Optical Illusions And Pictures

Your eyes see one thing, your mind believes another!

2009-03-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Your eyes see one thing, your mind believes another!

Welcome our guest blogger Stefan Van den Bergh, who runs the "Planet Perplex" website. He writes: "I've been fascinated by illusions and everything like it for as long as I remember. Over the years I've made several sites about them, and built an extensive collection." It's been long since we had an article about optical illusions, so it's time for another installment in this highly popular series.

These don't move

Akiyoshi Kitaoka is a famous creator of moving illusions. That is, they seem to move but they don't.

Warning : these illusions are so strong that sensitive observers might feel sick. You will understand when you see them full-screen.

The first example is probably the most famous of them all and a favorite in poster stores: Rotating Snakes ! Make sure you click to enlarge.

When watching this picture, you might want to check if your flatscreen is still flat. Maybe it actually IS rippling.

These rotating ladybugs are rather unknown but extremely convincing. You just can't believe this is not an animation. (Watch fullscreen, bigger is better.)

The last not-quite-moving one is also a classic but too good to leave it out. Stare at the black dot and move your head back and forth from the screen. The wheels will start turning ...

These do move - in strange ways

This little animation is fast becoming very popular - and no wonder: when you first look at the spinning girl, her rotation is probably clockwise. But if you start to concentrate on her shadow instead, suddenly her rotation switches to counter-clockwise! It may take some time, but the moment it happens, you are going to be genuinely surprised... (first seen here)

This ferris wheel animation is similar to the one above. Look at the left side of the wheel, and it will rotate to the left. Look at the right and it will rotate there. If you play around with it, you can make it turn wherever you want. Try it!

Unique Stereo Pictures can be created using a simple animation effect. This pool animation has only two frames, but looks convincingly three-dimensional.

See more "stereo pictures" here.

Just a point of view

Have a look at this photograph of Neuchatel, Switzerland. How long would it have taken Felice Varini to put the red lines there ? Five minutes, with a pencil and a ruler ?

v

I don't know exactly but it would have been much, much longer. You see, the red lines are actually painted on the buildings. He just took buckets of red paint and got into town, as you will see below. This illusion only works from one exact point of view.

Here are some more examples of his work (there are dozens more at his site)

Another superb example of Varini's 3-D work is the Cardiff's Harbor, where the whole site became a "canvas" for Felice Varini's shapes, which could be discovered only from a specific viewpoint...

3-D Transformations

Shigeo Fukuda is another great point-of-view artist, "Master of Transformations". See for example his "Underground Piano". It looks like a large pile of junk, but when seen in a mirror just right, it's a perfect image of a piano.

Here is "Encore" sculpture, which changes into different musicians, depending on your point-of-view. (via Growabrain)

Shadow Sculptures

Again, by Shigeo Fukuda - watch this video to see the shadows transform a pile of junk.

Our illusions coverage will be incomplete if we don't mention other "shadow sculptures" - see a superb page here

But point-of-view illusions can also happen just by accident. And when they do, the result can be hilarious ...

(image credit: sepultura)

For an interesting case of "cover-up" viewing-angle illusion (and a study of Medieval morals) see this page

Now you see it ...

Now a bit of magic - let's make some stuff disappear. The first illusion is a classic, but keeps baffling me every time. Stare at the black cross in the center. Within seconds, a green ball will appear. And a few seconds after that, the green ball starts eating the purple balls, until there's nothing left !

This one has no moving parts. Just look at the black cross and see the colored fluff fade away until everything is gray. See how easy your eyes are fooled ?

Speaking about elusive color... This link is simply mind-boggling. Follow the instructions to see the color appear out of black-n-white image of the castle. Click here

Adding to more well known images (see our first part), here is a variation of "shading illusion" - these two cubes are the SAME color!

Illusions in Advertising

Discover darker meaning in this fine example of "hidden image" advertising:

For those with a lot of time on their hands, here is a great image from Mighty Optical Illusions - try to find all 82 Absolut vodka bottles in this drawing:
(click to enlarge)

(image credit: Mighty Optical Illusions, and Edith Wentz)

San Francisco Red Cross awareness ad campaign is slightly shocking, depicting the same street-scape after some kind of cataclysm: (seen here)

A bit nicer locations are shown on the following Club Med ads - with a cute face in each one.

