An optical illusion is an impression of a visible object or phenomenon that does not correspond to reality, that is optical illusion vision. Some visual illusions have had for a long time scientific explanation, others still remain a mystery.

Optical illusions: optical illusion

The information collected by our eyes is in some way inconsistent with the source. Optical illusions can cause serious headaches. Therefore, such things must be treated with caution.

There are three main types of illusions:

1. Literal optical illusions

These optical illusions are considered the simplest. They are characterized by a difference in the image (that is, the perception of the image) and the actual tangible objects that make up the picture.

A literal optical illusion makes us see completely different objects or figures from those shown in the pictures.

2. Physiological optical illusions

These illusions affect the eyes and brain by overstimulating a certain type (brightness, color, size, position, tilt, movement).

3. Cognitive optical illusions

These illusions are the result of our brain's misperceptions and unconscious inferences.

We continue to collect the coolest optical illusions. Be careful: Some of them can cause tearing, nausea and disorientation.

So, each of the following optical illusions can blow our minds

Do you see three pretty girls?

Now let's flip the image

Our brain rarely encounters upside-down images, so it cannot notice distortions in them

Illusion 13 people

Initially we see 12 people here, but after moving, another one appears, the 13th

Which way is the window open?

You can change direction just by thinking about it

Distortion of perception of movement

These blocks do not move one after another - their speed is the same

Fill color

Look at the black dot in the center. Keep looking at it as the picture changes.

Did you see a color photo? Now take your eyes away from the point.

Contrast simulation

The squares on the left side seem to be darker than the squares on the right

However, they are actually the same color

Ames room

Room irregular shape, used to create a three-dimensional optical illusion, was designed by American ophthalmologist Albert Ames in 1934

Dynamic brightness gradient

Slowly move your eyes closer to the screen and the “light” in the middle will become brighter

Move it back and it will become weak again.

Vanishing points

Focus your gaze on the green dot in the middle

After a while yellow dots will disappear one after another. In fact, they remain in place, it's just that static frames disappear from our consciousness if they are surrounded by constantly changing images.

Four Circles Illusion

None of them actually intersect

Droste effect

Droste effect - looping recursive image

Illusion of perception

The color of the stripe in the center is actually uniform and the same along the entire length

moving poster

Roll your mouse wheel up and down and you will see the poster “moving”

Selective perception

There are two photos here, and there is one difference between them

Try to find it, and once you notice the difference, it will be impossible not to see it.

Optical illusions: pictures

Which of these faces belongs to a woman and which to a man?...

Wrong... The pictures show the same face

Is this the same picture? Yes.

There is NO lake in the picture

Tilt your head and look closely at the image

This is not a bird

The picture shows a painted female figure

This floor is flat

These two monsters are the same size

The orange dots in both pictures are the same size

How many legs does an elephant have?

Are you sure of what you see?

What a wonderful picture of cars.

Or are they toy cars?

We are accustomed to taking the world around us for granted, so we do not notice how our brain deceives its own masters.

The imperfection of our binocular vision, unconscious false judgments, psychological stereotypes and other distortions of worldview give rise to optical illusions. There are a huge number of them, but we tried to collect the most interesting, crazy and incredible of them for you.

Impossible figures

At one time, this genre of graphics became so widespread that it even received its own name - impossibilism. Each of these figures seems quite real on paper, but simply cannot exist in the physical world.

Impossible trident

Classic blivet – perhaps the most bright representative optical drawings from the “impossible figures” category. No matter how you try, you will not be able to determine where the middle prong originates.

Another striking example is the impossible Penrose triangle.

It is in the form of a so-called “endless staircase”.

And also “The Impossible Elephant” by Roger Shepard.

Ames room

Issues of optical illusions interested Adelbert Ames Jr. early childhood. After becoming an ophthalmologist, he continued his research into depth perception, which resulted in the famous Ames Room.

How does the Ames room work?

In a nutshell, the effect of Ames's room can be conveyed as follows: it seems that in the left and right corners of its back wall there are two people - a dwarf and a giant. Of course, this is an optical trick, and in fact these people are of quite normal height. In reality, the room has an elongated trapezoidal shape, but due to the false perspective it appears rectangular to us. The left corner is farther away from the visitors' view than the right, and therefore the person standing there seems so small.

Movement Illusions

This category of optical tricks is of greatest interest to psychologists. Most of them are based on the subtleties of color combinations, the brightness of objects and their repetition. All these tricks mislead our peripheral vision, as a result of which the perception mechanism gets confused, the retina captures the image intermittently, spasmodically, and the brain activates the areas of the cortex responsible for recognizing movement.

floating star

It's hard to believe that this picture is not an animated GIF, but an ordinary optical illusion. The drawing was created by Japanese artist Kaya Nao in 2012. A pronounced illusion of movement is achieved due to the opposite direction of the patterns in the center and along the edges.

There are quite a few similar illusions of movement, that is, static images that appear to be moving. For example, the famous rotating circle.

Or yellow arrows on a pink background: when you look closely, they seem to sway back and forth.

