Optical Illusion of a Moving Dragon


This is a wonderful optical illusion.
The little dragon is made out of paper - you simply cut it out and stick it together.
When you move around, the dragon's head seems to follow you around the room.

Have a look at the video, to see what we mean. The effect is really uncanny.
At the end of the video you will understand how it works.
In the beginning you will only will be totally amazed.



Watch the video

How does it work?

If we move around when viewing a solid object, our brain knows how the object we are looking at should behave.
However the dragon gives us the wrong clues, because we misinterpret what its shape is.
We assume that the nose of the dragon is pointing out towards us, but in fact the dragon's head is concave.

You can open a pdf file with a copy of the dragon and try this illusion for yourself if you wish.
Once you have printed the dragon then you can cut out the dragon, fold and stick it, and you will be able to see this fantastic illusion yourself.
When you print the page, you will see that the instructions for folding the dragon are included. Please follow these instructions exactly.
"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision"

© - Site Seeing - Sonny, Lotje, Laurette en Femke, The Netherlands 2006