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Art has come a long way. Paintings have gone from realism to cubism to abstractions. In today’s world, a new art form has arisen. Street artists have taken to 3D optical illusions. Most of these artworks are based on the basic 3D optical illusions that you come across every day on the internet. Yet, the results are extraordinary. In this list, we have compiled the top 8 3D art drawing optical illusions. These entries will include works from 3D optical illusionists as well as basic 3D optical illusions that you can make yourself with a little bit of practice.
1: Moving Yellow and Black lines
The moving yellow and black lines broken into segments is one of the most common 3D art drawing optical illusions out there. It is very easy to draw and doesn’t take a lot. It is a top illusion because it always bamboozles the viewer. Many illusionist artists have included one variant or another of this very drawing in their works.
The drawing consists of black lines on the segmented yellow background. The angles of black lines differ from segment to segment, which gives rise to the illusion of them moving. It’s a very nice optical illusion for those who are only beginning to draw 3D optical illusion art.
2: Moving Metal Abstract Art
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Abstract art has always been a loyal companion to 3D optical illusions. These two elements are often paired by optical illusionists. This 3D art drawing optical illusion is of something metallic distributed in a spiral. The spirals would move as the position of the viewer changes relative to the image. Again, this is also a very basic 3D optical illusion. However, it’s the base for other complex optical illusions made by professional artists.
You can draw this one using watercolors as well as sketch pens. It will take some practice before you get the texture and the illusion right, but it will be worth it.
3: The Crevasse by Edgar Mueller
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Edgar Mueller is perhaps the greatest 3D street optical illusionist of our time. He was one of the pioneers who brought this magnificent art to the mainstream. Mueller dedicated his whole to drawing street art and a good amount of his work has to do with optical illusions. This artist just loves to fool his audience by showing them something that isn’t there. He’s better known in the community as the legendary pavement artist who legitimized street art along with the likes of Banksy. Critics and audience alike love him. People claim that he is the world’s top 3D illusionist. His work is a testament to that fact. No one can come near to his art.
Mueller was born in 1968 in Germany. When he was born, people didn’t take kindly to street art. It was considered a form of vandalism. As he grew up, he saw the likes of Kurt Wenner doing street art and got inspired. Today, Mueller is the best in business. Mueller holds multiple records when it comes to optical illusions, street art, and graffiti writing. He is the first artist ever to produce a metamorphosing piece of art that changes depending upon the time of the day. During the day, it’s an image of a giant. At night, the giant changes into a fetus in the womb. Mueller achieved this feat using photoluminescent paints. This work of his was considered his most innovative piece.
The Crevasse is right up there with his metamorphosing piece in terms of greatness. It is considered to be one of his best works. It is located in Ireland. The title of this pavement art is self-explanatory. The image is that of a deep crevasse that can fool anyone who walks over it. It is truly a sight to behold.
4: 3D optical illusion art by Kurt Wenner
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Kurt Wenner is the man who invented pavement art. He was one of the first street artists ever. Back when street art was considered a horrendous crime and an attack on the sensibilities of conservative America, Wenner was honing his skills. Wenner has been doing street art for the majority of his career. He was never interested in traditional art and took his talent outside. As with all street artists, he wasn’t received well at first. The act of securing permission to paint on walls and pavements was a hefty task. More often than not, the places where Wenner could display his talent were limited. Wenner gained fame for his art very late in his career. Furthermore, the internet boosted his fame even more. Now, his art is known to people all around the world.
The techniques that Wenner uses while doing his art are quite innovative. It is no surprise that he is considered to be one of the greats when it comes to street art and illusion art. Wenner was born in 1958 in Michigan, U.S.A. But he didn’t stay in Michigan for long. He moved to California, where he got into Rhode Island Center for Arts. During his higher studies, he was hired by NASA to work in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His talent for art was noticed even in California, where he would engage in street art. Wenner’s art inspired some of the greats of the street art world like Edgar Mueller.
