What were those living "Gif" paintings from the 90s?!

[jaedaen]

This to me just looks like interlaced light patterns moving down from the top of the picture downward. Maybe I'm wrong and it's something else. I only remember them in Chinese restaurants.

I'm reminded though of the biggest picture fad of the 90s. If you have a memory from that time period here in the US at least, it's likely you might remember this. My mom outfitted my whole house with these pictures.

They were called Magic Eye posters. You have to unfocus your eyes, try to look PAST the picture, and eventually with a bit of practice, you will see a 3d image hidden inside of them. I even remember a copy protection code being hidden with this tech, though I don't remember the context at all. Seinfeld addresses the popularity of this concept at the time in one of their episodes. Mr Pitt isn't able to see it and eventually ends up looking like Hitler for a board meeting unintentionally:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_509Qkome7c


Here's what they look like:

I Heart U:

A dolphin jumping through a hoop:

"Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil" monkeys:

This shit was 90s af.

 

[Chao Tse-Tung]

This to me just looks like interlaced light patterns moving down from the top of the picture downward. Maybe I'm wrong and it's something else. I only remember them in Chinese restaurants.

I'm reminded though of the biggest picture fad of the 90s. If you have a memory from that time period here in the US at least, it's likely you might remember this. My mom outfitted my whole house with these pictures.

They were called Magic Eye posters. You have to unfocus your eyes, try to look PAST the picture, and eventually with a bit of practice, you will see a 3d image hidden inside of them. I even remember a copy protection code being hidden with this tech, though I don't remember the context at all. Seinfeld addresses the popularity of this concept at the time in one of their episodes. Mr Pitt isn't able to see it and eventually ends up looking like Hitler for a board meeting unintentionally:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_509Qkome7c


Here's what they look like:

I Heart U:

View attachment 49863

A dolphin jumping through a hoop:

View attachment 49864


"Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil" monkeys:

View attachment 49867

This shit was 90s af.

Yoo, I've actually still got a whole magic eye book with one on every page, now I wanna dig it up when I get home lmao

 

[LeVil_78]

I fucking hate those things I never was able to do them

 

[AnanaSUPREME]

isnt it possible to be some kind of lenticular design?

https://www.eliteflyers.com/images/product/3d-lenticular-postcards_400x400a8867.gif

edit: add.:

View: https://youtu.be/tRTe_MRSbsY

No, the motion of the water was done with lights. The background of the device was a static image.

 

[Some_porcupine]

No, the motion of the water was done with lights. The background of the device was a static image.

so like LEDS, strobo?

 

[AnanaSUPREME]

so like LEDS, strobo?

Exactly, and it was only used to animate the water.

 

[punishedgnome]

so like LEDS, strobo?

I don't think they were LEDs. Tiny light up leds were less commercially available when these things were built and usually came in red or green. It's most likely an incandescent or florescent bulb with a disk or some kind of material on a conveyor belt-like apparatus that spins between the translucent layer of the painting and the bulb creating an illusion of movement.

Excuse the typos MS paint does not have spell check. Here is a quick diagram of how I think these things worked. I am not 100% sure this is how they worked, just an educated guess based on the fact that the paintings were quite thick and the technology widely available when they were made.


Here are some pics of one from ebay. Look how thick they are. That would be to make room for some kind of mechanical apparatus.



It's kind of like those old mechanical handheld games. Look at this video where he takes "Digital Derby" apart.

 

[Vaporsleep]

I fucking hate those things I never was able to do them

Then you're going to love this

View: https://youtu.be/RLuGJGyCS90

 

[LeVil_78]

Then you're going to love this

View: https://youtu.be/RLuGJGyCS90

go fuck yourself

 

[Sketch Relics]

Then you're going to love this

View: https://youtu.be/RLuGJGyCS90

While it's cool that this works, using static to create the effect makes it harder to line up than it should be, probably should have used a picture of an apple instead.

I fucking hate those things I never was able to do them

Here, this is an easy one

Cross your eyes and try to overlap two of the splotches in the center of the picture, then try to focus you eyes on the 3d shape like you are looking past the flat image on your screen.
This one is a picture of a ball/eye.

 

[Vaporsleep]

While it's cool that this works, using static to create the effect makes it harder to line up than it should be, probably should have used a picture of an apple instead.

I agree. The static also fucking murders the bitrate and makes it even harder.

Also, that's a pretty cool one. My computer monitor is right in front of a window, so my method is to look out at something in the distance then move my head to face my monitor without changing my eyes' focus. From there it's careful tuning to get the clearest picture of the image.

 

[LeVil_78]

While it's cool that this works, using static to create the effect makes it harder to line up than it should be, probably should have used a picture of an apple instead.


Here, this is an easy one

Cross your eyes and try to overlap two of the splotches in the center of the picture, then try to focus you eyes on the 3d shape like you are looking past the flat image on your screen.
This one is a picture of a ball/eye.

it don't woooork

 

[Sketch Relics]

it don't woooork

It can be hard if you have never gotten it to work before. To help understand the basic concept, hold out your index fingers vertically and touch them together while still holding them vertical. Move them apart about an inch/inch and a half and cross your eyes. You should be able to see a sort of "shadow" version of you fingers between where you are holding them. From there, move your fingers closer together until the shadow versions overlap and look like a solid "illusion" Finger. Focus your eyes on the illusion and try not to lose it.
If you can get this to work, you should be able to see the image since this is the principal that the image is based on.

edit: it may also help to focus your eyes on an object behind your finger, like a door nob or something about 3 feet away from you.
Actually, now that I think about it that might help too, when looking at the image, imagine looking at an object about 3 feet behind the screen.

 

[Some_porcupine]

ah, i never was anble to see those