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Teaching artist Tad Sare shows students how to create their own two-way, or “lenticular,” image, which creates the optical illusion of one image turning into another. 

Vocabulary You Will Learn:

• Lenticular image—A two-way image; an image that creates the illusion of depth, movement, or convergence of two images.
• Optical illusion—An image that plays a trick on your vision.

Materials You Will Need:

• A few pieces of paper
• A pencil or other drawing utensil 
• An eraser
• Scissors
• Glue
• Markers or colored pencils
• Tape

How to Create Your Own Two-Way Image 

1. To begin, lay your piece of paper in front of you horizontally, so the long edge is toward you. Fold the paper in half, bringing the left and right edges together, “hamburger style.” Then, cut along the crease you created. 
2. Now, take one of the paper halves you just created and fold it again the same way, hamburger style. Cut along the crease again. You should now have three pieces of paper.
3. Next, we’re going to turn the larger piece of paper into an accordion. To do this, fold it in half hamburger style. Open it up, and fold one half of the paper in toward the middle, so that the edge lines up with the center crease. This will create a new crease. Open the paper again, and then fold the edge in just far enough to align with this new crease you just created. Using this new, thin strip of paper as a guide, keep folding and refolding the paper until you have eight equal folded sections and the paper looks like an accordion. See the video at 3:40 for an example.
4. Now you’re ready to start drawing! Think about what story you want to tell with your images. Then, draw your two images on the two smaller pieces of paper. They can be of anything you want; just make sure they’re big and bold!

5. Take your first drawing and fold it in half the long way, “hot dog style.” Then fold in each of the long edges to line up with the center crease you made, so that it’s folded into four equal sections. Do the same thing with the other piece of paper.
6. Now you can cut along the creases on both drawings, making sure not to mix up the two. (Numbering or marking the backs of them can be helpful.) 
7. Now, moving from left to right, glue down alternating strips of your drawings on your accordion. So, apply the first strip of your first drawing to the far-left panel of the accordion, then apply the first strip of your second drawing to the second panel, the second strip of your first drawing to the third panel, and so on. Be sure to press the strips down firmly so they stay attached. 
8. Finally, tape your two-way image to another piece of paper or to the wall, making sure it stays with the creases pointed up (rather than flat on the wall). Step back and take a look at your image from different sides so you can see both pictures, and admire your work!

In this video, Tad teaches us how to create our own lenticular image, where one image appears to turn into another. If you want to go even further, think about these questions: 

• At the end of the video, Tad suggests using other materials, such as pictures from magazines or mail advertisements, to create a lenticular image. What other materials can you think of to make a two-way image? What about pictures from an old storybook, or the cover of a cereal box?
• What different stories can you think of to tell with your two-way image? With Tad’s image, he tells the story of a banana being eaten and turning into an empty peel. What story, or stories, are you telling with yours? What other stories could you tell with this kind of optical illusion? 
• At the beginning of the video, Tad mentions that animators and artists use optical illusions frequently in their work. What optical illusions can you think of that you have seen in art and animation? Have you seen a flip book that creates the illusion of movement with pictures, or noticed how an artist uses shadow to create depth in an image? What other illusions have you seen?
• What optical illusions from your everyday life can you think of? For example, have you noticed that objects appear smaller and closer together as they get further away? What others can you think of?

Accessibility

Don’t forget that you can turn on “Closed Captioning” to view the YouTube video with English captions.

More about the Teaching Artist

Tad Sare (he/him) is an experimental animator, which means that he tells stories through moving images and sound. Tad runs the animation program at Delaware College of Art & Design (DCAD), where he teaches courses on traditional and digital artmaking. For many years, he has spent summers instructing school-age students at art camps and has collaborated on wonderful stop-motion animation projects, murals, and sculptures at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Cab Calloway School of Performing Arts. When he is not creating, Tad enjoys learning new skills, building new worlds with his daughter, playing soccer, cooking, eating, reading, and traveling. Visit his website to learn more about his work at .

Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning

Eric Friedman 
Director, Digital Learning

Kenny Neal 
Manager, Digital Education Resources

Tiffany A. Bryant 
Manager, Operations and Audience Engagement

JoDee Scissors 
Content Specialist, Digital Learning

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Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; Wells Fargo; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..

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