Dragon Optical Illusion Appears to Turn Its Head

Lori Dorn
June 16, 2023

The “Inside Out Dragon” by Jerry Andrus, which was on display at the Franklin Institute‘s Sir Isaac’s Loft around 2016 and 2017, is a marvelous optical illusion that makes it appear that the eyes of a paper dragon are following us wherever we go. The dragon is actually inverted. However, because humans are trained to see faces before anything else, our brains reverse the inversion to see the dragon in its entirety.

The “Inside-Out Dragon” is a classic optical illusion. Your brain turns the Dragon right side out because you aren’t used to seeing things inverted. The Dragon follows you because it is visible from many different angles.

The Inside Out Dragon demonstrates an optical illusion in our #SirIsaacsLoft exhibit https://t.co/qcCZ7rArpr. #MuseumMadness pic.twitter.com/6nWsSf8iFk
— The Franklin Institute (@TheFranklin) March 20, 2017

The BadAstronomer explained the illusion in detail and showed how to make one at home.

This paper cut-out dragon appears to turn its head to follow the camera! But it’s an illusion, and I explain how it works.

Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.