Dragon Illusion

58 comments

This is really a wonderful Illusion, originally invented by some English guy I think. This little dragon is made out of paper - simply print it, cut it out, stick it together, and stand it on a table or shelf. When you move around, the dragon's head seems to follow you around the room (if you stare at it's eyes). Have a look at the video below to see what I mean. The effect is frightening! You can print the dragon yourself by following thumbnails below (be shure to fold dragon's head to outside, and not the presumed inside fold!) This is awesome!




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 mis-interpret 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. Below is the dragon illusion blueprint, click on the image to view it full size, save it and cut it as the instructions say!







58 Comments

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  1. Anonymous Craig 

    I made this one a while ago when someone blogged about it.
    I absolutely love it and have it at my computer now.

    Are there any others like it? That you can make - I'm still surfing your site now..
    Cheers,
    cc

  2. Anonymous Antonio 

    Woah, it's breathtaking! We've setted it in a way that entering in the bedroom with the left eye closed and going straight until the dragon is no more visible, you can see the head turning and following and the trick is not visible from any point of the room (unless you open the other eye of course ;)

    Really amazing, thank you for this blog and all the other illusions you've found, this one deserves a big oh but the others cool too, and some of them are astonishing and really unexpected!

  3. Anonymous tray 

    This illusion works with most (painted) sculpture or even images that shows someone staring right at the camera.

  4. Anonymous Alicia 

    dat wuz kool, yo! good job! ima print this ****!!!

  5. Anonymous mike rutch 

    god bless you too people

  6. Anonymous Tim 

    How do you print it?

  7. Anonymous Bill Stokes 

    This illusion was actually "invented" by Jerry Andrus. He has spent a lifetime creating amazing optical effects.

  8. Anonymous colt 

    that was absolutely brilliant:)

  9. Anonymous dakota 

    this illusion does not work!!!

  10. Anonymous LuLu 

    you spelt sure wrong!!

  11. Anonymous babe 

    you just print this???

  12. Anonymous Tonicboy 

    Hey, the image links are no good. Does someone have this mirrored somewhere else?

  13. Anonymous confuseEeddd!!ii!! 

    im confused i folded it and all but it didnt work??¿¿

  14. Anonymous Liam 

    I think user 'tray' up there missed the point of this illusion. For a demo look at the video linked in the introduction above.

  15. Anonymous RONNIE 

    OMG!!! SICKEST THING IVE EVER SEEN!!!

    AND I MEAN EVER!!!!

    ITS ON MY COMPUTER TOP!!!

    FREEEEKY DEEKIE!!!!

  16. Anonymous Ligerginny 

    I saw that on grand illusions a couple weeks ago, printed it out, followed the cutting and folding instructions, and it didn't work...:( He's on my computer desk right now, rather smashed, but he really didn't work. Gr.

  17. Anonymous RaveKev 

    I saw the video, printed it out, built it, and now I am fascinated.

    At first, i've built it in a wrong way...
    but after i've watched the video over and over, i saw my fault.

    The secret: the white side of the paper must be outside.
    when you look at it from downside, you have to see the dragon's face.

    When you built it right, you have to close one eye, and move your head.



    THAT DRAGON IS AMAZING!!


    after a few minutes, i feel griddy..


    (sry, for my english, but i am from germany ;) )

  18. Anonymous Dinguz 

    How do people find this stuff out? Was the dude
    smoking pot and folding origami while suddenly
    he saw a really cool effect? WTF?

  19. Anonymous Damn Kid 

    Spelt isn't even a word!

  20. Anonymous Hai 

    funny

  21. Anonymous niki 

    yes spelt is a word, it's brittish

  22. Anonymous M 2 the H O 

    dats so cool

  23. Anonymous M 2 the H O 

    spelt,
    past-tense of spell.
    i believe americans have a SPELLINGbee?
    i dont blame u tho,
    ur excuse is that u r american. and why do we critisize spellin anyway?
    ever heard of slang? critisizin is a waste of time.
    srry, had 2 let b known
    ;P

  24. Anonymous Sir Loin 

    Gee wilikers dandy the dragon is watchin me eyes and what not! brilliant spectacle yes?

