students and a performance of the drama department's spring musical based on the movie "Footloose."

The art show is free and open to the public. Rancho Buena Vista High School is just off Melrose Drive at 1600 Longhorn Drive in southern Vista.

Art teacher Roger Royster started the chalk festival eight years ago when he moved to the school from the Vista Unified School District.

Since then, the festival has taken on a life of its own and become a part of the school's culture, Royster said.

"It really validates our art community," he said.

It also boosts the students' self-esteem, said David Huff, one of four art teachers who worked with Royster to organize the ArtSplash.

"A lot of these kids are just faces in the crowd," he said. "They're not the ones that are on the stage that often, and this is what they do well."

The art department bought nearly $3,000 worth of chalk for the drawings. That money came from donations and the $15 each student paid to participate. In addition to the $15 dollar fee, students also needed at least a 2.0 grade-point average, which motivates some students to do better in class, Royster said.

The event also helps teachers encourage more students to take art classes, said Cherie Freddie, one of the art teachers who organized the event.

"It's a good recruitment tool," she said.

The chalk drawings usually only last four or five days before they deteriorate. Still, that's enough time for thousands of people to see them, which is pretty thrilling, Tanner said.

"It's just another testament showing that we're really proud of our students and their creativity," he said as he was finishing up a picture inspired by the movie "Pineapple Express."

Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 901-4009 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.