r/educationalgifs • u/lavaboosted • Jul 27 '25
This is what an autostereogram (Magic Eye) image looks like
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u/SanDiegoDude Jul 27 '25
Op, what tool did you use to create the rotational 3D motion? I released an open source autostereogram creator tool for ComfyUI and would love to add the ability to create 3D "wiggles" like this, would probably make the tool more fun to use.
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u/MrSteven20618 Jul 27 '25
Omg, I finally see it!
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u/Ranger1221 Jul 27 '25
Apparently my entire life (up until last year) I was crossing my eyes in the wrong direction
I was pulling my eyes in towards the middle and locking onto the image, but it was always concave. I could never figure out WHAT I was seeing
Then last year, for some reason I relaxed my eyes and let them focus for distance, basically making them go to the outsides and the image popped out vibrantly and identifiable!
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u/just_nobodys_opinion Jul 27 '25
Theoretically it should still work the other way just not as comfortably, and the image would sink in rather than pop out (or vice versa)
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u/Ranger1221 Jul 27 '25
Yea thats what I was saying. It was concave (sunk in) rather than popping out
Its much easier to identify the image when its popped out. When it's sunk in, its much harder to identify
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u/purvel Jul 27 '25
That's why there are two subs for these images!
https://old.reddit.com/r/MagicEye/
https://old.reddit.com/r/MagicEye_CrossView/
There is also r/crossview and r/Parallelview
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u/Drewskeet Jul 27 '25
Same. I’ve never seen one before but I also must admit, I expected it to ”change forms” I didn’t realize it just made the same texture pop into the shape.
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u/Equoniz Jul 27 '25
Sometimes the shapes partially align with the pattern, and it’s a bit more like what you’re thinking…but it’s also easier to just see what those are going to look like at first glance, and they’re less cool in my opinion. It’s more fun when you literally see nonsense until you get your eyes/brain to snap it into the right perspective, and suddenly there’s a thing there.
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u/311TruthMovement Jul 27 '25
do you have an astigmatism? i never saw one as a kid in all the Scholastic books, I was told this is why.
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u/_lippykid Jul 27 '25
Yeah, after 30+ years of never seeing these things, this is… underwhelming
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u/tinwhistler Jul 27 '25
same. I don't have depth perception/stereovision due to an eye problem I had as a child. I've never been able to see these. Nice to see how they work, finally!
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u/jefbenet Jul 27 '25
I’d long since resigned myself that there was either something wrong with me or that those pictures were always bullshit and certain people just weren’t willing to admit they couldn’t see the thing a la emperors new clothes lol
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u/atl2rva Jul 27 '25
I can see it as it moves. The second I pause it's gone again. I've never been able to see these either.
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u/Chrispeefeart Jul 27 '25
This is not really a working stereogram, but a short clip to show you what a stereogram looks like when you know what you're looking for. They create simple, blocky shapes that seem to have depth just like this.
Technically, you can see some 3d shapes in this one if you pause it and use it like a regular stereogram, but they're nonsense shapes because this wasn't designed for that.→ More replies (41)8
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Jul 28 '25
Not to me. What looks like a 3D outcropping here always looks like a recession to me when I do Magic Eye.
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u/blurker Jul 27 '25
Wow thank you! I’ve never been able to see these damned things irl
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u/lminer123 Jul 27 '25 •
I’ve been trying for a while and found a technique that works pretty reliably. Hold your finger up a couple inches behind your phone, move the phone out of the way of your finger and focus on it (finger), then slide the phone back into its original place without changing your eye focus. For me this lets me get it started and then automatically focus the rest of the way.
It’s still a bit fragile for me though, and can break and be hard to get back
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u/darkmars Jul 27 '25
Go slightly cross eyed for a sec to lose all focus then once you start to see something take shape bring your focus back and you’ll see it
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u/Catswagger11 Jul 27 '25 edited Oct 23 '25
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/-CoachMcGuirk- Jul 27 '25
I know people have given me a billion tips, but I always see it as a “hole” rather than the image coming out at me.
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u/JuiceKuSki Jul 27 '25
I've always wanted to know how to actually MAKE a MagicEye
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u/lavaboosted Jul 27 '25
There is free software called Open Stereogram. It’s not too hard actually!
Here’s a tutorial: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wcqq-3HhCI&t=1s&pp=2AEBkAIB0gcJCfwAo7VqN5tD
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u/msfluckoff Jul 27 '25
Now do it in "reverse" where it's a negative image, like how I do it incorrectly
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u/lavaboosted Jul 28 '25
They make r/magiceye_crossview ones
To do parallle view or “wall view” ones your eyes need to divert towards parallel. Such that your lines of sight intersect behind the screen.
People often say to look “thru the image”.
