Dragon

[Marshac]

Someone showed me this dragon over the weekend.... if you have a few moments, I highly recommend making one. At the very least, watch the video!

http://www.grand-illusions.com/dragon.htm

 

[BigMoneyJim]

The video is almost creepy. I tried making one but can't make the illusion work. Either I did something wrong or the lighting needs to be perfect.

...

Oh, the instructions say to look at it with one eye. I'll have to go back and try that.

 

[yelnad]

Very cool. My officemates are amazed.

 

[Marshac]

The first one I made didn't turn out right.... the secret is folding the head so that it's almost inside out. Once you get that right, it should work great.

I'm not sure what's funnier.... people's reactions when they first notice it "watching" them, or later on when they keep moving around the room watching the dragon "watch" them. Pretty funny regardless.

 

[wabmester]

Haven't you guys been to Disneyland?   Remember the statues with the eyes that follow you around in the Haunted Mansion?   Probably one of the earliest and coolest optical illusions I can recall from my childhood.

 

[IDunno]

The video is almost creepy. I tried making one but can't make the illusion work. Either I did something wrong or the lighting needs to be perfect.

...

Oh, the instructions say to look at it with one eye. I'll have to go back and try that.

Definitely do it with one eye closed. With both eyes open, it just looks weird. Try it with one eye closed, just stare at it until it looks like it is facing you, rather than inside out. Then you can start moving your head around (or moving it around), and it moves right with you.
-Scott

 

[yelnad]

Also - try stepping back from it. It says to be 2 feet away, but 6 feet works well.