  25. Anonymous kevin 

    just like the mona lisa

  26. Anonymous michael 

    I wonder if youcould make this into a wallpaper, or screen saver. If you first took the 2D image and made a sterogram GIF file like the Shiva stereogram, then the image would follow you around from your computer screen. Or, would the 2D image be missing something?

  27. Anonymous Dragon Master 

    If the illusion does not work for you, insure that you constructed it with the dragon's head inverted. That is, while the body sides fold back and is convex, the head folds forward and is glued concave. This will help you see the illusion.

  28. Anonymous Lay-Lay 

    thats cool, i should try to make it.

  29. Anonymous Steven 

    Ok, so staying up late payed off tonight. This is the coolest illision ever. I printed it, cut it out, and (after making it right side out first INCORRECTLY) I fixed it and saw the result... to my amazement. I even videoed a clip of it with my digital camera. http://www.fsunet.com/gallery/v/videos/DRAGON.MOV.html

    If you can't see it there, you can download the clip directly from http://www.fsunet.com/videos/ (it is the one titled DRAGON.MOV)

  30. Anonymous Video Games 10 Hours ADay 

    I agree with Steven. IT IS THE COOLEST ILLUSION EVER! too bad you have to say with one eye closed. I think I know why. You get 1 perspective from each eye, so you're looking at it at two slightly different angles; say one person is standing behind the figure, one person is standing in front. The person standing in front's brain thinks that the dragon is staring right at him, but the person standing behind the figure can tell that it's a hollow face. in real life, it's the same thing, only far less space between the two perspectives. GET IT?!

  31. Anonymous Draconology_nerd 

    Fascinating, repulsive, and unsettling all at the same time. Perhaps I say repulsive because of the unsettling factor. Either way, as soon as I get a color printer, I'll have myself a blue dragon who watches my every move. Simply splendid.

  32. Anonymous just scot 

    I just printed this out tonight and was AMAZED! Anyone remember the old woman/young woman picture? If you look at it one way you see and old woman with a long nose, the other way you see a young woman with a sexy long face line and cheek. This is the same thing. If you don't see it, watch it with ONE EYE CLOSED! The original instructions from grand-illusions.com say just this. A victim should not see it until it is set up and tell them to keep an eye closed and walk left to right in front of it, just far enough away that you can't see the creases and realize it is inside out. Squinting helps a little when you are too close.

    fun
    scot

  33. Anonymous Amazed Spectator 

    This is the most amazing illusion that i have ever experieced!!!!!!!!!! :):):):):):):) :P:P:P ITS BLOODY AWESOME!! IT IS AMAZING S**T

  34. Anonymous jack 

    cool dont swear

  35. Anonymous meeow =^.^= 

    i am so amazed

  36. Anonymous Anonymous 

    You've been looking at too many illusions. You don't know how to spell.

  37. Anonymous Anonymous 

    How do you print it? It keeps cutting off part of the tail and instructions or prints super small.

  38. Anonymous Anonymous 

    i probaly has special gift, i saw the illusion with my two eyes open.

  39. Anonymous avenger13 

    i really like this dragon. I did print it and cut/fold/glued it.... it looks awsoooome! At first my roommates thought "wtf!" but soon they saw the illusion... :D

    even made one as a present to someone :D

    *thumbs up*

  40. Anonymous Anonymous 

    I have a few questions....Mine doesn't work.

    Do you have to watch it with one eye closed?

    Does it have to printed with a colour printed (I mean, does colour effect the illusion)?

    " RaveKev said...
    At first, i've built it in a wrong way...
    but after i've watched the video over and over, i saw my fault."
    What was that fault you noticed? I may have made the same mistake.

    " Dragon Master said...

    If the illusion does not work for you, insure that you constructed it with the dragon's head inverted. That is, while the body sides fold back and is convex, the head folds forward and is glued concave. This will help you see the illusion."
    If i knew wat he was saying, I would have done it. please simplify that paragraph for a simple mind.