Sometimes there is no need to "enhance" Mother Nature with a Photoshop job: check out this "portrait" of the actual rainforest insect:
(courtesy Darlyne Murawski)

Article by Stefan Van den Bergh, "Planet Perplex" (with Avi Abrams) for Dark Roasted Blend. - (want to join our team of writers? contact us, see guidelines here)

Believe it or not, square A and B are actually the same color!

2009-03-20T04:56:00.001-07:00

Let's start with a well-known illusion, which does not fail to amaze me every time I look:
Believe it or not, square A and B are actually the same color!

A lot of people find it hard to believe, but if you open the picture in Photoshop and measure the color values, you will see that it's true...

(image credit: Rebas)

The next one is rather less known, and also very weird:
Click here to see this illusion...

Fake 3D Perspectives

Mirror Illusions: This drawing seems to be a (more or less) normal depiction of a shipwreck on an island, but if you put a cylindrical mirror in a certain place, you'll see Jules Verne portrait... (more of these here)

Impossible 3D Sculptures

These are specially designed shapes, which morph into an impossible structure when seen at a particular viewing angle (Courtesy Impossible World)

Pavement and other urban art

Such 3D illusions are fast becoming the feature of an urban landscape; the following are only a few examples: (courtesy J. Beever)

Anamorphic illusions drawn in a special distortion in order to create an impression of 3 dimensions when seen from one particular viewpoint.

(images credit: J. Beever)

Sometimes it gets even scarier, as this "floorless" elevator testifies. Of course, it 's also a trick painting on the floor...

or you can see such confusing stuff on a highway:

It's not what it seems...

It's easy to see why these paintings are quite unique. (Guido Daniele is the artist who makes these, and more)

(images credit: Guido Daniele)

And finally, these are not illusions, but mind-bending "reality" nevertheless :)

(original unknown)

Optical Illusions in Art, Part 3

2009-03-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

We love it when the picture plays with our mind

To achieve different angle, illusion or an unusual effect with only two-dimensional picture is a challenge many photographers and artists can't seem to pass by. The three-dimensional sculptures can increase the "I simply can not believe this is real" effect. But in every occasion we keep asking ourselves how the trick was pulled off, and such mind-games appear to be a part of the magic.

"The House, that Swift Built"
(image credit: Anna Gunter)

(image credit: Josh Sommers)

(image credit: Josh Sommers)

(images credit: Istvan Orosz)

But did you know that some illusions can actually be constructed in real life?

(image credit: Shigeo Fukuda.html)

Aldo Cavini Benedetti made the working model of M. C. Escher's "Ascending and Descending" using a toy "Geomag" constructor set:

(image credit: Aldo Cavini Benedetti)

The video is almost out-of-this-world:

The "Impossible Triangle" is also possible to make, see the instructions here - with a printable template from that site, anybody can make it!

(image credit: Scott Henderson)

Almost real:

(image credit: Simon Scott)

Illusions in Art

One certain way to prompt the viewer to look twice in the picture is to create a "topsy-turvy" images, meaningful in both orientations.

Transformations! -

(image credit: Sandro del Prete)

Hidden figures:
A new meaning for "suggestive" painting -

(image credit: Sandro del Prete)

(image credit: Sandro del Prete)

This "Tree of Faces" is a classic:

Animal "matryoshka":

Mona Lisa:

This is a screenshot from the movie "Alexander". An interesting effect, but perhaps not that many people notice:

The following images are without credits, so please help us to locate the originals:

(image credit: Jonathon Bowser)

(image credit: Octavio Ocampo)

Impossible geometry

These artists can not revise the foundations of perspective and geometry, but they certainly fool the eye of a viewer:

(art by Dirk Huizer)

(image credit: Sandro del Prete)

(image credit: Sandro del Prete)

(image credit: Hermann Paulsen)

(art by Zenon Kulpa)

(image credit: Natalia Ivanova)

"The Magic Window" by Istvan Orosz

(image credit: Istvan Orosz)

Paintings by Flemish artist Jos de Mey continue in the "old Belgian masters" traditional style, only they clearly show impossible landscapes:

(images credit: Jos de Mey)

Other "impossible art" painters:

(image credit: Irvine Peacock)

(image credit: Irvine Peacock)

(image credit: Walter Wick)

Great "recursion" effect:

(image credit: Norman Parker)

Original creator of "impossible triangles" (1934) - Oscar Reutersvärd, Sweden.
Wrap your mind around this geometry:

(images credit: Oscar Reutersvärd)

Dmitry Rakov went even further, creating "impossible alphabet":

and "impossible labyrinth":

See another incredible figures alphabet on this page.

