The background behind the arrows appears to be moving in a downward direction in this motion illusion created by Miwa Miwa.  The design itself is relatively simple, but the motion effect is quite strong.

To see another motion illusion created by Miwa Miwa (that was also featured on the Drudge Report a while back), be sure to check out his Vertigo Motion Illusion.

(via Miwa Miwa)

Richard Wiseman makes a candle flame move from one candle to the other using no edits, CGI, or cuts.  The entire trick was done in a single take.  Fortunately, he doesn’t leave you guessing how it was done as he reveals the trick at the end of the video.  You didn’t think that he could actually make a flame move between two candles, did you?

To see another interesting video trick performed by Richard Wiseman, be sure to check out his Color Changing Card Trick.

Here is one of the latest captured ideas from photographer and retoucher Erik Johansson.  The paradoxal geometry of the house leads to quite a bit of confusion as you admire it.  Is the man sitting at the table inside his home or outside?

To see another interesting house that uses a similar technique, be sure to revisit House I by Roy Lichtenstein.

(via Erik Johansson)

In honor of Memorial Day today, I thought I would post an optical illusion related to the armed forces.  This poster was released by the Navy SEALs for a promotional campaign.  The bottom of the poster asks “do you have what it takes?”  Unless you have been trained to spot camouflaged troops, you will likely have a difficult time finding the people that are hidden in this swampy landscape.  I’ve searched for quite a while and I still haven’t been able to find them all.

The hidden troops featured from left to right are:  LCDR Mark Simon, ETCM Eric Ollis, BMC Dan Ames, BM1 Michael O’Connell, EN1 Jason Fetterman, EM2 Mark DiPietro, LT Lewis Baker, and MM2Sergio Rodriguez.

Can you find them all?  For another hidden image challenge, check out the hidden animals optical illusion.

Kind of a funny forced perspective photograph I came across a while back and put in a folder for future post ideas.  It certainly looks like the man in the forefront (the purple giant?) is significantly taller than everyone else around him.  He is standing on some sort of ledge closer to the camera than everyone else, but the floor that he is standing on and the floor of the people down around the pool blend together almost seamlessly.   If anyone knows why this man is wearing an all purple outfit and wearing a scarf, please let me know.  That’s probably the most puzzling part of this image, in my opinion.

Lex Wilson lives in Nottingham, UK and describes himself as a self-certified obsessive compulsive doodler.  He uses anamorphic techniques to create 3D typography that appears to stand off of the page when viewed from a specific angle.  His sketch below, showing a raised “HIGH” and a sunken “LOW”, is a good representation of his impressive 3D doodling.

The following YouTube video helps to show how it looks three-dimensional when the right viewing angle is found.

To see another three-dimensional pencil drawing, be sure to check out Beckoning to the Evil by Nagai Hideyuki.

(via Lex Wilson)

John V. Muntean, the creator of the Magic Angle Sculpture, was recently commissioned by Ogilvy & Mather to create this sculpture using more than 18,000 LEGO® bricks for display in the Singapore LEGO store.  The true magic of the model, measuring 50cm x 50cm (nearly 20 x 20 inches), can only be seen when shining a light on it from the right angle and rotating it to three distinct positions.

Photographs of what happens when you do this can be seen below.

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