3D parallax image

I’m sure you’ve seen allot of images like the one above floating around the internet for some time now yet very little information about how they work has been presented. The explanation though is actually quite simple - it’s called parallax.

The most basic definition of parallax is the apparent motion of an object against a more distant background due to a change in the position of an observer. Illustrated below is parallax working on the astronomical scale where a bright star seems to move in relation the background stars as the Earth (with all us little observers) revolves around the sun.

Parallax in astronomy

On a smaller more manageable scale you can see parallax in action by just holding your finger about a foot away from your face and switching from closing your left eye to closing your right eye. Everything in the background seems to move relative to your finger when in fact it’s really just an effect of your eyes being spaced a few inches apart.

So how does parallax work to make flat 2 dimensional images appear 3D? Because us humans have binocular vision (2 eyes in front) enabling us to gauge how far away something is in a given space such as a deer on grassy plain or a tree in a forest. These animated images then work by replacing space with time - the speed of the timing between the flickering of each image. Click on any of the images below to see more examples of the effect (credit Jim Gasperini)

It should be noted that these images are not truly 3 dimensional because you are only seeing one flat image at a time. For true 3D images you need to see two unique images at the same time. The effect however is quite striking and even works with just one eye so people with a visual impairment can experience the effect, albeit to a lesser degree than with both eyes.

For a more challenging illusion, click here.

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