Sunday, April 29, 2012

Coiling snake illusion

If you glance around at this optical illusion by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, the snakelike coils around the outer edge will start to move.


But if you let your eyes come to a rest, the snakes come to a stop. Try looking toward one spot and 'spacing out.' Then start looking around again, and the snakes start moving.

Apparently, scientists have concluded, the illusion is somehow tied to eye movements.

Science News: Snakes Illusion

5 comments:

  1. Amazing! It is called peripheral drift illusion.

    I did an homage to Akiyoshi Kitaoka's “Rotating Snakes" for my masters thesis "Optical illusions in illustration".

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wJrwJ7Rgb-s/T50q2dDQDQI/AAAAAAAABQA/iBuxLI8G7mA/s1600/Zmija+cuvarkuca.jpg

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  2. Love following and reading your blog, always so informative!

    I have seen Dragan's optical illusion illustrations and they are totally awesome!

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  3. Besides the "peripheral drift" I get a definite optical mixing effect. When I stare at the image defocused, the blue and yellow stripes combine to make a dull green.

    This of course is what some of the impressionists and post-impressionists were after, notably Seurat with his pointillism. His colors are never mixed, just dots of pure pigment placed close enough to "mix" in the eye of the viewer.

    Thanks for sharing.

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