    If you have the answer just refer to me as "michael" so that I know your talking to me

  41. Anonymous Ashnod 

    This is seriously a great Illusion. I would suggest trying it out to anyone who has read this far. It will amaze your co-workers

  42. Anonymous hotfoot 

    Yeah , this is the coolest!! I made one and gave it to a friend. So i made another. :-D

    Looks like he gona bite ya or something.
    when standing far away from it, i can see the illusion with both eyes. but up close i close one eye to see it.
    I got one watchin me now on top o my screen!

  43. Anonymous Anonymous 

    People are getting excited over nothing...


    Disney's Haunted Mansion rides have had this same effect for ages. (Anyone been there and seen the busts whilst lining up in the queue?)

  44. Anonymous Anonymous 

    alright micheal(Anonymous)(or whoever else is reading this), to look at it,imagine that the head is not inward but outward.here are some tips:

    *make sure you are seeing all parts of the dragon (ears, eyes, both jaws,nose, the white part with the words, and the gathering for gardener side.)YOU DON'T HAVE TO SEE THE TAIL SIDE

    *you may have to close one eye to see it up close and you can usually see it with both eyes from at least 10 feet away(2.5 meters, although im not sure)

    *also you might have to get rid of some overlapping shadows by tilting the dragon up, down, left or right with coins, paper, pencils, etc.

    *oh and while looking at the illusion the way youre supposed to dont think of the head being inward

    *if you do think of the head being inward(this one i thought was pretty cool) it will take your brain a half second to realize that and you'll see the head in ward

  45. Anonymous Anonymous 

    Think of the head being outward not inward, this is to micheal(anonymous)

  46. Anonymous Anonymous 

    hahahahaha this was sooo awesome!
    I showed it to my younger cousin she got so freaked she started crying

  47. Anonymous Anonymous 

    That is amazing - I can't believe it's not more recognized, no-one seems to have heard of this!

  48. Anonymous Anonymous 

    I absolutely love it! Are there any other colors I can make?

  49. Blogger Brian 

    M 2 the H O: If criticizing is a waste of time, didn't you just waste time in criticizing Americans? :P

    Damn Kid: They're right though... "spelt" is actually an old-english verb. Not slang though. It's not the only word that has multiple spellings either:

    color -or- colour
    theater -or- theatre
    shop -or- shoppe
    etc.

    You'll see this in a lot of business or product names to avoid copyright violations of similar products with similar names. :)

    Oh yeah... great illusion by the way! Very much like the concave portraits that appear to always be looking at you.

  50. Anonymous Anonymous 

    Spelt IS a real word! It's a grain, that when ground to flour consistency, makes wonderful "wheat free" bread. Find it in health food stores.

  51. Anonymous crystal 

    i just made my own...this is the coolest thing i have ever seen........ever.

  52. Anonymous Anonymous 

    I have seen a much larger dragon exactly like this at the Franklin Institute. It is a very cool illusion, and thanks for the picture so I can print it out. Right now I have one keeping watch right on top of my computer. AWESOME ILLUSION!!!

  53. Anonymous Anonymous 

    Wow! thats so strange! i feel freaked out just thinking about it! thats so cool! Dragon, Dragon, Dragon, then you move and it goes 'Swoosh!'and next thing you know its staring at you like its alive!... thats so hmmm... i don't know how to describe it!!!

  54. Blogger alex 

    it moves!?!?!?!?!?

  55. Anonymous ccoopa 

    omg im so pissed i made it exactly as it said and it dosnt work !!! ARRRGGGHHH

  56. Anonymous Anonymous 

    mine doesn't work, but i'm not very good at stuff like this so its probably my fault! its a very cute model anyway :)

  57. Anonymous nikki 

    OMG!!
    at first it didnt work but then when i stared at it for a few seconds it started workin
    freaky...

  58. Anonymous Anonymous 

    my one was rubbish, it didn't look at me




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