#optical-illusion — Public Fediverse posts

Si pasas de largo, no se estarán quietas. Es la ilusión óptica geométrica "Bambúes" de Akiyoshi Kitaoka producida por el contraste del brillo entre los rectángulos blancos y negros. #ilusionoptica #opticalillusion

Si pasas de largo, no se estarán quietas. Es la ilusión óptica geométrica "Bambúes" de Akiyoshi Kitaoka producida por el contraste del brillo entre los rectángulos blancos y negros. #ilusionoptica #opticalillusion

“Quadratic Sensations #007” by Thomas Typewriter – a new painting

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/24/quadratic-sensations-007-by-thomas-typewriter-a-new-painting/

“Quadratic Sensations #007” by Thomas Typewriter – a new painting

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/24/quadratic-sensations-007-by-thomas-typewriter-a-new-painting/

Before there was AI there was magic, there was cleverness, there was Zach King!

#Art #Magic #OpticalIllusion

Before there was AI there was magic, there was cleverness, there was Zach King!

#Art #Magic #OpticalIllusion

“Grid’Dulles #008” by Thomas Typewriter – a new painting

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/17/griddulles-008-by-thomas-typewriter-a-new-painting/

“Grid’Dulles #008” by Thomas Typewriter – a new painting

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/17/griddulles-008-by-thomas-typewriter-a-new-painting/

“The #22 Bricks” by Thomas Typewriter – a new illustration

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/15/the-22-bricks-by-thomas-typewriter-a-new-illustration/

“The #22 Bricks” by Thomas Typewriter – a new illustration

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/15/the-22-bricks-by-thomas-typewriter-a-new-illustration/

“The #21 Bricks” by Thomas Typewriter

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/10/the-21-bricks-by-thomas-typewriter/

“The #21 Bricks” by Thomas Typewriter

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/10/the-21-bricks-by-thomas-typewriter/

The #20 Bricks” by Thomas Typewriter – a new illustration

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/08/the-20-bricks-by-thomas-typewriter-a-new-illustration/

The #20 Bricks” by Thomas Typewriter – a new illustration

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/08/the-20-bricks-by-thomas-typewriter-a-new-illustration/

Nine Purple Dots

I posted this little optical illusion yesterday on BlueSky and it proved so popular I thought I’d repeat it here.Whichever of the purple dots you look directly at turns more purple:

I find the effect is stronger on a smaller screen (e.g. on a phone).

In a nutshell, this happens because your eyes have reduced sensitivity to blue light at the centre of your field of view so the purple (which is a mixture of red and blue) changes hue if you look directly at it. For more details see here and the following blog post:

https://www.schulz-hildebrandt.com/9-purple-dots-illusion/

I’m interested to know whether or not this works for people who are colour blind, so if that is you please let me know!

Nine Purple Dots

I posted this little optical illusion yesterday on BlueSky and it proved so popular I thought I’d repeat it here.Whichever of the purple dots you look directly at turns more purple:

I find the effect is stronger on a smaller screen (e.g. on a phone).

In a nutshell, this happens because your eyes have reduced sensitivity to blue light at the centre of your field of view so the purple (which is a mixture of red and blue) changes hue if you look directly at it. For more details see here and the following blog post:

https://www.schulz-hildebrandt.com/9-purple-dots-illusion/

I’m interested to know whether or not this works for people who are colour blind, so if that is you please let me know!

TIL about the Pulfrich effect, whereby lateral motion can be perceived as depth due to timing differences (signal delay) between the eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-v4LsbFc5c

The effect can be triggered by wearing sunglasses in such a way that only one eye is covered. 🤪 🕶️

Then you can play "Jim Power: The Lost Dimension in 3D" (SNES, 1993) and the background layer will appear further away (but only when moving).

#retrogaming #opticalillusion

TIL about the Pulfrich effect, whereby lateral motion can be perceived as depth due to timing differences (signal delay) between the eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-v4LsbFc5c

The effect can be triggered by wearing sunglasses in such a way that only one eye is covered. 🤪 🕶️

Then you can play "Jim Power: The Lost Dimension in 3D" (SNES, 1993) and the background layer will appear further away (but only when moving).

