Here is an optical illusion I generated with Inkscape . I created this file some years ago and found it recently while cleaning my archives.

Using a contrast trick it appears that circles are in motions . Click on the image below to get a full-size preview:

Rotating snakes illusion: a grid of overlapping discs ringed in blue, yellow and black segments that appear to spin when scanned

Unfortunately I lost the original SVG source file ( optical-illusion-circles-in-motion.svgz ). But I was able to recover the original PNG file.

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  1. djib

    Great illusion! Did you recreate an existing illusion or is this an invention? I remember discovering it about 6 years ago and it's still very impressive!

    1. Kevin Deldycke Author

      That's a well known optical illusion. I don't know its name or origin.

      I think I've discovered this on the web after being inspired by a visit to an art fair featuring some optical painting in 2004. I may have replicated it with the project of printing a giant poster in mind (hence the SVG).

      1. djib

        Well, your version is great!

    2. James

      This optical illusion amazes me everytime I see it. I think it is Akiyoshi KITAOKA who creates this kind of images. I found this website on the web: https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html

      1. Kevin Deldycke Author

        Thanks James ! Looks like you've uncovered the original source of this work. Great find ! :)