The checker shadow illusion was originally published by MIT professor Edward H. Adelson in 1995.  It presents two squares that are the same shade but appear to be quite different from one another.  The video below demonstrates the illusion as a light square in a shadow is moved to reveal that it is the same shade as a darker square outside of the shadow.

Hungarian artist István Orosz trained as a graphic designer at the University of Arts and Design in Budapest.  He frequently uses visual paradox and elements of illusion while using traditional printing techniques such as woodcutting and etching.  One such example is the following ambiguous landscape featuring a hidden face.  Can you find it?

You might also want to revisit previous images from István Orosz that have been featured on this site – Corner House and one of his skull illusions.  More of his work can also be viewed at Gallery Diabolus.

What is the first thing that you see when you look at the image below?

Do you see a young woman looking away from you or an older man looking toward you?  This ambiguous face was drawn by Humberto Machado.

A stereogram is a 2D image that is able to be experienced in 3D through specific viewing techniques.  Stereogram master Gene Levine created the illusion below which contains both photographic elements and a stereogram.  Stare at the pattern on the torso of the statue to see if you can reveal the hidden image.

Continue reading the full post to see the solution (also called a reveal or depth map) to this stereo illusion.

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Does that matchbox on the left appear to be the exact same size as the one on the right?

They certainly do not look to be the same size, but they are.  This animation was created by Digitalvaho/Fred van Houten after being inspired by an article written by Bruno Ernst.  It is a variation of Roger N. Shepard’s ‘Turning the Tables’ illusion from his book titled Mind Sights.

As you look down this tunnel designed by optical artist Kaia Nao, does it appear to be moving?  Does the back of the tunnel seem to be moving toward you?

This image is completely static and not animated in any way.  It might seem hard to believe, but it is true!

If you stare directly at the faces in this video, they will look completely normal.  If you stare at the cross, however, you will notice that the faces begin to look ugly and distorted.

This illusion is known as the flashed face distortion effect and recently won second prize at the 2012 Best Illusion of the Year Contest.  It was discovered by accident by a student working on face photographs for a different experiment.  You can imagine that he was very surprised when the faces appeared to be deformed when he knew they were certainly not.

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