This work of his, which is depicted in the image above, is very detailed and is a type of depth illusion. Wenner is known for making his work extremely detailed. Perhaps, this work of his takes the cake when it comes to detailing in an optical illusion. There are many works by him that resemble this optical illusion and almost all of them are worthy of respect and commendation.
5: Stocznia Szczecinska 1 (Piotr Kuczynski) by Manfred Stader
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Don’t let the huge and complicated name of this artwork scare you. It is one of the best pieces of optical illusionist artwork out there. The idea behind this pavement art is innovative and the detailing is close to perfection. The image consists of what seems to be a puddle in broken ground. The beautifully drawn cracks around the puddle and the depth illusion makes it look like a real puddle that you wouldn’t want to step in. Inside the puddle, one can see a whole scenery of what appears to be a docking bay. The casual colors used in this image give it a very warm vibe. There is a ship inside the puddle, which is docked by the shore.
The type of buildings featured in the image gives an impression that it indeed is a docking bay where ships are loaded. The detailing makes the depth illusion even more convincing. The writing of the title of this work on a yellow background gives this artwork a magnificent finishing touch.
This work of Stader is considered to be one of the most convincing optical illusion artworks out there. Critics have commended Stader’s ability to breathe life into a picture with his precise detailing. For instance, the angle of perspective in the drawing is perfect. Stader’s talent reflects accurately in this work of his.
Manfred Stader is an artist who has avoided revealing too much of his personal life to the public sphere. It is known that his inspirations, like most pavement artists, were Edgar Mueller and Kurt Wenner. Stader began his street art in the 80s when this art form was gaining momentum. Apart from pavement art, Stader has also indulged in traditional art, murals, and graffiti writing. He is an artist of diverse nature and likes to experiment with art forms.
6: 3D Optical Deception
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This 3D optical deception consists of a 3D shape that confuses the viewer due to the impossibility of locating its starting point. To emphasize on the illusion even more, the work includes human-figures on the shape itself. It’s a more complex type of 3D optical illusion art and takes a bit more effort to draw. This type of 3D optical illusion is quite popular among illusionists. More often than not, you will come across this type of art on social media websites and other internet websites because of its sheer popularity.
7: The moving circle of black and white
Image Source: Pixabay
This is one of the oldest 3D optical illusions in the book. The image consists of a circle made of black and white lines inside a rectangle of similar black and white lines. This contrast in shape gives rise to the illusion of the circle moving. When the viewer looks directly inside the circle, it appears to move. It is very easy to draw and won’t take a lot of effort. However, this piece of optical illusion is very important because almost all artworks that involve movement-based illusions are inspired by this in one way or another.
8: Eduardo Relero’s masterpiece 3D optical illusion art – The Broken Bridge
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When it comes to awe-inspiring 3D optical illusion artworks, nothing can beat Eduardo Relero’s broken bridge. There is so much to this artwork that it would require a whole article to cover it all. For starters, it is considered one of the best artworks that employ depth illusion. The depth illusion in this artwork is perfect. To appreciate the illusion that this man creates in his art, one has to take a look at the broken bridge. The image of this artwork won’t leave your head for a long time. But don’t give it a view if you’re scared of heights.
The image consists of a broken bridge and there seems to be a car at the bottom of the river. The artwork depicts a car that has crashed and fallen into the river. There is also a boy who is hanging from the edge of the broken bridge. The details like the smoke coming from the burning car are just extraordinary in nature. A lot of thought and dedication has gone into this particular work – that is apparent. The sketchy look that Relero has given to his work brings out the illusionary aspect even more. It looks like a pencil drawing but is much more detailed than a regular pencil drawing. Eduardo Relero is a pavement artist who is based in Madrid, Spain. He has spent most of his career in Spain. Yet, he is recognized worldwide for his amazing and breath-taking art. Relero is considered to be a top optical illusionist, along with Edgar Mueller. However, he started out a bit later than Mueller. His works have attracted tourists in Spain from all over the world. To know the beauty of his art, one has to witness it with their own eyes.
