Beowulf posted this over there, and I just watched the video - very cool!
http://www.grand-illusions.com/dragon.htm
Make your own creep-out-the-coworkers dragon...
Stolen from Flute Forum - very cool optical illusion
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avanutria
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Flyingcursor
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Nanohedron
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Sunnywindo
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Hey! The video was cool indeed, but when I made one it worked nothing like that. Just an oddly folded paper dragon. I must be missing something. (Hate to say it, but maybe one has to be smarter than the paper? More probably, this is not something one should attempt when half asleep. *yawn, blink blink*) Does printing out a color version or one on colored paper make much difference? Just have black on white here. Mmmmmm.... anyone else having problems?
Sara
Sara'I wish it need not have happend in my time,' said Frodo.
'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'
-LOTR-
'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'
-LOTR-
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GaryKelly
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You're not alone Sara. And colour doesn't seem to make any difference to me... I have a blue one and a greyscale one... and they just sit there. Sigh.
I was hoping the Manchester Real Ale would've killed just enough braincells for these things to work today, but nope...
I was hoping the Manchester Real Ale would've killed just enough braincells for these things to work today, but nope...
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I made one and it works fine. The thing is they don't actually "work" at all. You have to view the little critter from an angle where you see it's face. Then close one eye and let the illusion take over. Suddenly you'll see, instead of an inside out folded head, a head that appears to be looking at you.
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It helps if the dragon is brightly backlit...in the video, the dragon is directly in front of a bright window to backlight it. The light bleeding through the paper helps eliminate overhang shadows on the dragon's face, which spoil the illusion. It also helps if you close one eye, removing a certain amount of stereo-vision and depth perception.
Hopping on one foot hasn't been shown to improve things much
Hopping on one foot hasn't been shown to improve things much
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brewerpaul
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VERY cool and weird. It took me a couple of minutes to catch the illusion, but once I did it was very vivid.
I noticed that if you look at the dragon from further away (8-10 feet?), you don't have to close one eye- at that distance your binocular vision is reduced enough that both eyes see basically the same thing.
I noticed that if you look at the dragon from further away (8-10 feet?), you don't have to close one eye- at that distance your binocular vision is reduced enough that both eyes see basically the same thing.
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Jerry Freeman
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Depth perception (or the lack of it) is the key to the illusion working.
It's a little like those 3-D wallpaper like things you have to let your eyes relax before you can see the picture. In the case of the dragon, if your depth perception gets uncoupled from your perception of the dragon's head, you can get it to start looking convex instead of concave. As soon as you start seeing it that way, it turns its head and follows you with its eyes wherever you go. Closing one eye is the easiest way to facilitate this.
I made one and showed it to Arleen. I held it behind my back and said, "I have something to show you. Cover one eye." Then I showed it to her and she saw it right away. She said, "That's really cool."
Best wishes,
Jerry
It's a little like those 3-D wallpaper like things you have to let your eyes relax before you can see the picture. In the case of the dragon, if your depth perception gets uncoupled from your perception of the dragon's head, you can get it to start looking convex instead of concave. As soon as you start seeing it that way, it turns its head and follows you with its eyes wherever you go. Closing one eye is the easiest way to facilitate this.
I made one and showed it to Arleen. I held it behind my back and said, "I have something to show you. Cover one eye." Then I showed it to her and she saw it right away. She said, "That's really cool."
Best wishes,
Jerry
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Sunnywindo
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IT'S ALIVE!!!! EWAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!
Um, I mean... Hey it actually works! Awesome!
Holding it up so it was backlit by the window was what did the trick. Thanks for the idea!
Sara
Um, I mean... Hey it actually works! Awesome!
Holding it up so it was backlit by the window was what did the trick. Thanks for the idea!
Sara'I wish it need not have happend in my time,' said Frodo.
'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'
-LOTR-
'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'
-LOTR-
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Nanohedron
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