Optical illusions are art works or designs that trick the eye and the brain. Some illusions trick the viewer into believing that they are seeing something that isn’t actually there. Other illusions contain two images in the same picture; the first is seen easily but the second can only be found if you change the way that you look at the image.
Optical Illusion Tattoos Boggle the Mind
Tattoos of optical illusions allow illusion enthusiasts to carry their favorite illusion art work wherever they go. Illusion tattoos are likely to attract a lot of attention so if you’re thinking of getting an optical illusion tattoo, be prepared to get stopped by random strangers who want to look at your tattoo. Many optical illusions are black and white graphic designs that look good as tattoo art. On light skin, these designs can be tattooed with one dark tattoo ink color. To create the necessary contrast on dark skins, a light pastel color tattoo ink can be used.
Portraits get a New Face as Illusion Tattoos
Human faces are very recognizable and when viewing photographs and paintings the eye is immediately drawn to the faces of human subjects. This is why human skulls and faces are often used in optical illusion designs – it gives the viewer a good chance of finding the illusion hidden within the design. Finding the illusion quickly is part of the enjoyment of optical illusions, so an easily recognizable subject like a human face is often used. In the illusion tattoo below, the face of the woman is quite apparent from a distance, but up close the first thing your eye recognizes are the dragons.
Well-known Illusions become Famous Tattoos
Some optical illusion tattoos are based on famous paintings, graphic designs and drawings by well-known artists. Famous optical illusion artists include MC Escher, Salvador Dali, Sandro del Prete, Marcel Duchamp and Octavio Ocampo. Take a look at this article; MC Escher Tattoos create Body Art Illusions for more tattoos of MC Escher’s famous designs.
Many optical illusion designs blur the line between surrealism and illusion, re-creating recognizable objects or scenes in such a way that they are completely believable but highly unlikely and unrealistic. The trick that lies in this type of illusion, as seen in the Sandro del Prete illusion tattoo below, is to take something mundane like the cartwheel and make it extraordinary.