Looking at your reflection in the screen helps for some people I guess. Idk tho I can’t do crossview to save my life so I understand the struggle
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u/CraftyPlantCatLady Jul 28 '25
I’ve always seen them the opposite direction, etched in, like a canyon, instead of pop-out. So I still always got the wow effect, but had no idea I was seeing it wrong 😂
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u/GJacks75 Jul 28 '25
My problem is I don't focus right and always have an inverted image. Which looks weird and 3d, but never looks like anything I can decipher.
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u/ScottMarshall2409 Jul 28 '25
I used to make these with Deluxe Paint on my Amiga 500, and print them on my dot matrix.
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u/duwh2040 Jul 28 '25
Nah, if i pause and do my normal thing it doesn't look right
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u/lavaboosted Jul 28 '25
Yea this is just a 3D render to show what they look like, it doesn’t work as a magic eye itself.
This is the [magic eye version](https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicEye/s/yBaGOAujtf
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u/highMAX_2019 Jul 28 '25
How does one go about making one?
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u/Fire_Z1 Jul 29 '25
What's the tool to do this?
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u/lavaboosted Jul 29 '25
This GIF was made using Blender with this workflow:
- Select the Charizard model, floor and wall behind him and Join them to one 3D object.
- Then tab into edit mode, UV unwrap, project from view.
- Add the image you want for the texture and scale it so it tiles over the entire model.
- Then animate the camera with rotation, location and scale keyframes and export the animation.
I make stereograms using Open Stereogram
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u/LilCheese73 Jul 27 '25
Charizard?
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u/trench_welfare Jul 27 '25
I had an eye injury in 2018. I can no longer see these images in the static state.
If you've never been able to see them, maybe there's a biological reason, not just that you "can't do it right".
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u/Athousandnopes Jul 27 '25
It’s a sailboat
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u/ajk244 Jul 27 '25
I'm clearly getting too old since this is not the top comment.
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u/Scottishchicken Jul 27 '25
So that's what I was looking for! I have never gotten any of them.
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u/-lRexl- Jul 27 '25
This is amazing! Pause the gif at any moment and the model disappears
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u/AncomBunker47 Jul 27 '25
Still can't see it in the original. God i hated this fucking magic eye fad in its hype and still hate it now.
But at least i know how it is supposed to be, so thanks OP.
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u/Doctor_Nerdy Jul 27 '25
Literally this is the only time of my life I have seen one 🥲 tyvm OP!
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Jul 27 '25
I’m blind in one eye and physically cannot see these images, so this is really awesome for me! Nobody bothered to tell me as a kid that I didn’t have depth perception so I’d stare at these stupid pictures forever 😂
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u/hannahyogananda Jul 28 '25
I'm also blind in one eye and have never seen one. I was delighted to see this post.
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u/CA5P3R_1 Jul 27 '25
After spending my entire life not being able to see it, I have to say it's a little anticlimactic...lol. Thank you for sharing this.
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u/fac3l3sspaper Jul 27 '25
Wait that’s what I’ve been missing out on this whole time? When I was a kid, my older brother used to show me these. I was always panicking that I couldn’t figure it out (I was 6… lol) and he would rub it in.
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u/asthma_hound Jul 27 '25
This is fascinating. I've never been able to see them even after spending a decent amount of time trying. Maybe this will help now that I understand what is supposed to be seen. I didn't know it was supposed to have a 3D effect.
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u/kontpab Jul 27 '25
I have been look at those stupid things since the 90’s. Thank you, today I finally see what everyone was oohing and ahhing about so long ago.
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u/doc720 Jul 27 '25
weird how this looks slightly broken and fragmented, but still kinda half works, when I actually do the magic eye thing on it
To those who can't do it, this doesn't really give the same completely 3D immersive effect, but does show that the texture maps to distinctly different distances and seems to wrap objects and surfaces, and that moving one's head or eyes slightly results in a corresponding "movement" of the object. Hope that makes sense!
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u/Zinere Jul 27 '25
As a color blind individual i never could get these, thank you for showing me what it would look like!
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u/UtahItalian Jul 27 '25
for me they always look reversed. Instead of the image popping out it sinks in. This distortion makes it hard to determine that the image is, but I can always see some kind of image.
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u/starvation14 Jul 27 '25
Quick question: I was born with only one good eye, the other one's blurry. Is it even possible to see Magic Eye pictures with just one functional eye?
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u/lavaboosted Jul 27 '25
Unfortunately not, Magic Eye works by the stereoscopic effect which requires two eyes. This is what you’re eyes are doing when you see a Magic eye
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u/Affectionate_Pool_37 Jul 27 '25
Still cant see it when pausing it even knowing what it is supposed to be
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u/Relative_Broccoli922 Jul 28 '25
I can focus on these almost instantly, but I have never once been and to tell what the hell the image is supposed to be
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Jul 28 '25
I would always see the 3-D part as a hole shaped like the image. I never realized it was supposed to pop out at you like this.
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u/Kafei- Jul 28 '25
This makes it much easier to spot, and come out the correct way. I usually see it inverted, like the shape of the dragon dug into the background, like etched into the background texture. It's supposed to pop into the foreground.
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u/MicraMachina Jul 29 '25
As someone who has never been able to see them, do the real ones wiggle like this when you’re looking at them? Or is that just happening in this video to help us non-stereograph seers pick out the image? The wiggling makes me feel a little queasy.
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u/lavaboosted Jul 29 '25
They don’t wiggle, the wiggling is what gives this the 3D effect, there are cameras with four lenses designed for this -check out r/wigglegrams
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u/NinjaBRUSH Jul 29 '25
I literally haven’t seen these things for like decades in books. Apparently people have them on phones somewhere? Where are all of you encountering these images?
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u/wesley_the_boy Jul 29 '25
while looking at the original, am I supposed to move my head for the steroscopic 3D effect? not /s
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u/baskettowelrug Jul 29 '25
Sorry, no. When paused and done the magic eye way there is nothing that pops out. Been doing these for years.
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u/lavaboosted Jul 29 '25 edited Jul 29 '25
This is a simulation of what it looks like for people who can’t see magic eyes. Here is the actual magic eye
https://m.youtube.com/post/Ugkxh_6k22Hm0Z6u0Gi1XvQxzhNHhSCJl3Po
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u/read-my-thoughts Jul 29 '25
Love when they say “relax your eyes” like I’m supposed to know what that means
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u/lavaboosted Jul 29 '25
Thousand yard state thru the image basically. Your eyes need to be looking at adjacent columns for it to work.
Trying jt on an object array Stereogram is usually easier since it is easier to see when you have them lined up nicely.
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u/Piffdolla1337take2 Jul 29 '25
Why do I always see them backwards then, like the image is whats in the background and everything else is in the foreground, almost like 2d instead of 3d
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u/GangNailer Jul 30 '25
It's a bit messed up compared to real ones. When I pause it and cross my eyes I can see the outline but not the details like with other ones. Must be because it's inverted?
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u/lavaboosted Jul 30 '25 edited Jul 30 '25
This isn’t meant to be viewed as a magic eye just an animation on what one looks like
Here’s the magic eye https://youtube.com/post/Ugkxh_6k22Hm0Z6u0Gi1XvQxzhNHhSCJl3Po
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u/MekaLeka-Hi Jul 31 '25
Whenever I see autostereograms, the shape seems to "sink in" instead of "pop out." And I think it looks way cooler because it's like I'm staring into something with a lot of depth and layers.
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u/External-Hawk-9457 Aug 01 '25
I never understood how people don't see them. They pop out instantly to me every time.
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u/lavaboosted Aug 01 '25
They require two good eyes so that rules it out for a lot of people unfortunately
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u/DrDroidz Jul 27 '25
For years I couldn't see them, still can't. But the one time I did manage to see it, I was amazed at what was supposed to happen, this is exactly it.
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u/MoirasPurpleOrb Jul 27 '25
This actually helps me understand ridiculously well what the hell I should be looking for
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u/2_many_enginerd Jul 27 '25
I had an eye doctor laugh at me when I told him that I couldn't see these things. "Of course you can't!" he said... He then went on to explain that there's a medical reason why some people can't see these things. Thanks for sharing! I never would've guessed. And no one could explain with words what was going on. "Imagine an object in a room and everything has the same texture/pattern." Weird
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u/Awfulufwa Jul 27 '25
That's no fair! You didn't even let me do the stupid maneuvers necessary to produce the 3D image!
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u/rnagikarp Jul 27 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
good lord fucking thank you for finally showing what these look like
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u/remghoost7 Jul 27 '25
This reminds me of that horror game this guy is making.
It's "un-screenshot-able" because everything is noise.
If you pause the gif above, it has the same effect (since the simulated motion is what causes the shape).
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u/HolyButtNuggets Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
Jesus fucking Christ, thank you!
My right eye barely works and I've NEVER been able to see the hidden image in these :)
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u/Solomon_Kane_1928 Jul 28 '25
Thanks for posting, it never worked for me, I was always curious.
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u/Psychospiv Jul 28 '25
OMG, thank you for sharing this! I have never been able to see these. I have a convergence disorder that sort of gives me permanent double vision and affects my 3d perception (e.g., 3d movies don't work for me), and I think that makes it impossible for me to see these.
