The Raven Optical Illusion

Most of you have probably heard of Edgar Allan Poe. It’s more than likely you have read his narrative poem titled “The Raven” at some point in your life. As a reminder, the poem tells of a talking raven’s mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man’s slow descent into madness. I won’t go into much detail, but be sure to pick a copy and re-read it if it’s been a while. Dunno why, but today’s anamorphic painting created by a talented artist, Ari Seppä, somehow reminded me of Edgar Allan Poe and his writings. Seen from a distance it appears as if the gigantic bird has just flown into Ari’s office, but seen from up-close – the illusion vanishes. Still, the raven remains as magnificent as it originally appeared. Be sure to check “the making of..” video here. BTW, this reminds me I need to buy myself a good hard-printed copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s opus…

23 Replies to “The Raven Optical Illusion”

    1. Perhaps without them the 3-dimensional effect of the raven doesn’t present as well.

    2. I think the blocks were added mainly because the shading on them reinforces the 3D effect … but I do admit, they look kind of odd and like they don’t really belong there

  1. It looks great except for the bottom block. The artist should have tilted it downward, so the corner line looked like a side edge, instead of breaking up a side.

  2. Fantastic image. Looks great from lots of angles. Even when looking closely from the side, the red blocks appear 3D.

  3. Would be cool to see from a non illusion angle

    Those views always intrigue me more when can be seen from many views

  4. Since this is an actual concave picture that appears convex, I was wondering if panning the painting will give the “dragon illusion” effect.

  5. It never disappeared for me. I looked at it from 3 feet away, coming forward till my nose touched monitor and no change except got closer

  6. I like the idea of this however if the blocks are needed to reinforce the 3D illusion perhaps they wouldn’t look so out of place if it was painted to look like pieces of broken wall. Then it would show movement and perhaps come alive a bit more. :)

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