Here is one interesting puzzle:

(image credit: Gianni Sarconi)

If your kid has some trouble assembling the toy, maybe he's got instructions like this:

(image credit: Govert Shilling)

Snakes on a... thing:

(art by Peter Raedschelders)

Sometimes the confusing effect is all-too-easily achieved:

You can use money bills, or magazines:

(image credit: Meg Picard)

See more of this interesting effect here

Illusions in Advertising:

Not an optical illusion, but a good test of your "attention to detail":

How many "F"s are in this sentence?

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE-
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF-
IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE
EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS

Scroll down for answer... in the meantime, see if you can spot anything wrong with this image:

(image credit: planetperplex)

ANSWER:
There are six F's in the sentence. There is no catch. Many people forget the F in "OF", and that word appears three times in the sentence. The human brain tends to see them as V's and not F's! If you spotted four, five, or even all six, well you beat the average!

Life imitates illusion

Do you remember M. C. Escher's "impossible staircases"?

well, somebody found the similar structure somewhere in Russia:

Source: http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/12/optical-illusions-in-art-part-3.html

Negative Optical Illusion Trick

2009-03-20T04:26:00.000-07:00

Natural Hallucinogen

2009-03-20T04:10:00.000-07:00

Falling Coppers

2008-11-28T02:15:00.000-08:00

Coppers falling from a running tap???
by Photography by Lucinda

The chin of the young woman become the nose of the old lady

2008-11-28T02:12:00.000-08:00

Can you see them both?
Clue: The chin of the young woman
become the nose of the old lady.
by jap_scat

Op Art Composition

2008-11-28T02:07:00.000-08:00

One of a series of digital pieces inspired by the Op Art movement of the 1960s and '70s, especially the works of the English artist Bridget Riley. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget_Riley

These works are also somewhat reminiscent of the woodblock works of inter-war German expressionists.

The Sphinx kiss

2008-11-28T02:02:00.000-08:00

Flickr Artist: brittsandpieces

The Sphinx

calculate the number of Dolphins you can see

2008-11-07T20:18:00.001-08:00

In the illusion below, calculate the number of Dolphins you can see.Some people just miss the dolphins which are above the water.So see the whole image carefully before drawing any conclusion

Horse Optical Illusion

2008-11-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

This is a natural mountain which has a shape of a horse face,by just seeing the photograph most of the people think it is a horse face photograph but after careful study of the picture and the surroundings one can determine this optical illusion

How Many Pandas Can You Spot?

2008-11-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

Mighty Optical Illusions

Strange Illusions

2008-11-02T03:23:00.000-08:00

Old and Young - Crazy Optical Illusion Painting

2008-11-02T03:20:00.000-08:00

The real beauty in this crazy picture is the attention to detail that the artist, Octavio Ocampo took. Try this: squint your eyes a little and you'll see that the man with the guitar fades away, ad the old man staring into the old woman's eyes really starts to pop out at you.

Perhaps the scariest part of this illusion is that the younger woman has some really mean sideburns! Look out!

Also, keep looking until you find: the young girl, the tequila bottle, and the giant vase! Quite a crazy optical illusion painting!

Impossible fractals

2008-11-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

A spiral tri-bar and hexagonally bound isometric spirals

An impossible fern (balanced 30° Pythagorean tree).

An impossible mushroom (45° Pythagorean tree).

45° Pythagorean tree, balanced 30° Pythagorean tree and extended tri-bar

Reutersvärd's "Meander" and a Hilbert meander

An impossible multibar Peano-Gosper curve.

Ernst's "Nest of impossible cubes" and two variations.

Subcube designs and Buch's "Cube in blue".

An impossible multibar cube and the Menger sponge after one and three iterations

Four-bar designs (with sharp and truncated generators) applied to the square Sierpinski curve

The Devil's gatling gun (two levels), timber offcuts (two levels) and comb (three levels).

The Devil's fork and the Cantor set.

Impossible gaskets are more troublesome

An alternative snowflake design that emphasizes the perceptual effect (with generator shown).