Caution: This image may cause eye pain or dizziness in people with weak vestibular systems.

Honestly, this is a regular picture, not a GIF! Psychedelic spirals seem to drag you somewhere into a universe full of strangeness and wonder.

Changeling illusions

The most numerous and fun genre of illusion drawings is based on changing the direction of looking at a graphic object. The simplest inverted drawings just need to be rotated 180 or 90 degrees.

Two classic illusions-shifters: nurse/old woman and beauty/ugly.

A more highly artistic picture with a trick - when turned 90 degrees, the frog turns into a horse.

Other “double illusions” are more subtle.

Girl/old woman

One of the most popular dual images was published in 1915 in the cartoon magazine Puck. The caption to the drawing read: “My wife and mother-in-law.”

Old people/Mexicans

Elderly married couple or Mexicans singing with a guitar? Most people see old people first, and only then their eyebrows turn into sombreros and their eyes into faces. The authorship belongs to the Mexican artist Octavio Ocampo, who created many illusion pictures of a similar nature.

Lovers/dolphins

Surprisingly, the interpretation of this psychological illusion depends on the person’s age. As a rule, children see dolphins frolicking in the water - their brains, not yet familiar with sexual relationships and their symbols, simply do not isolate two lovers in this composition. Older people, on the contrary, see the couple first, and only then the dolphins.

The list of such dual pictures can be continued endlessly:

In the picture above, most people see the Indian's face first, and only then look to the left and see the silhouette in the fur coat. The image below is usually interpreted by everyone as a black cat, and only then does a mouse appear in its outline.

A very simple upside-down picture - something like this can be easily done with your own hands.

Illusions of color and contrast

Alas, the human eye is imperfect, and in our assessments of what we see (without noticing it ourselves) we often rely on the color environment and brightness of the background of the object. This leads to some very interesting optical illusions.

Gray squares

Optical illusions of colors are one of the most popular types of optical illusion. Yes, squares A and B are painted the same color.

This trick is possible due to the way our brain works. A shadow without sharp boundaries falls on square B. Thanks to the darker "surrounding" and the smooth shadow gradient, it appears to be significantly lighter than Square A.

Green spiral

There are only three colors in this photo: pink, orange and green. Don't believe me? This is what you get when you replace pink and orange with black.

Is the dress white and gold or blue and black?

However, illusions based on color perception are not uncommon. Take, for example, the white-gold or black-and-blue dress that conquered the Internet in 2015. What color was this mysterious dress really, and why did different people perceive it differently?

The explanation of the dress phenomenon is very simple: as in the case of gray squares, everything depends on the imperfect chromatic adaptation of our visual organs. As you know, the human retina consists of two types of receptors: rods and cones. Rods capture light better, while cones capture color better. Each person has a different ratio of cones to rods, so the determination of the color and shape of an object is slightly different depending on the dominance of one or another type of receptor.

Those who saw the dress in white and gold noticed the brightly lit background and decided that the dress was in the shadows, which means white should be darker than usual. If the dress seemed blue-black to you, it means that your eye first of all paid attention to the main color of the dress, which in this photo actually has a blue tint. Then your brain judged that the golden hue was black, lightened due to the sun's rays directed at the dress and the poor quality of the photo.

In reality the dress was blue with black lace.

Here's another photo that baffled millions of users who couldn't decide whether it was a wall in front of them or a lake.

Visual illusions are not correct perception surrounding reality. The eye "scans" the image and the brain interprets it differently than what is actually displayed. As a result, a person sees something that is not even depicted.

Visual and optical illusions are one and the same phenomenon. Their history dates back to the ancient Greeks or Leonardo da Vinci. In a sense it is possible to say that fine art works with this phenomenon one way or another.

Most optical distortions rely on confusing the human brain with color (such as the Hermann grid in the illustration on the left) or shape.

A large group consists of ambiguous pictures, where you can see two unrelated plots at once.

And only by focusing on some specific details and alternately switching between them, you can see several different images.

Other misconceptions are based on a misconception, a wrong point of view, or an incorrect spatial perception. Visual illusions include:

• geometric;
• color and contrast;
• moving;
• images with human faces;
• interaction of figures and background;
• perception of depth, size.

Geometric illusions

As the name suggests, geometric distortions do not correspond to the actual geometry of the image, leading to misinterpretation. There is a central theory that is divided into categories:

a) size and direction: the experience we have gained and physiological processes, resulting from our perception, contribute significantly to our misjudgment of size and direction.

The category of distortions we have indicated includes the Sander illusion (in the illustration above): it seems that two diagonal lines in parallelepipeds are different in length - the diagonal in the right one is smaller than in the left one. But in fact, they are the same.

b) size contrast: It seems to us that a circle of a certain given size in a ring of smaller circles has a smaller diameter than exactly the same figure, next to which there are circles of much larger diameter.

In fact, the centers have identical circles.

c) corner: Such images are distorted by viewing angle. For example, the “Zollner figure”. It seems like long diagonal lines that suddenly interrupted by short segments, not parallel to each other.