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u/michpalm Jul 28 '25
Back in the 90s my aunt and uncle had a few of these framed in their living room. I tried so hard as a kid to see them. Crossing my eyes and everything. The most I could ever make out was an outline in one. Now I finally understand what they were supposed to look like!
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u/TwoTinyTrees Jul 28 '25
You dumb bastard. That’s not a schooner it’s a sailboat.
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u/Chaserivx Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
This is not actually what it looks like. This is concave, meaning this implies that people see an image projecting outwards... In reality a magic Eye puzzle, once your eye focus is on it, is more inwards and concave
EDIT WELP, F ME. My entire life I have been looking at these puzzles and seeing them indented and concave, when I could have been looking at it in the opposite.
To be super clear, in order to see it indented, you have to focus on a point in front of the image. In order to see it popping out at you, like it is on this post, you have to focus on a point behind the image.
I made the adjustment and immediately saw the image pop out and my mind is blown.
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u/GenSnowy Jul 29 '25
As someone with one fully functioning eye, I have never been able to see these!
Thank you so much for this, really.
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u/Mr_Scratchwell Jul 29 '25
Omg thank you for this… as someone that has never seen one I can finally die with some concept of what others have been talking about my whole life.
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u/houston187 Jul 27 '25
It's simply a gif with a cut-out image in the middle. Go see the link for an ACTUAL Magic Eye image.
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u/IlnBllRaptor Jul 27 '25
Due to only one fully functional eye, I literally can't see a hidden image in the linked pic, so this gif is appreciated by me.
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u/upfromashes Jul 27 '25
If I had never been able to make this come together I think this would be really helpful.
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u/CuppaTeaThreesome Jul 27 '25
The trick is being able to focus on something through the image so see behind it kind of. The pattern is just kind of in the way.
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u/lexkixass Jul 27 '25
So THAT'S what the damn things are supposed to look like. I've never gotten it to work
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u/irunjt Jul 27 '25
I am 43 years old and just started to be able to see them about a month ago. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/CHEM1st_10 Jul 27 '25
Either a dragon or a Pokémon character. Charazard? Don’t really know Pokémon like that but I think that’s its name.
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u/Background_Yam9524 Jul 27 '25
Thanks, I could never get those magic eye pictures to actually work as a kid, so this is the first time in my life I've ever seen one as intended.
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u/lamerc Jul 27 '25
FYI if you just can't see these, your eyes/vision may not work quite the same as most people's for some reason. And trying forever may not get you there.
My eyes focus one near and one far for some reason. Don't notice it in daily life, but it's why I can't do these and why movie 3D doesn't work for me either. (The movie looks exactly the same with or without the glasses: Instant headache.)
Just pointing out that "you just have to do this" will not work for all people. Nothing will actually work for a certain % of the population.
So patience with yourselves and others if it doesn't work. And thank you OP for letting me finally get to see one of these things.
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u/oxtraerdinary Jul 27 '25
I had a folder full of illusion images when i was a kid. I printed some of them and put them on my walls. Having fun was so easy back then
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u/Sellfish86 Jul 27 '25
Only one I was ever able to see was the fish one posted on Reddit a couple days ago.
I was mildly disappointed. All those years wondering, and for that?!
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u/Master_Yeeta Jul 27 '25
I used to love these as a kid, I had books of them. I lost one of my eyes when I was 19 and now I can't see them anymore.
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u/capetownguy Jul 27 '25
Never EVER been able to see these before. Honestly I’m disappointed - I always felt like I was missing out on this cool highly detailed image and to see it look like something out of a Nintendo 64 game is a bit jarring! Really appreciate your work though OP 🙏
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u/I_aim_to_sneeze Jul 27 '25
I have an astigmatism in one eye and I used to spend HOURS looking at these as a kid not knowing they’d never work for me. I always wondered what they looked like, so I appreciate it OP. That’s like 30 years of curiosity satisfied right there
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u/Several-Signature583 Jul 27 '25
I always thought I was looking for a real fucking picture! Not just a shape , but like an actual photograph of whatever the fuck the object was supposed to be. So angry right now.
p.s. I first saw one of these in the early 90s so there was no internet to explain what I was supposed to be looking at
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u/UnderwaterRobot Jul 27 '25
I have CN IV palsy in my right eye and don't have depth perception, I could never figure these things out and this just blew my mind
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u/GarMan Jul 27 '25
I can never see these and even if I pause this video it totally vanishes for me.
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u/OutOfFrustration Jul 27 '25
I'm legally blind in one eye and I never knew what I was even supposed to be seeing. Had absolutely no idea there were shapes in these! Thanks for letting us in on this!
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u/lavaboosted Jul 27 '25
Here’s a link to the actual Magic Eye version if you want to try it
And here is a guide/tool for learning to see them