Two iterations of an impossible snowflake (with acute and obtuse generators shown).

The tri-bar, the Koch snowflake and the Sierpinski gasket.

Scary Skull Table Illusion

2008-10-30T01:56:00.000-07:00

As you first look at this optical illusion, you will instantly see a skull staring you in the eye. But after closer examination you'll realize that it is actually just a few victorian women spacing wine glasses on a table, with a round mirror in the background.

They must have been fairly bored before the invetion of the internet and the creation of optical illusion web sites!

Optical Illusion Tattoos

2008-10-30T01:45:00.000-07:00

In nature, we see the butterfly that has large black dots that look like eyes. And Caterpillars and other insects that appear as if their eyes are big and black, but in fact, they are just a distractionary technique to fool hungry predators. This man has taken it to a new extreme... In order for people to stop talking to him he has tatooed a face on the back of his head! I don't think this is just marker ladies and gentelmen!

The first is the best... is this guys arm sewn back on like Frankenstein? Nope, it's just a nicely done tatoo that is just an illusion, my friends! What a great idea for a tattoo!

I guess everyone is entitled to carrying around some protection, right? Just don't go rob a liquor store!

Hopefully these give you some ideas for creating your own unique tatoo. The kind of tatoo that people will use to start up a conversation with you!

Dragon Face Optical Illusion Art

2008-10-30T01:40:00.001-07:00

At first, your mind will usually recognize the face in this optical illusion painting, but if you look at the woman's hair, you'll see that it's alive with another woman on a horse fighting a fire-breathing dragon. Do you see anything else happening in this opticial illusion art painting?

How many shelves to do you see?

2008-10-30T01:37:00.000-07:00

How many shelves do you see in this eye trick picture? Look to the right and you'll see three shelves, look to the left and you'll see four shelves! So where are you going to put your pictures?

Say the colors brain teaser

2008-10-30T01:35:00.000-07:00

This is quite a tough brain teaser. As quickly as you can, say the COLOR of each word above. Don't just read the colors, say the actual color that the word is typed in. It demonstrates a conflict between your left brain - words and your right brain - colors and creativity. After practicing a few times it gets easier!

Flowers or an old face?

2008-10-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

How many prongs do this fork have?

2008-10-30T00:45:00.000-07:00

Optical Illusions blog

2008-10-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

How many faces?

2008-10-30T00:33:00.000-07:00

How many faces?

Take a very close look at this image!

How many faces can you find in this picture?

After personaly looking for 10 minutes, I found 15.
Did you find more?

How many faces?
Take a very close look at this image! How many faces can you find in this picture?

Landscape Of Faces Illusion

2008-10-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

Landscape Of Faces Illusion

Do You See A Landscape of Faces?

There are quite a bit. See how many you can count.

Landscape Of Faces Illusion
Do You See A Landscape of Faces? There are quite a bit. See how many you can count.

Albert Einstein Marilyn Monroe Illusion

2008-10-30T00:23:00.000-07:00

Albert Einstein Marilyn Monroe Illusion

When you look at this picture close range you see Albert Einstein.

Now stand up and take several steps back, roughly 15 feet away,

It will become... Marilyn Monroe.

Albert Einstein Marilyn Monroe Illusion
When you look at this picture close range you see Albert Einstein. Now stand up and take several steps back, roughly 15 feet away, It will become Marilyn Monroe.

what is this

2008-10-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

More Incredible Hand Art animal and snak

2008-10-30T00:12:00.000-07:00

Incredible Hand Art animal part

2008-10-30T00:09:00.000-07:00

Double Picture Illusion

2008-10-30T00:05:00.000-07:00

Double Picture Illusion

Look carefuly at this picture, what do you see?

After you make your decision, scroll down for an explanation.

You saw a couple in an intimate love position, right?

Interestingly, research has shown that young children cannot identify the intimate couple because they do not have prior memory associated with such a scenario.

What they will see, however, is nine (small & black) dolphins in the picture!

So, I guess we've already proven you're not a young innocent child. Now, if it's hard for you to find the dolphins within 6 seconds, your mind is SO corrupted that you probably need help!

OK, here's help: look at the space between her right arm and her head, the tail is on her neck, follow it up. Look at her left hip, follow the shaded part down, it's another one, and on his shoulder..

Double Picture Illusion
A double picture illusion which results in different things for different people.