Changing the direction of segments located at an acute angle to the lines calls for spatial perception, and the cerebral cortex perceives the picture with geometric point vision is incorrect.

What is reality and what is illusion? These questions have occupied the minds of sages since ancient times and continue to do so today.

As a result of these thoughts, during the Renaissance, the whole art of anamorphic drawings was born, created with a certain approach based on the effect of optical distortion.

This technique is as old as the hills, but lately it has become more and more interesting. contemporary artists and finds realization in various manifestations.

The most amazing thing about this artistic movement is that the drawings at first glance look completely incomprehensible, deformed, incorrect, and one can only guess what is hidden in the image.

The only thing that will help you see the real plot in this situation is a cylinder with a reflective surface, which needs to be placed in the right place.

Interaction of figures and ground

When it comes to the perception of optical distortion, there is no evidence that there are significant differences between men and women. However, they are perceived differently depending on how old you are.

A small child, not yet spoiled by the world around him, sees swimming dolphins and nothing more. For an adult, there is a factor of surprise here, because what you expected to see is not what the artist actually depicted.

Benefits for science

Although at first glance such pictures are nonsense, just entertainment, but thanks to optical distortions, scientists can most accurately understand how it works human brain.

For example, brain damage can lead to changes in a person's behavior, and a patient's observation of visual distortion can help doctors identify the damaged area.

In the 2010 Illusion Contest, Kokichi Sugihara won first place with his paper structure with four slanted troughs.

It seems that the balls are breaking the laws of gravity and rolling upward, but this is not so.

Brief hallucination

Consider an example of optical distortion that leads to a short-term hallucination.

This video was specifically designed to induce a short-term, naturally induced hallucination. Expand it to full screen and set the highest resolution (720p HD) in order to enjoy the maximum effect.

Read out loud all the letters that appear on the screen and try not to make a mistake. When the video ends, look around you.

Warning: Do not watch this video if you suffer from photosensitive epilepsy.

“Which square is lighter? Which of the two lines is longer? Anyone who has ever encountered such images knows that these are trick questions.

The top circled square on chessboard seems darker to us than the bottom one. However, both squares are the same color.

Our brain does not compare colors, it analyzes the situation.

Both lines are also the same length. We can measure them manually, because our eyes and brain refuse to believe it.

"Tilted and highly leaning towers"

This is perhaps the most amazing visual illusion, because it is so simple and yet striking.

Believe it or not, both images of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, which you see next to each other, are completely identical.

However, in the picture on the right it looks like it's tilted more, right? The brain assumes that the lines of the towers should converge at one point according to the rules of perspective, and since this does not happen, it considers them not parallel.

Who do you see in the following image: a young girl or a guy?

Richard Russell, who creates visual illusions, has discovered that simply by changing the relative contrast of the eyes and mouth, you can make a girl's face appear masculine. Otherwise both photographs are identical.

Unusual village

The city of Verkoren in the Swiss Alps became the “canvas” for the optical illusion of author Felice Varini in real life.

If you stand at a certain point, you can see circles drawn on top of the houses, and the city itself looks flat, like on a postcard. From other places only fragments of lines and arcs are visible.

Crazy Shapes

So, we have seen a fairly large number of pictures of visual illusions various types. Mirage images entertain people, but also help explain the workings of the human brain. Every year more and more examples of this phenomenon appear, and individual samples become hits on the Internet.

Finally, watch one more video. Even though you understand how the 3D effect is created, don’t stop your brain from suddenly “clicking” and plunging into creating 3D nuts that aren’t actually there.

Examples of visual illusions in life

You've probably seen visual illusions many times, but didn't know what they were: school assignments, in pre-employment tests and on various Internet sites. Let's look at the most popular and interesting views visual illusions.

Illusions of visual perception

The main characteristic of illusions is the partial distortion of the shape, size and other parameters of an object. You probably learned about many illusions in school. The most popular: against the background of curves, lines are depicted that appear convex. In fact the 2 lines are parallel. In psychology, this effect is called the Hering illusion (or fan illusion).

In a mathematics textbook you can find variations of this visual illusion. On all of them, the background is lines arranged in the shape of a fan. Such phenomena refer to visual distortions. A mathematical example is the Zellner illusion. Shown are lines crossed out in small diverging segments. The lines seem to be directed towards different sides, although in fact they are parallel. Illusions include many other effects.

1. Illusions of size perception. Which square is larger: white on a black background or black on white? Which object is larger: surrounded by small or large circles? These riddles are also in the textbook for grade 2. The answer to both the first and second questions is the same: they are equal. These illusions are based on the fact that light always appears larger. Similar laws of perception are widely used in wardrobe selection and interior design.
2. Color illusions. Bright pictures are often published on the Internet with a proposal to count how many shades there are in them. The figures are arranged and colored in such a way that it is easy to get confused. The answer is simple: usually only 2 colors are used.
3. Upside down pictures. Another popular type of Internet entertainment, which you could also find in a textbook for elementary school. Portraits of an old woman and a young woman, a student and a professor, a soldier and a horse - all these are optical-geometric illusions. There is a variety - dual images. They do not need to be turned over to be viewed. Step back and see pictures that are not visible at first glance.
4. “Look at this image for a minute and don’t blink” - perhaps each of us has passed such a test at least once. Such optical illusions have scientific name- aftereffect. Examples: a light bulb that “lights up”, stripes that change color, etc.
5. Moving pictures. If you look at them for a few seconds without looking away, it may seem as if they are moving. This effect is created using geometric shapes, located in a certain way.

