Animal Shadows Optical Illusion

Jeff Bilinovac sent me this funny looking photo of an animal kingdom. If you look carefully, you’ll be able to recognize bunch of animal shadows. What is even more interesting, is the fact that the author had to be very creative to think of this, and manage to integrate all the shapes, for them to fit perfectly. If I’m correct, this effect was first discovered by M. C. Escher. Check his awesome drawings in the appropriate category, or simply check “Best of Escher” article.

56 Replies to “Animal Shadows Optical Illusion”

  1. Wow that’s so cool, I can’t draw ordinary pictures so to draw 6 (?) in one is amazing. I love this site keep up the good work! (P.s. first comment?)

  2. So maybe it’s not actually an illusion, but it’s still cool. I love how it starts witht he elephant and ends with the mouse. Very profound, that they both exist together and that the artist captured this.

  3. Comment number One: I think it is not so much an optical illusion as it is a brain teaser. Comment number 16: Do not be mean! How would you like it if someone said that about you? Brava on the illusion.

  4. If u look carefully inside the rat there is a small bump with a tail going up. It doesn’t show up very well, especially if u have a low resolution, but that is the mouse. So all in all there are seven animals.

  5. That is so so so so so awesome!!!! How dose an elephant make all those animals?!?! It’s so awesomly cool!!

  6. I cant see the snail/mouse thing, but there is a parrot on the elephants trunk, using the elephant’s eye but looking ackwards.

  7. hay, one of you said the donkey had ears too small to be a donkey but donkeys are like horses in this way- there are ones with long backs, short backs, wide chests, barely any withers, strange head, long neck, short ears ect…
    The overall look of a horse is called the conformation and there are conformation faults as well. Horses can have long backs and short ears but short ears won’t stop it jumping a metre high fence, long backs have been known to. Race horses often have a bigger build on their hinquarters as it is said that is what pushes them across the finish line first.
    Donkeys can also have long ears, short ears, bowed legs, broad chests, short backs and much more. Saying that all donkeys have long ears is stereotyping- eg. If I asked you to act as a grandma you would instantly lean over and pull out your invisible walking sticks but my teacher is a grandma and she is far from this stereotype.
    Donkeys are just as likely to have long ears as they are to have short so the 2nd largest animal in this pic is probably a donkey as it has a different tail from a horse and the ear size makes no difference anyway.

  8. It is pretty neat, but you said he got all the shapes to fit perfectly and it is pretty obvious they aren’t fitting like that. Most animals have gouges taken out of them to allow for a smaller animal to take shape. Getting them to line up perfectly would have been an impressive feat. This is just kinda cool.

  9. I get it…
    there’s only 1 animal(the elephant)
    but the space between his legs are the
    shape of a dog(and so on).
    *or i guess it is more animals

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *