How to See Magic Eye Pictures
Start with two dots, then find the hidden 3D picture level by level. Each level checks what you saw, and you can always see the answer.
Learn to see it, step by step
Ten levels, from two dots to a picture with fine detail. Each one asks what you saw, so you know when you have really got it.
The usual way for Magic Eye pictures. Try this first.
Level 1 of 10
- Bring your face close to the screen, so the picture is a blur.
- Look as if you were looking through the screen at something far behind it. Your reflection in a dark screen can help: look at it.
- Very slowly lean back. Keep looking “through” the screen.
- When the two dots under the picture become three, hold still: the picture appears.
Look at the two dots the way the steps say. How many dots do you see now?
Some people can’t see these pictures, however long they try. Studies estimate that about 2 to 7 in 100 adults have no 3D (stereo) vision at all, and more have weak 3D vision. It isn’t a matter of trying harder, and it isn’t a test. You can always press “Show me the answer”.
This is a visual game, not an eye test or an eye exercise. If your eyes feel tired or uncomfortable, stop and rest.
The short version
A Magic Eye picture (a stereogram) hides a 3D shape in a repeating pattern. To see it, your eyes have to aim further away than the picture while still looking at it. The usual way:
- Bring the picture close. Hold the phone, or bring your face, close enough that the picture is a blur.
- Look through it. Let your eyes relax as if you were looking at something far behind the picture.
- Move back very slowly. Keep looking "through" the picture as it gets further away.
- Watch the two dots under it. When they turn into three, stop: hold your eyes there and the hidden picture comes into focus.
The two dots under each picture (guide dots) are the best help there is. Looking through the picture, you first see four dots; when the middle two become one, your eyes are set for the picture. It must be exactly three: if you see four again, or the picture looks doubled or smeared sideways, your eyes went two repeats apart. Relax and try again.
Two ways to look
Looking through (parallel). This is how most Magic Eye pictures are made to be seen: your eyes aim behind the picture. The hidden shape stands out toward you.
Crossing your eyes. Some people find crossing easier. Hold a fingertip between your eyes and the picture, look at the fingertip, and move it until the dots below the picture become three. A picture made for looking through, seen this way, shows its shape inside out (sunk into the background instead of standing out), so the lesson above redraws its pictures when you choose "Cross your eyes".
If you can't see it yet
- Start at the top or bottom edge, where the picture is only background, and let your eyes drift to the middle.
- Use more light. If you wear glasses for distance, try without them.
- Use your reflection. On a dark screen, look at the reflection of your face: it is about as far behind the screen as the picture's background.
- Too many shapes, or thin ones? Your eyes went too far apart. Come back a little.
- Give it a few minutes. The first time often takes a while; it is much quicker after that.
- On a phone, hold it upright, level and straight in front of you. The picture fills the screen; a tilted phone makes the two eyes' views slip apart.
Some people can't see them, and that is not a failure
Seeing these pictures needs both eyes to work together for depth (stereo vision). Not everyone has it: research estimates range from about 2 in 100 adults with no measurable stereo vision (Bosten and colleagues, 2015, 1,060 people tested) to about 7 in 100 (Chopin, Bavelier and Levi, 2019, a review of studies, for adults under 60), and more people have weak stereo vision. People with a lazy eye (amblyopia) or one very dominant eye usually find these pictures harder.
So if it does not work, press "Show me the answer" and enjoy the picture that way. This is a visual game, not an eye test or an eye exercise. If your eyes feel tired or uncomfortable, stop.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Magic Eye picture?
A single picture that hides a 3D shape: a stereogram (more exactly an autostereogram). The pattern repeats across the picture, and the hidden shape is made by tiny changes in how far apart the repeats are. When your eyes line up two neighbouring repeats, each eye sees a slightly different view, and your brain reads those differences as depth. "Magic Eye" is the name of the books that made them famous in the 1990s.
How long does it take to learn?
Many people see the first one within a few minutes; some need several tries over a few days. The easy levels above use a large, simple shape and gentle depth for that reason.
Can I see Magic Eye pictures on a phone?
Yes. This lesson draws each picture for your screen. On a phone held upright the picture fills the width and most of the height, with exactly two pattern repeats across, so your eyes can only lock onto it one way.
Why do I see the shape sunk into the background?
You are crossing your eyes on a picture made for looking through, or the other way round. Switch the method at the top of the lesson, or switch the way you look.
Are Magic Eye pictures good or bad for your eyes?
We know of no reliable evidence either way, and we make no claims about eyesight. Treat them as a game: if they are uncomfortable, stop. If you think your depth vision is poor, an eye doctor can check it.
Learn more
Pictures to try, from easy to hard: Magic Eye pictures. Make your own, from words, shapes or a photo: Magic Eye maker. See the answer of any stereogram: Magic Eye solver. Other ways to see 3D with no glasses: 3D without glasses.
Magic Eye is a registered trademark of Magic Eye Inc. Owl3D is not affiliated with Magic Eye Inc. Every picture on this page is generated by our own program.