Matthew James Taylor Matthew James Taylor

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Optical Illusions (Artwork That Tricks The Eye)

I love optical illusion art.

Here are some of my fun creations:

My Optical Illusion Mural (Trompe-l'œil)

Optical illusion mural (Trompe-l'œil)
Artist
Matthew James Taylor
Medium
Acrylic on a brick wall
Date
11 Nov 2011

My attempt at a trompe-l'œil optical illusion mural.

I always wanted to paint one of these murals that tricks the eye into thinking that it's 3D.

This painting was done inside a slightly recessed archway which helped to give the illusion of depth. Towards the bottom, the wall comes forward almost flush with the surrounding bricks and it forms a little shelf — unfortunately this catches the light and ruins the effect a bit.

I'm really happy with the perspective of the wooden floor — this was the last part to be painted and it 'popped' when it was done.

Life Drawing With Projected Light!

A model covered in lines drawn with light
A model covered in lines drawn with light

This has to be the craziest life drawing I have ever done. I was literally drawing with light onto the model!

Here's how it worked:

  1. We created a completely black image in Pixelmator.
  2. Used a projector to project this image over the model.
  3. Then used a Wacom tablet to draw white lines on the image which became light over the model.

It was such an amazing experience to draw with light. The room started out dark and got lighter with every line — so there was a real build-up to the completed drawing. You also noticed every slight movement made by the model.

I would love to try this again.

See more of my life drawings.

"Looking at the sun through closed eyes"

Looking at the sun through closed eyes
Artist
Matthew James Taylor
Software
Adobe Photoshop
Date
26 Apr 2010

The morning I drew this was one of the first noticeably cold days of Autumn. I stood in the backyard with my eyes closed soaking up the sun. This is what I saw.

This artwork was drawn in Photoshop with the mouse.

Matthew James Taylor

I've been creating art all my life and running this website since 1997! During this time I've found many amazing tools and services that I cannot live without.”
— Matthew James Taylor

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See more of my recommended design tools.

A charcoal portrait of Angela reading a book

Portraiture (Exploring Different Mediums, Styles & Techniques)

My standard life drawing equipment

Best Life Drawing Equipment (What to Bring to a Class)

Detail of a male model in white charcoal

White Charcoal Life Drawing On Toned Paper

Sepia ink life drawing

Ink Life Drawing (6 Experiments with Nibs & Brushes)

Logo design concept & colors

Logo Design Concepts, Branding & Colors

Vector portrait of Crystal the Doll

Vector Art (Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw, Flash & Inkscape)

A pencil drawing of a stand of trees

Trees (Drawings, Illustrations & Other Artwork)

A fractal tree made by recursive drawing

Create Fractals With This Amazing Recursive Drawing Tool

A close-up painting of pistachios with Gouche

Gouache Paintings (Still Life Illustrations)

Watercolor illustration example

Watercolor Painting & Illustration

A selection of life drawings in different mediums

Best Life Drawing Mediums (Examples, Tips & Techniques)

Graphite Pencil Life Drawing

Graphite Pencil Life Drawing (Rendering & Sketch Examples)

Charcoal still life drawing of my shoe

Still Life (Drawings & Paintings)

A nice sharp pencil

The Art of Sharpening Pencils (Styles & Techniques)

A close-up of my Ikea pig oil painting

Oil Painting (Still Life & Landscapes)

Book illustration cover artwork

Book Cover Design & Book Illustrations

A charcoal life drawing of a female model

Charcoal Life Drawing (Examples On White & Toned Paper)

A black ball-point pen doodle

Doodles, Little Drawings & Sketches

Black and white charcoal study of folded fabric

Drapery Drawing (Folded Fabric Studies in Charcoal & Pencil)

A fractal artwork of an owl in a tree

Fractal Art (Exploring Fractals & Art Based On Fractals)

AI-generated art nouveau portrait

Art Nouveau (Drawings, Vector Illustrations & AI-Generated Art)

Chalk life drawing with Conté Crayon

Chalk Life Drawings (Conté Crayon Vs Chalk Pencil)

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