These are the basic illusions, but there are many more. How did they come about? Why can our eye see 2 images in one?

The nature of visual illusions

The phenomenon of illusions is easily explained with scientific point vision. Research work Even a schoolchild can create one on this topic. Let us answer the question: what is the structure of the eye? In other words, how do we see? Light passes through the pupil and lens. The impulse is then transmitted to the nerve using the retina. The brain reads this impulse and reproduces the visual image. But this image is imperfect: the picture is upside down, blurry and in constant motion. The brain constantly has to correlate 2 images: from the left and right eyes. Therefore, the brain is easy to deceive. This is how illusions arise. There are several basic phenomena, and illusions are their derivatives.

1. Irradiation. This phenomenon underlies illusions of size perception: squares and stripes on white and black backgrounds. Due to the structure of the lens, light surfaces appear larger to us.
2. Blind spot effect. The blind spot is a small, insensitive area in the eye. That's why sometimes we don't notice some of the images. This effect is the basis of pictures in which one element disappears if you look at it with one eye for a long time.
3. Astigmatism is a congenital vision defect that occurs in 99% of people. It consists of unevenness of the cornea or lens. If you rotate the image of black lines in front of you with one eye closed, the lines will blur and disappear.
4. The phenomenon of perceptual readiness. Another name is the illusion of information processing. Surely you have noticed that perception is influenced not only by objective, but also by subjective factors (accumulated life experience, mood, natural influences, etc.). Examples of this phenomenon in everyday life can be found in the work of a proofreader: he finds errors in the text so quickly that to many it may seem like a miracle.

The phenomenon of visual illusions has been known since ancient times. Observing the life of the animal world, scientists paid attention to unusual phenomenon. Some animals have an innate ability to adapt to environment, merge with her. For example, the white color of polar animals (bears, owls), the sandy color of the skin of animals living in the desert (lizards, foxes). The discovery of this feature marked the beginning of the study of illusions. Later this phenomenon received a scientific name - mimicry. It can manifest itself not only in color, but also in body shape and even sounds in animals.

What is the role of illusions in everyday life? Modern research shows that they have a good effect on our health. First of all, exercise is a great workout. eye muscles, improve vision. Secondly, they have a positive effect on our attention.

In addition, illusions are used in many fields: art, fashion, interior design.

The use of illusions in clothing

You've probably heard that polka dots and white colors make you look fat, and in order to look visually slimmer, it is better to wear clothes with vertical stripes. These are visual illusions in clothing. There are many principles that can significantly improve your appearance. This can be achieved using illusions of visual perception.

1. Clothes with prints make you look fat. This does not mean that it is necessary to completely abandon such fabrics. Application of this principle will give an excellent visual effect: it will correct the features of any type of figure. For example, you have narrow shoulders and small breasts, and full hips. In this case, wear blouses with prints or decorations and plain skirts and trousers. This will make your figure more harmonious. And vice versa, to visually narrow top part body, wear bright skirts and plain shirts.
2. Stripes are slimming. The well-known rule has several nuances. If the stripes themselves or the distance between them are large, then they will make the full figure even wider. A thin stripe will really help you look slimmer. There is a variation of this rule used in clothing design: using contrasting fabrics vertically. If you wear a dress that is darker on the left and lighter on the right (or vice versa), you will look slimmer and taller.
3. Small things reduce and big things increase. The application of this law is widespread in the selection of accessories. To highlight your graceful neck, choose blouses with a large neckline. Wide-brimmed hats are more suitable for small heads.
4. Abstraction. This category is as follows: direct people's vision to the advantages of your figure. For example, emphasize a narrow waist with a bright belt. Wear a dress with a low neckline to highlight this area. These are also illusions of visual perception in clothing. We often use them in everyday life: when going to work or an event, but we rarely think about the fact that we are using an optical illusion.
5. Optical geometric illusions are also often used in the field of fashion and style. If you want to visually become slimmer, then choose a dress with a gradually decreasing print: as if the pictures disappear into space. This will make you appear thinner and taller.
6. Closed loop. A person wearing clothes with such a contour appears slimmer. For example, a blouse with long sleeves and a high neck will make you look shorter and your neck shorter. Short women should give preference to dresses and shirts with a deep neckline. Turtlenecks are more suitable for those with broad shoulders.

Having learned to use optical illusions in clothing, you can look new every day, highlight your figure’s advantages and hide flaws. And most importantly, you will begin to treat yourself differently: you will become more confident and happier.

