This is an old technique that uses the “color assimilation” effect to colorize pictures. This perceptual effect, also known by scientists as the Von Bezold spreading effect, occurs when our visual system transfers perceived colors to their adjacent areas.
Is the first photo of a variety of pumpkins in color?
A math-magic article I wrote for the German magazine Zeit Wissen: with the 13 triangular and square pieces (fig. 1) it is possible to form two large squares shown in fig. 2. Though the second large square has an extra piece the dimensions of the squares seem to be the same! Can you explain why this is possible?
Here’s a wooden version of the puzzle I designed in the late 1990s. Each set of pieces is made in a different color, giving the puzzle a clean, elegant look while making its deceptive geometry even more striking.
I am looking for a game manufacturer able to produce and distribute this incredible puzzle. You can contact me through my website.
☞ Further reading: explore the complete Vanishing Piece Puzzle project on my Behance profile.
This is one of my earliest color optical illusions. There is no yellow or green in the diamond shapes, just vertical black lines! (If you don’t believe it, use a eyedropper tool to check it.) This intriguing visual effect is mainly due to “simultaneous color contrast induction“.
“Deep Blue”, the yellowish rays you see in this picture are a construct of your brain. My op art work is available as prints from Saatchi Art gallery.
This is one of my oldest illusions I created in the 90s. In the picture you may see ghostlike dark radial beams. This illusion is a variant of the Herman’s scintillating grid illusion. I designed this illusion just by turning 45 degrees the Herman grid and then by applying a polar transformation.
Curiously enough, the cubes don’t move only the background color changes…
Here is my tutorial to create an amazing autokinetic animation.
Here are two projects involving the geometrical-constructive art of Piet Mondrian, one of my preferred artists, the golden ratio and ϕ. For this purpose, I used the same color palette favored by Mondrian: yellow, red, blue, black and gray.
In the first project, I used squares, that are proportional to each other by the golden ratio or ϕ, to prove the Pythagorean theorem as shown in the Zhoubi Suanjing (or Chou Pei Suan Ching – 周髀算經), one of the oldest Chinese mathematical texts (circa b.c. 200).
I really love puzzle with less pieces as possible and with a contemporary design… This neat three-piece puzzle has been invented by Robert Reid and designed by puzzle-master Oskar van Deventer. The fit of the puzzle is perfect, though assembly can be really challenging.
“Dynacube” is a new line of 3D puzzles featuring my optical art. It isn’t just a puzzle but also a living piece of art. This 3D game is available in 4 distinct styles from Recent Toys: http://www.recenttoys.com/project/dynacube/
Dynacube is a fun game for kids and adults alike to practice their logical thinking and motor skills.
Display with 4 distinct styles of Dynacubes
As you surely know, the “BEST ILLUSION OF THE YEAR CONTEST” is a yearly competition under the patronage of Scientific American, organized by the Neural Correlate Company (New York, USA).
Müller-Lyer’s illusion proves that a segment can visually appear longer or shorter depending on the sense of the arrow heads at its ends. In what consists my variant? As shown in the animation, the red dot in the middle of the line is equidistant from the other two red dots, although the ends of the line visually appear to alternately stretch and shrink like a rubber band!
The radial version of the illusion is even more impressive:
The perceptual increasing and decreasing of the segments occurs in a very short time. Thus, I suppose it is more a physiological phenomenon, rather than a psychological bias. Our attention seems to be attracted by the receptive field WITHIN the V-shaped arrow heads, causing an illusory inward or outward shift of the ends of the line.
