I promise the objects in this optical illusion are all the same colour

Ah, optical illusions. There are so many different variations of the mind-bogglers out there in the world, and just when it feels like we have covered every one, a new design emerges that blows our minds. Today's find was spotted on Twitter, and we are totally baffled. 

This furry friend-themed optical illusion (see above) was posted by David Novick and has been attracting some attention online. It looks as though the cats and dogs are different colours, right? Well, look again – they're actually all exactly the same colour. Loving this illusion and want to sink your teeth into some more? Make sure you check out the roundup of our favourite optical illusions. 

The way the illusions have been designed means that we see the objects as two different colours when actually they are exactly the same. The illusions use a technique called 'assimilation.' According to The Oxford Compendium of Visual Illusions, assimilation "is the phenomenon in which the perceived colour of a region shifts toward that of its neighbour".

If you look closely at each of these designs, you can see that the objects are overlaid by different coloured lines, which trick our brains into thinking that each is a different colour. This is exactly the same phenomenon used in the incredible optical illusion where it looked as though a black and white photo was in full colour. 

If you're sitting there thinking 'my brain is lying to me', then don't worry, we're in the exact same boat. While we sit in a dark room and second guess whether all the colours we've ever seen are just a trick of the eye, why not check out our roundup of the best trompe l'oeil illusions?

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