Illusions in the interior

Optical-geometric illusions are very often used by designers to create interiors. Not everyone can afford the perfect apartment. Often you have to find compromises and try to profitably use every meter of space. Optical-geometric illusions can help with this. Which of them are relevant for the interior?

1. The light one seems bigger. This common rule is known to many. Feel free to buy light wallpaper if you have a small apartment. You can add brightness to the interior with the help of accessories. Another trick: make one of the walls in the room contrasting. This trend is increasingly becoming part of a modern design project.
2. The stripes are lengthened. An ornament of vertical and horizontal stripes will expand the space. In small rooms it is better not to glue striped wallpaper to all walls. Using a small piece will look better. Lines can also be used as a bright element that distracts attention. A painting with a pattern going deep, a wall with uneven stripes - these illusions will steal the spotlight. This way you will hide the imperfections of the room.
3. 3D wallpapers and 3D floors are now at the peak of popularity. They influence the perception of space. In a small room, stick photo wallpaper on one wall: it will greatly increase the space.
4. Illusions can be the basis for the design of furniture and decorative items. Invisible shelves, a hanging table - these items are a kind of art object in your interior. They attract the eye, and the shortcomings of the room cease to be noticeable.
5. Lighting effects also affect our impression of a room. For example, if the room has bulky elements, lighting will “lighten” the interior and give it airiness.
6. Image of illusions - great option in order to create an interesting and unusual interior. A painting, poster, carpet, in which the illusion is hidden, will not only decorate the room, but also provide entertainment for guests. You can spend a lot of time trying to unravel the mystery that the object hides.

Psychology has given us many ways to decorate our homes. The main thing is not to get carried away. Let only one bright element be the main one in the room, and the rest be neutral. Don't forget: home is a place where you want to relax.

Illusions and art

Few people know that illusions in art existed as a separate direction. In the 20th century, op art, or optical art, appeared. Artists belonging to this movement used optical, spatial illusions and many others in their works. The masters saw their goal as making a person’s imagination work and imagining unusual images. The works of this direction seem to play with our vision, deceive it.

To create such effects, various materials are used: glass, plastic, fabric. Disorientation of vision directly affects the human nervous system. Therefore, presentations of objects in this direction were often accompanied by scandals: visitors could faint, many began to feel dizzy.

This direction has not lost its relevance to this day. Today, the principles of op art are often used in advertising. You can detect his influence in other areas: photography, sculpture, graphics.

But long before the twentieth century, artists actively resorted to visual illusions, and sometimes made them the basis of their work. Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo became famous for his upside-down pictures. He depicted vegetables, fruits, and flowers so that they would create the image of a person. If the picture is turned over, we will see a still life. Surrealists often used illusions in their work. Some of the most famous: Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali. For example, in Dali’s work “The Vanishing Image,” depending on the angle, the artist’s face or the figure of a woman will be visible. Non-academic geometry, non-existent figures, transformations - these are not full list what the Dutch artist Maurits Escher used in his work.

Contemporary art

Tim Noble and Sue Webster are modern British masters. At first glance, their installations and presentations may seem to make no sense. But when light is directed at objects, unusual shadows appear. You can spend a lot of time in the museum looking at them.

Liu Bolin is an artist who does not use conventional materials. The world around him is his canvas. The master selects an object in the city wall (wall, shop, etc.) and merges with it. He does this with the help of assistants: they paint over the artist while he stands motionless for many hours. His presentations are extremely popular on the Internet.

There are several Museums of Optical Illusions in Moscow: not far from Old Arbat, at VDNKh, near the Central House of Art. The very first one (bestmuseum.ru) opened in 2014.

A selection of optical illusions and double-digit pictures.

The eyes are complex mechanism which helps a person to perceive correctly the world around us. But as practice shows, even such a seemingly perfect mechanism can be easily deceived.

This can be done using color contrasts, sharply changing proportions and various kinds small details. Thanks to all this, the human eye will see an optical illusion that changes depending on the angle at which you look at it.

What is visual illusion, optical illusion, surrealism?

Optical illusion

Optical illusion (visual illusion)- this is an incorrect perception of certain pictures or surrounding objects by the eyes. In this case, the eyes see the image a little differently than the brain tells them. The correct background, depth and geometric shapes arranged in a certain sequence help to achieve a similar effect in the picture.

All these little tricks prevent the eyes from correctly scanning the image in front of them, and as a result, the brain forces the person to see a distorted picture. Surrealist artists take full advantage of this feature of the human eye and try to surprise people with paintings that have a special meaning. That is why surrealism can also be classified as an optical illusion that can provoke a person to strong emotions.

Pictures-illusions for the eyes, optical illusions, and their secrets

Illusion pictures for the eyes

As you probably already understood, illusion pictures force our brain to perceive images not exactly as they look. This happens because the brain also has patterns, and if it understands that the eyes do not perceive the picture quite correctly, it begins to send impulses that make it completely different.

