The Happy Accident 
Thomas Maurer, a German born artist, worked as an events producer in Australia in 1991. The career as an events producer was fulfilling, and he felt content in his job. However, what he didn’t know was that in 2005, he was about to make a drastic career change as an artist and later sculptor. That year Maurer was unaware of the magic he would create using an angle grinder to polish aluminum.

The illusionary artist’s friend called him over to help him fix a truck, giving him the job of polishing aluminum with an angle grinder. Maurer was fascinated as he saw the patterns dance off the aluminum under the sun, creating an effect so different that it convinced him that it was time to begin his career as an illusionary artist.

Autostereograms date back to 1959 when Bela Julesz with MacArthur Fellow came up with the stereogram. This discovery occurred while they were working on differentiating between camouflaged objects hidden in pictures taken from the air by spy planes. He decided to research a little bit more into his findings. He used a computer to design random dot images, which when seen through a microscope, revealed itself as a 3D image.

His findings proved that depth perception doesn’t just occur in the eye, but it’s part of the neurological process. In 1970, Masayuki Ito, caught the wind of Julesz’s findings, and designed an image using stereogram. However, it was much later on, when Christopher Tyler discovered autostereograms.

The Discovery of Autostereograms 
It was the year 1979; when Christopher Tyler sat down to combine the different theories that were the grassroots of the random dot stereogram and single-image stereogram. The combination of the two theories created something truly spectacular, an autostereograms.

The autostereograms interested people because it allowed them to see the 3D image from a 2D image without needing any kind of optical equipment to do so. Two computer programmers, Tom Baccei and Cheri Smith, picked up his discovery in 1991 and designed a color random dot autostereograms, popularizing it as Magic Eye.

What is the Magic Eye? 
The Magic Eye is described as a three dimensional picture hidden amongst a two dimensional picture. They are known as the advanced technique of producing stereogram. Here are the steps used to create The Magic Eye:

·        Create a 3D Image

The 3D image should be rotatable and editable. People with an artistic ability will be able to produce a usable 3D image. However, you would still need to know how to use 3D software.

·        Rendering the 3D Image

You will need to create a 2D pattern to hide the 3D image. For this, you must be able to render the image well so the picture remains hidden.

People with the knowledge of using the software along with having an innate artistic talent will be able to create a spectacular Magic Eye to enchant viewers. Let’s track back to understanding the method of creating autostereograms, as this was where it all started.

How Are Autostereograms Created? 
Autostereograms are created using spacing to create a three dimensional picture. For instance, if the pattern is repeated at lesser distances, the area will appear closer to you. The opposite will be true if the patterns were to be repeated over longer distances. If you want to see this illusion, do check out What’s Hiding Here? Not to give you any spoilers, but the illusion has something hidden inside it. Can you see it? If you can, you will be able to say that the picture pops at you. You can show this illusion to your friends and family as well.

To conclude, autostereograms are a fun way to pass time. So search the web for some when you are bored and you will be amazed at the different pictures hidden in each. In the two opticals shown here we have taken a couple of normal magic eye pictures and mixed them with real pictures to make our type of autostereoram. Original picture sources unknown.

© opticalspy 2015

The Thatcher Effect isn’t named after some scientist, psychologist, or doctor, but in fact, it is named after Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister. Margaret Thatcher was a well-known name in politics and was often dubbed the “Iron Lady.” In the illusion, she had her face flipped, and her eyes and lips contorted. Sounds completely painful – thank goodness it wasn’t done in real life. So, you might say the pictures are manipulated and do not count as an illusion? To explain that, we need to journey back to 1980.

1980—That’s Where All of It Started 
When Professor Peter Thompson decided to take not just any picture, but the picture (above) of Margaret Thatcher in 1980, the world discovered something completely puzzling. The professor manipulated the eyes and mouth, turning them upside down. What was the effect, you wonder? The effect was truly a frightening and horrendous image of the former prime minster when turned right side up.

The shocking part of it all was when the image was inverted; people weren’t even able to tell if any kind of manipulation to the face had been done. Humans weren’t the only ones falling for the tricks of this illusion, but monkeys too couldn’t tell if the image was manipulated when inverted. 


Scientists and people alike found the effect astonishing, and at times, unbelievable. Was the brain this gullible that it couldn’t tell an illusion, even with the obvious alterations to the face? That question left people questioning the brain’s ability to process such evident information. However, scientists were quick to come to the brain’s defense.

Bridget Riley got a start as an illustrator working in an advertising agency, J.Walter Thompson.  She found her true calling when she visited the Whitechapel Gallery exhibition held by Jackson Pollock in 1958. Before discussing the impact she’s had in the world of painting, let’s get to know her a little bit better.

Life of Bridget Riley 
John Fisher Riley, a printer by occupation and a soldier during World War II, saw the birth of his baby girl, Bridget Riley in London in 1931. She received are education from Goldsmiths College and Royal College of Art. With a burning passion for the arts, she got her first real exposure to the field when she attended an exhibition featuring the collection of Jackson Pollock.

After seeing the collection, she was mesmerized and created art representing the semi-impressionist style using the pointillist technique; dots applied in a pattern. It was really during 1960 when she discovered her own unique style of painting, the Op Art style.

What is the Op Art Style? 
The Op Art style incorporates the colors black and white. She incorporated these into her painting to give audiences a sense of movement, vibration and flashing, warping and swelling effects, and concealed images and patterns within it. Using the style she created the painting named Diagonal Curve in 1966, a black and whit painting exhibiting dizzying patterns. Riley’s unique style gave people a new art form to enjoy.

What did People Say About her Paintings? 
Viewers told tales of getting strange sensations by looking at her paintings for a long time particularly nausea. Even then, people continued to take interest in her paintings and her solo shows that were held at Musgrave Gallery in 1962 followed by many other shows. Her popularity was steadily growing.

However, in 1967, Riley switched gears and started to use color and a trip to Egypt in the 1980s inspired her to create tessellating patterns, which she created on an oil canvas called Shadow Play in 1990.