#retrogaming #opticalillusion

“The #19 Bricks” by Thomas Typewriter – a new illustration

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/01/the-19-bricks-by-thomas-typewriter-a-new-illustration/

“The #19 Bricks” by Thomas Typewriter – a new illustration

https://thomastypewriter.art/2026/06/01/the-19-bricks-by-thomas-typewriter-a-new-illustration/

This Javelin Thrower Looks Like He is Impaling Himself in Crazy Optical Illusion Photo https://petapixel.com/2026/05/29/this-javelin-thrower-looks-like-he-is-impaling-himself-in-crazy-optical-illusion-photo/ #opticalillusion #athletics #Features #athlete #javelin #timing

This Javelin Thrower Looks Like He is Impaling Himself in Crazy Optical Illusion Photo https://petapixel.com/2026/05/29/this-javelin-thrower-looks-like-he-is-impaling-himself-in-crazy-optical-illusion-photo/ #opticalillusion #athletics #Features #athlete #javelin #timing

#SilentSunday #Opticalillusion #trees #nature #reflection #photography #NoAI

#SilentSunday #Opticalillusion #trees #nature #reflection #photography #NoAI

#Polyhedron #Polygons #tiles #opticalillusion #MathArt #MathsArt

The video in this post by @graveolensa

https://mathstodon.xyz/@graveolensa/115885487505867437

about people with 4 color cones having a sphere's worth of hues is fascinating but, being a trichromat, i don't fully understand it or know if its correct. Here is a mathematically simple but scientifically crude analogy between trichromaticity and tetrachromaticity.

A note on the figures, although this is about color vision and the figures have been colored the colors in the figures are just rough guides for trichromats, which most people are. This analogy is too crude for the colors to precisely match a trichromat's color experiences.

The visible spectrum is rounded off to the interval [415 THz, 715 THz]. The cone cells' activation, as a function of the frequency of monochromatic light they receive, are idealized to the piecewise linear spectral sensitivity curves shown in the figure. They are surjective to \([0,1]\) so as to implement Ooqui's "rule of hue". Call them \(r(\nu)\) (red cone), \(g(\nu)\) (green cone), and \(b(\nu)\) (violet cone).

Each cone type has exactly 1 frequency of monochromatic light where it is the only type of cone that is activated and that cone's activation is 1 at that frequency. These frequencies are 415, 565, and 715. At every other frequency in the visible spectrum exactly 2 cone types are activated by monochromatic light and the activation of at least one of them is 1.

(1/6)

#Polyhedron #Polygons #tiles #opticalillusion #MathArt #MathsArt

The video in this post by @graveolensa

https://mathstodon.xyz/@graveolensa/115885487505867437

about people with 4 color cones having a sphere's worth of hues is fascinating but, being a trichromat, i don't fully understand it or know if its correct. Here is a mathematically simple but scientifically crude analogy between trichromaticity and tetrachromaticity.

A note on the figures, although this is about color vision and the figures have been colored the colors in the figures are just rough guides for trichromats, which most people are. This analogy is too crude for the colors to precisely match a trichromat's color experiences.

The visible spectrum is rounded off to the interval [415 THz, 715 THz]. The cone cells' activation, as a function of the frequency of monochromatic light they receive, are idealized to the piecewise linear spectral sensitivity curves shown in the figure. They are surjective to \([0,1]\) so as to implement Ooqui's "rule of hue". Call them \(r(\nu)\) (red cone), \(g(\nu)\) (green cone), and \(b(\nu)\) (violet cone).

Each cone type has exactly 1 frequency of monochromatic light where it is the only type of cone that is activated and that cone's activation is 1 at that frequency. These frequencies are 415, 565, and 715. At every other frequency in the visible spectrum exactly 2 cone types are activated by monochromatic light and the activation of at least one of them is 1.

(1/6)

A square paving with hexagons, Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

The leaves and cracks almost look like small trees

#TilingTuesday #geometry #tiling #MathArt #photography #design #TravelPhotography #Yogyakarta #Java #Indonesia #OpticalIllusion

A square paving with hexagons, Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

The leaves and cracks almost look like small trees

#TilingTuesday #geometry #tiling #MathArt #photography #design #TravelPhotography #Yogyakarta #Java #Indonesia #OpticalIllusion

Royal Gala Sees 'Optical Illusion' Moment with Presenter Declan Donnelly

Declan Donnelly's suit appeared like a skirt due to light at the King's Trust 50th anniversary gala in London. See photos and details.