The brain can also be tricked by using bright colors. If the same picture is superimposed on a different background, then its individual details will be perceived by the eye in a different color.

People are even more misled by pictures that depict geometric shapes that are contrasting in color. At first glance, it may seem to a person that they are located parallel to each other. But in fact, if you look more closely at them, you can understand that they are looking in opposite directions.

And, of course, don’t forget that a loving picture looks different from different angles. In view of this, if you make it contrasting, you will see different depths in it. This can be seen in the example with a contrasting cube.

Complex 3D stereo images for eye training with explanations

Stereo image to improve vision

3D stereo image

3D picture

3D stereo images- this is nothing more than the same optical illusions, simply created by alternating dots and textures. Main principle Such pictures are based on the brain’s ability to compare different data and estimate distances to objects, figures and points as accurately as possible.

Such images are very often used for eye training in the treatment of ophthalmic pathologies. According to experts, if a person looks at such pictures for at least a few minutes a day, his eyes will relax properly.

In order to correctly see the stereo image, you will first need to move away from it at arm's length and try to completely relax your eyes. You should try to look through the image. If you do everything correctly, then after some time you will see the most realistic three-dimensional picture.

Pictures-illusions black and white, optical illusion with explanations

Three-dimensional picture in black and white

Black and white flats

If you carefully read our article, you probably realized that illusion pictures work best with color contrast. That's why black and white images The easiest way to deceive our eyes. If you just look at the most a simple picture, designed in this color scheme, you will notice that your eyes jump from one element to another, not knowing where to stop.

That is why, when looking at such an optical illusion, it seems to a person that the figures in the image are constantly moving, floating and moving. If, for example, a portrait of a person is depicted in such a color scheme, then depending on the color it will change both its contour and its shape.

Moving pictures optical illusion with explanation: photo with explanations

Eyes see movement due to correctly selected colors

The good thing about moving pictures is that they create a realistic effect. When a person looks at them, it seems to him that he really sees a waterfall or a sea that sways. The best thing in this case is that a person does not need to take absolutely any action to see everything correctly. As a rule, at the first glance at such a visual illusion, the eyes immediately catch the movement of some individual details.

Geometric moving picture

If it is a geometric picture, it will be created using contrasting shades and identical geometric shapes. In this case, the eyes will perceive it almost the same way as black and white image, thanks to which it will seem to a person that the drawing is always in motion.

GIFs are an optical illusion

The square can only be seen when turning

The picture shows how you can visually enlarge an object

GIFs, like any other illusion pictures, deceive the human eye and it does not perceive them exactly as it did initially. In this case, everything is built on movement. It is precisely from the speed and in which direction the elements move that a person can see different images.

Also, gifs allow you to visually reduce large objects quite well and enlarge very small ones. This happens by moving closer or further from the object you will be looking at.

Visual illusion pictures of hypnosis: photos with explanations

Optical illusion with depth effect

Hypnosis picture concentrating attention on the central point

Hypnosis pictures- these are images that can lead a person into lung condition trance promoting relaxation nervous system. Most often, this effect is achieved with the same contrast and the same type of lines or figures, placed from largest to smallest. Looking at the image, a person tries to understand the secret of the continuous movement of objects in his field of vision.

And the more he tries to solve the riddle of the hypnosis picture, the more he plunges into a kind of trance. If you try to look at the center of such an optical illusion for a long time, then it will inevitably begin to seem to you that you are moving along some kind of corridor or simply falling somewhere. This state will cause you to relax and forget about everyday problems and obstacles for a while.

Double pictures of visual illusions: photos with explanations

The double meaning of minimalism

Mirror optical illusion

The main secret of double optical illusions is the almost complete repetition of all, even the smallest lines. This creates a mirror effect that allows you to create an image that will look different from different angles. In this case, you can combine two completely different designs in the picture, as long as they fit each other perfectly in shape and color scheme.

Also, a double picture can consist of two completely different images, just when you look at it you will see the outlines of the same figure.

Pictures for visual deception for children: photos with explanations

Pictures for visual deception for children

In principle, visual illusion pictures for children are also based on the contrast of colors, the depth of lines and a correctly selected background. It’s just that, unlike images for adults, in this case, upside-down pictures are most often used.

By looking at them, the baby tries to recognize what his eyes actually see, thereby helping him develop logical thinking. And in order to make it easier for small children to perceive what they see, as a rule, the drawings depict animals or plants that are familiar to them.

For example, this could be a drawing that depicts a cat that turns into an angry dog ​​when it turns over.

In addition, children perceive very well pictures in which the same object has different lengths. In this case, the illusion effect is achieved by the correct background and different colors two figures completely identical in shape.

Geometric visual illusion pictures, triangles with explanations

Geometric illusion

Geometric illusions- this is nothing more than an image of objects of different shapes, which the eye perceives not quite as is customary in geometry. In this case, the ability of the human eye to determine the color, direction and size of objects is used.

But if in geometry they are arranged according certain rules, then in this case, for example, a rectangle can be composed of several triangles of different sizes. This illusion is designed so that a person, instead of seeing triangles, will look at parallel lines and try to understand how similar they are.

