Incredible Visual Illusions

Incredible Visual Illusions is among the most comprehensive collections of optical illusions ever assembled. Author Al Seckel sketches a history of illusions for the reader, and cites the fascinating origins of each illustration, from Da Vinci's anamorphosis to modern-day computer-generated tricks of eye. Readers can learn about the cognitive science behind these amazing artworks and examine the ways in which we see and perceive, and how the human brain interprets the visual messages transmitted from the eye. This book is an authoritative, thorough, and enjoyable guide to an extraordinary subject.

Seckel, Al

Reference

Chartwell Books

Astonishing creations by masters of the art, such as Escher, Dali, and Archimbolo; amazing visual trickery; and an illuminating foreword by the Pulitzer Prize--winning author Douglas R. Hofstadter make this 320-page, breathtaking collection the definitive book of optical illusions. Rings of seahorses that seem to rotate on the page. Butterflies that transform right before your eyes into two warriors with their horses. A mosaic portrait of oceanographer Jacques Cousteau made from seashells. These dazzling and often playful artistic creations manipulate perspective so cleverly that they simply outwit our brains: we can’t just take a quick glance and turn away. They compel us to look once, twice, and over and over again, as we try to figure out exactly how the delightful trickery manages to fool our perceptions so completely. Of course, first and foremost, every piece is beautiful on the surface, but each one offers us so much more. Some, including Sandro del Prete’s charming “Window Gazing,” construct illusionary worlds where normal conceptions of up, down, forward, and back simply have no meaning anymore. Others, such as Jos De Mey’s sly “Ceci n’est pas un Magritte,” create visual puns on earlier work. From Escher’s famous and elaborate “Waterfall” to Shigeo Fukuda’s “Mary Poppins,” where a heap of bottles, glasses, shakers, and openers somehow turn into the image of a Belle Epoque woman when the spotlight hits them, these works of genius will provide endless enjoyment and food for thought.

Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali, & the Artists of Optical Illusion

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Sterling*+ Publishing Company

How can a flat page have pictures that actually seem to move? That's what these 90 action illusions--the largest such compilation ever assembled--succeed in doing. Through the magic of visual effects, including the careful use of color and brightness, static images become animated and solid shapes deform right before your eyes. Some of the illusions appear to hover in the air; others produce afterimages of bright color or produce a sensation of swirling. In a number of cases, it's necessary to shift the entire page to get the trick, or to use peripheral vision for the full effect. You'll be stunned as perfect squares appear out of nowhere, patterns pulse, and yellow dots flash.

SuperVisions: Action Optical Illusions

Sterling

First you see one thing, then another. The picture changes from one moment to the next, flip-flopping back and forth. That's an ambiguous illusion, and the ones in this largest-ever collection offer constant, pleasurable surprises. Sometimes, the perceptual shift occurs if you just stare at the visual puzzle long enough; in other cases, it's necessary to invert or rotate the image first. In one picture, it's a cat-and-mouse game as you try to discover where the mouse is hiding from the cat. Another image features two minstrels playing homage to William Shakespeare--but at first, only the familiar portrait of the bard may be apparent. Once the dual nature of the illusion reveals itself, you'll never see just one object again.

SuperVisions: Ambiguous Optical Illusions

Union Square & Co.

They defy the rules of space, but captivate the mind. Most of these visions can't exist in the real world--only here, where artists play with perspective in the most remarkable ways. "An Impossible Staircase" goes up and down endlessly, with no highest or lowest step. How is that possible? And take a look at a very unique elephant: would it have trouble walking on its unusually-constructed legs? From the strangely three twisted rings in "Cosmic Wheels" to a meandering Celtic knit that you can try to untie, all the images are mind-boggling.

SuperVisions: Impossible Optical Illusions

It defies logic! At least, that's what puzzle-doers will think as they work their way through this largest-ever compendium of geometric conundrums. When you look at these images--some classic, others never-before published--you'll have a hard time believing what the captions say about their size, shape, or other geometric aspect. For example, two tables appear radically different to the naked eye--but they're actually identical in size and shape. It's all a matter of perspective and perception. Each puzzle is eye-opening.

SuperVisions: Geometric Optical Illusions (Puzzles & Games)

Presenting the largest, most incredible collection of topsy-turvy optical illusions ever created, with a stunning mix of classics and previously unpublished designs! Topsy-turvys all contain two different images in one picture—you just have to look carefully to see them both. “Vanishing Rabbit,” for example, is pure magic: one moment the bunny’s in the magician’s hat, and the next, it’s gone, leaving just the conjurer. Are those ladies in the “Bearded Girls” illusion? Turn the page upside down and check again—now they’ve turned into bearded men. “Courtship and Matrimony,” a nineteenth-century satirical card, gives a before and after view of marriage. The variety of art styles ranges from cartoon to classical, and every illustration has a fun surprise.

SuperVisions: Topsy-Turvy Optical Illusions

These amazing artistic optical illusions have real depth—that’s because they’re in 3-D! Some have to be viewed through a pair of red and blue paper glasses, which come with the book: put them on and watch decorative cubes, towers, and other complex geometric drawings spring to life, gaining volume and space. Other illusions are visible to the naked eye, with incredibly elaborate and colorful designs that seem to pop—waves of flowers, a crescent man in the moon, a coiled dragon, a blazing sunset. With a range of different visual tricks on display, and eye-popping pictures that include antique stereoscopes and hidden images, this collection is truly incredible.

SuperVisions: Stereo Optical Illusions

Prepare to be amazed! Inside the covers of this incredible, colorful collection are hundreds of the world’s most powerful optical illusions. They’re beautiful to behold, and stunning in their trickery. Some of the mind-boggling images seem to spring into action, vibrating, pulsing, and spinning like a hula hoop. Other ambiguous illusions feature two subjects in one: the fun is in finding them both in the single picture—including a mouse playing hide and seek in a cat’s face and a strange desert mirage where palm trees imperceptibly morph into camels. And still more, like “The Impossible Terrace,” which couldn’t exist off the page: just try to figure out if you’re viewing the space from above or below. Every one is astonishing.

The Ultimate Book of Optical Illusions

Rings of seahorses that seem to rotate on the page. Butterflies that transform right before your eyes into two warriors with their horses. A mosaic portrait of oceanographer Jacques Cousteau made from seashells. These dazzling and often playful artistic creations manipulate perspective so cleverly that they simply outwit our brains: we can’t just take a quick glance and turn away. They compel us to look once, twice, and over and over again, as we try to figure out exactly how the delightful trickery manages to fool our perceptions so completely. Of course, first and foremost, every piece is beautiful on the surface, but each one offers us so much more. From Escher’s famous and elaborate “Waterfall” to Shigeo Fukuda’s “Mary Poppins,” where a heap of bottles, glasses, shakers, and openers somehow turn into the image of a Belle Epoque woman when the spotlight hits them, these works of genius will provide endless enjoyment.

Masters of Deception: Escher, Dalí & the Artists of Optical Illusion

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