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.

Tattoo artist Gregorio Marangoni uses a pointillism technique to add texture to this optical illusion tattoo. The dot work shading allows the cubes to be viewed either as having a small block chipped out of each cube, or as having a small block balancing on the angle between each cube. [source]

In the picture on the left, the tattoo shows a jolly queen with curly hair giggling at a joke. The second picture shows the same tattoo that has been flipped vertically (top to bottom) to reveal a grumpy, tired looking king with a beard and a big nose. [source]

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.

Depending on how you look at it, this tattoo shows either a woman in front of a dressing table or a human skull. the decorative nature of the drawing of the woman makes the skull look a bit like a sugar skull tattoo design. The tattoo artist has used black tattoo ink to create the body of the design and has added white tattoo ink to create distinctive highlights. [source]

This monotone optical illusion uses only black tattoo ink on light skin to create contrast. The illusion tattoo reveals either a woman’s face or a little man playing a saxophone. [source]

At first glance this tattoo is an artistic design of the word “liar”, but when you turn your head to the left, you’ll see that the same squiggle that makes up the word shows the profile of a man’s face. [source]

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.

The two dragons fighting in this tattoo design are positioned perfectly to form the features of a woman’s face. [source]

This is one of Octavio Ocampo’s most famous designs. The butterfly and flowers are positioned to created the illusion of a woman’s face. This is an excellent placement for this tattoo. The size is bold and daring, adding to the unusual nature of the design. [source]

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.

A tattoo of one of MC Escher’s famous graphic designs shows what could be perceived as a crumpled, curled ribbon or the shape of a human face. [source]

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.

This optical illusion tattoo is based on a design by the famous surrealism and optical illusion artist Sandro del Prete. The tattoo design defies logic, tricking the mind into believing that the two wheels could possibly be linked in the way that they are in the illusion. [source]