Also in geometric illusions, contrast in size is very often used. Looking at such an image, a person does not see that the two central circles are the same size. Even when looking closely, he thinks that the circle surrounded by smaller objects is larger than the one surrounded by larger ones.

Pictures of optical illusion with a dress: photos with explanations

Pictures of optical illusion with a dress

If you spend a lot of time on the Internet, then you have probably already come across a picture with a question about the color of a dress. As a rule, people cannot give a definite answer to this question as in different times day they see a different shade of the outfit. What is this connected with? As already mentioned at the very beginning of our article, the human eye is a rather complex mechanism, the main one of which is the retina (responsible for the correct perception of color).

The retina itself consists of rods and cones, the number of which determines how brightly a person perceives a particular color. For this reason, the dress may appear soft blue to some people, while deep blue to others. When it comes to optical illusions, lighting plays a huge role. In daylight it will appear lighter, but in artificial light it will appear much brighter and darker.

Picture for optical illusion – “Girl or old woman”: photo with explanations

Picture for optical illusion – “Girl or old woman”

Each of us has experienced the “Girl or Old Woman” optical illusion at least once in our lives. But, having looked at it, we simply forget about it and don’t even think about why our eyes see such a dual picture. In fact, in this case, completely two different images are skillfully connected to each other in one drawing.

If you pay more close attention, you will understand that one pattern smoothly passes into the other. For example, the oval of a young girl’s face simultaneously serves as the nose of an old woman, and her ear serves as the eye of an elderly woman.

Surrealism tattoo for optical illusion: photos, explanations

Tattoo imitating the flight of a butterfly

Surreal tattoo

Tattoo with volumetric effect

As you probably already understood, an optical illusion is nothing more than a correctly drawn picture. Therefore, if you wish, you can easily get yourself a tattoo in the style of surrealism.

All you have to do is apply it using contrasting colors, the right directions and background. All this will help you create voluminous and even visually moving images on your skin. You can see an example of a tattoo in the style of surrealism a little higher.

Optical illusions of perception in the interior: photos with explanations

Mirror surfaces in the interior

Optical illusions are good because they can radically change any room. Mirror surfaces are considered the simplest visual deception. With their help, even the smallest room will seem huge and bright.

Horizontal lines on walls

Different textures change the space well. If you want to easily stretch the room, then decorate the walls with horizontal lines. If, on the contrary, you need to reduce something, then frame it with vertical lines.

Floating table in the interior

If you wish, you can decorate your kitchen with so-called floating furniture. To do this, you will only need to buy a table whose legs will be made of either transparent plastic or glass.

Hidden doors

Also, if you wish, you can decorate your home with an invisible door. To achieve a similar effect, you will have to install a door with hidden hinges, and then decorate it in the same color as the walls.

Optical Illusion: Dress Form

Optical illusion: color

As you probably already understood, visual deception can help a person make the world around him more organic, and this applies not only to the interior. If you need to correct your figure, you can try to do this using optical illusions. All that will be required of you is to choose the right color and shape of your outfits.

Surrealism in painting: photos, paintings, explanations

Surrealism in painting

Two-faced picture

Optical illusions are very popular with artists. They help them make their paintings deeper and more interesting not only visually, but also semantically. As a rule, for this they use so-called two-faced pictures.

Most often, in this way they try to disguise the caricature. Surrealist artists use a similar technique to create drawings with a triple image, thereby trying to give their masterpiece more deep meaning. You can see examples of such paintings a little higher.

Paintings in the style of surrealism by Salvador Dali

Tenderness and strength in one picture

Salvador Dali is considered the most famous surrealist in the world. He always painted images in his paintings that made a person far from art think. This is probably why even now people look at his masterpieces with great pleasure and try to understand what he was thinking about great artist when I painted them.

Video: 3D drawings, incredible optical illusions, optical illusions

Everything we see in reality we take for granted. Whether it's a rainbow after the rain, a child's smile, or a gradually turning blue sea in the distance. But as soon as we start observing clouds changing shape, familiar images and objects appear from them... At the same time, we rarely think about how this happens and what operations take place in our brain. In science, this phenomenon has received an appropriate definition - optical illusions of the eye. At such moments, we visually perceive one picture, but the brain protests and deciphers it differently. Let's get to know the most popular visual illusions and let's try to explain them.

General description

Eye illusions have long been an object of curiosity for psychologists and artists. In a scientific definition, they are perceived as an inadequate, distorted perception of objects, an error, a delusion. In ancient times, the cause of illusion was considered to be improper work. visual system person. Today, optical illusion is a deeper concept, associated with brain processes that help us “decipher” and understand the surrounding reality. The principle of human vision is explained by the reconstruction of a three-dimensional image of visible objects on the retina. Thanks to this, you can determine their size, depth and distance, the principle of perspective (parallelism and perpendicularity of lines). The eyes read information, and the brain processes it.

The illusion of deception of the eyes can vary in several parameters (size, color, perspective). Let's try to explain them.

Depth and size

The simplest and most familiar to human vision is a geometric illusion - a distortion of the perception of the size, length or depth of an object in reality. In reality, this phenomenon can be observed by looking at railway. Up close, the rails are parallel to each other, the sleepers are perpendicular to the rails. In perspective, the drawing changes: a slope or bend appears, the parallelism of the lines is lost. The further the road goes, the more difficult it is to determine the distance of any section of it.

This illusion for the eyes (with explanations, everything as it should be) was first talked about by the Italian psychologist Mario Ponzo in 1913. The habitual decrease in the size of an object with its distance is a stereotype for human vision. But there are deliberate distortions of these perspectives that destroy the holistic image of the subject. When a staircase maintains parallel lines throughout its entire length, it becomes unclear whether a person is going down or going up. In fact, the structure has a deliberate extension downwards or upwards.

In relation to depth, there is the concept of disparity - the different position of points on the retina of the left and right eyes. Thanks to this, the human eye perceives an object as concave or convex. The illusion of this phenomenon can be observed in 3D pictures, when images are created on flat objects (sheet of paper, asphalt, wall). volumetric images. Thanks to the correct arrangement of shapes, shadows and light, the picture is mistakenly perceived by the brain as real.

Color and contrast

One of the most important properties The human eye is the ability to distinguish colors. Depending on the illumination of objects, perception may vary. This is due to optical irradiation - the phenomenon of light “flowing” from brightly lit to dark areas of the image on the retina. This explains the loss of sensitivity to distinguish between red and orange colors and its increase in relation to blue and violet at twilight. In this regard, optical illusions may occur.

Contrasts also play an important role. Sometimes a person mistakenly judges the color saturation of an object against a faded background. Conversely, bright contrast mutes the colors of nearby objects.

The illusion of color can also be observed in the shadows, where brightness and saturation also do not appear. There is the concept of “color shadow”. In nature, it can be observed when a fiery sunset turns houses and the sea red, which themselves have contrasting shades. This phenomenon can also be considered an illusion for the eyes.

Outlines

The next category is the illusion of perceiving contours and outlines of objects. IN scientific world it is called the phenomenon of perceptual readiness. Sometimes what we see is not so, or has a double interpretation. Currently in fine arts There was a fashion for creating dual images. Different people they look at the same “encrypted” picture and read different symbols, silhouettes, and information in it. A prime example of this in psychology is the Rorschach blot test. According to experts, visual perception in this case it is the same, but the answer in the form of interpretation depends on the characteristics of the person’s personality. When assessing the qualities, it is necessary to take into account the localization, level of form, content and originality/popularity of the reading of such illusions.

Changelings

This type of eye illusion is also popular in art. Its trick lies in the fact that in one position of the image the human brain reads one image, and in the opposite position - another. The most famous shapeshifters are the old princess and the hare duck. In terms of perspective and color, there is no distortion here, but there is a perceptual readiness. But to make a difference, you should turn the picture over. A similar example in reality would be cloud watching. When the same shape from different positions (vertically, horizontally) can be associated with different objects.

Ames room

An example of a 3D eye illusion is the Ames Room, invented in 1946. It is designed in such a way that, when viewed from the front, it appears to be an ordinary room with parallel walls perpendicular to the ceiling and floor. In fact, this room is trapezoidal. The far wall in it is located so that the right corner is obtuse (closer), and the left is acute (further). The illusion is enhanced by the chess squares on the floor. The person in the right corner is visually perceived as a giant, and in the left - a dwarf. Of interest is the movement of a person around the room - a person rapidly growing or, conversely, decreasing.

Experts say that for such an illusion it is not necessary to have walls and a ceiling. A visible horizon, which only appears so relative to the corresponding background, is sufficient. The illusion of the Ames room is often used in films to create the special effect of a giant dwarf.

Moving illusions

Another type of illusion for the eyes is a dynamic picture, or autokinetic movement. This phenomenon occurs when, when examining a flat image, the figures on it begin to literally come to life. The effect is enhanced if a person alternately approaches/moves away from the picture, moves his gaze from right to left and vice versa. In this case, the distortion occurs due to a certain selection of colors, circular arrangement, irregularity or “vector” shapes.

"Tracking" paintings

Probably every person has at least once encountered the visual effect when a portrait or image on a poster literally watches him move around the room. The legendary “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, “Dionysus” by Caravaggio, “Portrait of an Unknown Woman” by Kramskoy or ordinary portrait photographs are vivid examples of this phenomenon.

Despite the mass mystical stories, which surround this effect, there is nothing unusual about it. Scientists and psychologists, pondering how to create the “following eyes” illusion, came up with a simple formula.

• The model's face should look directly at the artist.
• The larger the canvas, the stronger the impression.
• The emotions on the model's face matter. An indifferent expression will not arouse curiosity or fear of persecution in the observer.

At correct location light and shadow, the portrait will acquire a three-dimensional projection, volume, and when moving it will seem that the eyes are following the person from the picture.