Magic Eye books were all the craze in the 90’s. They are fun, magical, and they have tons of different options!
Each book has a series of computer generated, 3D images that give the illusion of 3D if you cross or relax your eyes while looking at them. They usually have 1-2 “Floaters” per book which are pictures that are much easier to see and much less detailed.
As a kid, I never understood the craze because I couldn’t see anything, but I have used 3-4 different magic eye books through my vision therapy office and I’m starting to get it.
All the book I have tried have been very similar and pretty good, but when I decided to purchase my own, I came across “Beyond 3D” and realized it was PERFECT.
Why “Beyond 3D” is Superior
- Written by an Optometrist who gives detailed instructions for seeing illusions
- Has 11 “Floater” pictures which are easier to see
- Teaches overall eye relaxation techniques
- Each page has two small boxes to help you test if the eyes are engaging correctly.
What are Floaters?
Floaters are pictures that are repeated images. The spacing between the repeats combined with relaxing the eyes to look “through the picture” will create an illusion of depth. Even with tricky diagnosis like ARC (anomalous retinal correspondence) or eyes that aren’t perfectly straight, these illusions can still be seen and practiced.
They build a fantastic foundation for learning what relaxing or diverging the eyes feels like as you move onto the more traditional, complex images.
What are Normal Magic Eye Images?
These images also have repeating patterns, but when both eyes are working together, a 3D illusion is created. I have never seen one perfectly, my ARC diagnosis makes it VERY difficult and some may say impossible, but I am starting to get flickers which is exciting.
The jelly bean picture above has more rigid depth. You’ll see that some are in front and others are behind so there is depth.
But in the traditional magic eyes, you are seeing a volume of depth and it flows more. It is much more complex.
Learning to see these images is a fantastic exercise that can help build the vision of anyone, but especially those of us who have two eyes that aren’t great at coordinating. This is a must buy for anyone in vision therapy!