#DeclanDonnelly, #KingsTrust, #RoyalGala, #OpticalIllusion, #LondonEvents

https://newsletter.tf/declan-donnelly-suit-illusion-kings-trust-gala/

At the King's Trust 50th anniversary gala, Declan Donnelly's suit created an optical illusion, making it look like he was wearing a skirt. This happened as he greeted King Charles and Queen Camilla.

#DeclanDonnelly, #KingsTrust, #RoyalGala, #OpticalIllusion, #LondonEvents
https://newsletter.tf/declan-donnelly-suit-illusion-kings-trust-gala/

🖼️🏭 Street artists paint directly onto high-resolution #photos of dams and power stations. Photographer Joseph Ford then re-photographs these works at the original sites to produce a seamless visual alignment between the #art and the #environment.

👉 https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/04/joseph-ford-impossible-street-art-photography-infrastructure/

#photography #infrastructure #streetart #engineering #illusion #creativity #opticalillusion

🖼️🏭 Street artists paint directly onto high-resolution #photos of dams and power stations. Photographer Joseph Ford then re-photographs these works at the original sites to produce a seamless visual alignment between the #art and the #environment.

👉 https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/04/joseph-ford-impossible-street-art-photography-infrastructure/

#photography #infrastructure #streetart #engineering #illusion #creativity #opticalillusion

A gorgeous ballroom in East Germany, with a beautiful curtain still hanging from the stage. A breeze is blows in through the open door, the curtains curiously do not move 🤔

April Fools! This is a “Trompe l’oeil”; the illusion of three-dimensional objects created by clever painting.

At the right-hand side, a tear in the artwork betrays it. A white stage door can be seen through the gap.

#AprilFools #Trompeloeil #Photography #Germany #Abandoned #Ballroom #OpticalIllusion #Trick #Urbex

A gorgeous ballroom in East Germany, with a beautiful curtain still hanging from the stage. A breeze is blows in through the open door, the curtains curiously do not move 🤔

April Fools! This is a “Trompe l’oeil”; the illusion of three-dimensional objects created by clever painting.

At the right-hand side, a tear in the artwork betrays it. A white stage door can be seen through the gap.

#AprilFools #Trompeloeil #Photography #Germany #Abandoned #Ballroom #OpticalIllusion #Trick #Urbex

Time out for fun:
https://optical.toys
#puzzles #opticalillusion

Time out for fun:
https://optical.toys
#puzzles #opticalillusion

For last week's #CreativeCoding challenge topic of psychedelic, I took the Bezier shape triangle from my last #OpticalIllusion post and made it into a spiral configuration, with some trippy cascading motion. I sped it up for the video here, but you can control the speed to play it as slow as you want in this sketch (the full resolution and framerate and uncompressed will look a lot better of course):
https://openprocessing.org/sketch/2899986

#OpArt #WCCChallenge #MonochromeMarch

For last week's #CreativeCoding challenge topic of psychedelic, I took the Bezier shape triangle from my last #OpticalIllusion post and made it into a spiral configuration, with some trippy cascading motion. I sped it up for the video here, but you can control the speed to play it as slow as you want in this sketch (the full resolution and framerate and uncompressed will look a lot better of course):
https://openprocessing.org/sketch/2899986

#OpArt #WCCChallenge #MonochromeMarch

M.C. Escher remains the undisputed king of visual paradoxes. 🎨

Even when modern tech decodes his illusions, the real magic is how he dreamt up such complex compositions using nothing but a pencil and pure imagination. It is a humbling reminder that while computers are fast, the human mind is the original engine of infinite complexity. 🧠

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldxFjLJ3rVY

Which Escher piece has always left you scratching your head?

#MCEscher #OpticalIllusion #ArtHistory #CreativeGenius #HandDrawn

M.C. Escher remains the undisputed king of visual paradoxes. 🎨

Even when modern tech decodes his illusions, the real magic is how he dreamt up such complex compositions using nothing but a pencil and pure imagination. It is a humbling reminder that while computers are fast, the human mind is the original engine of infinite complexity. 🧠

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldxFjLJ3rVY

Which Escher piece has always left you scratching your head?

#MCEscher #OpticalIllusion #ArtHistory #CreativeGenius #HandDrawn

Believe me, *nothing* in this picture is moving.

#OpticalIllusion

A Sense of Doubt blog post-4047 - This Optical Illusion will Mess With Your Mind. https://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2026/03/a-sense-of-doubt-blog-post-4047-this.html #opticalIllusion #science