Friday, April 29, 2011

Lines and the Brain, Part 4

In a previous post, I mentioned that the visual brain uses a lot of cues, not just lines, to piece together its understanding of the world.

Even in the absence of outlines, we easily and automatically register shapes. The Kanisza square illusion shows that certain arrangements of forms create the perception of a shape where no line exists.


Coles Phillips was a Golden Age illustrator who used this phenomenon as a compositional device, making our brains see what isn’t there. He became known for the “Fadeaway Girl,” who disappears into the background.
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Don't forget, Sunday is the deadline for the book trailer video contest!
Lines and the Brain Series,
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Part 4

2 comments:

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

Fadeaway Girl eh? Reminds me of this comic book cover I saw this morning.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zs0suSy6gnQ/TWYE0MxDgzI/AAAAAAAAIWM/t8jPiOghZMw/s1600/Alpha_Flight_3_John_Byrne_cover.jpg

Annalisa said...

This is so amazing! I love it!