The Jesus Optical Illusion (Santa too!)

Stare at the center of the image above for at least 30 seconds. Then look at a blank white wall, or a piece of paper. What do you see? On this page you'll see that the after image of the black and white image above is much stronger than the one in color below. Take your time, sometimes it takes an additional 20 seconds before your eyes can really focus on the after image. The image looks similar to the shroud of turin, which is another famous face of Jesus Christ.

How does the Jesus Illusion Afterimage work?

You have microscopic rods and cones in your eyes. The cones are used to looking around, and can become overworked when you force your eyes to stare at the same object. So when you look away from the image, these tired cone cells are a bit worn out so they don't tell your brain what the new color (like the white or tan on your wall) is, and your brain still intreprets the old information since it hasn't received a strong, fresh signal. Just give it a few moments and the effect will wear out. If you want to see it work again, just gaze at the exact same place in the image above and you can start the illusion a little bit quiker this time. Jesus is watching you!

New: See the same thing with an afterimage of Barrack Obama! Announcing the Obama Illusion!

Now, instead of black and white, lets try color! For the first optical illusion image above you are looking at a human face straight on. Even though it is much more fuzzy of a picture, your mind has an easier time filling in the blanks. Can you tell who this man with a beard is above? It isn't just any old man, it's Santa! You may need to stare at the Santa optical illusion longer than you stared at the Jesus optical illusion in order for the after image to be visible to your eye.

Best of the Best (our newest original optical illusions)
	Same Shade Diamonds Wow! It will look like the diamonds on the top are much darker than the diamonds on the bottom. Perfect and printable! This is a very strong optical illusion, and is even noticeable in the small image to the left. Doesn't it look like the top row is considerably darker than each successive row?
	Moving Red Spiral Sometimes, while I'm just playing around in Photoshop, something appears, as if by magic. This illusion was one of those that just jumps off the page. It's a large red spiral on a purple background that appears to jump and move. Works better for some people than others, but if you like the moving illusions, you'll love it! Although this small image might move a bit as you read these words, the larger versions are even better! » Moving spiral image...
	9/13/2011 - Floating Wood Blocks Video Created these floating wooden blocks and attached them to a globe. Watch the video and see how the blocks follow the camera! Pretty amazing! You can launch the video on this page, or go to the page that describes it a bit more View the video...
	Moving Backgrounds It moves! You must zoom in to get the full illusion. You'll see the rings rotate, even though they are not moving at all. We've created several sizes so you can use as your desktop background.

Optical Illusion Image Gallery #1 - Jesus

Jesus Optical Illusion Image

How does the Jesus Illusion Afterimage work?