The preview and both editor buttons show this illusion, Peripheral drift, drawn in code from the principle behind it. Safe viewing: illusions can make some people dizzy or unwell, so look away if one does. Every one stays within broadcast flash and pattern limits, and a lower Contrast calms it further. How it works · Every illusion
6 modes
LayersHide or change The Illusion's own layers, or add snow, fireworks, lights and more, on the preview.Try layers
Layers inside this visualizer: hide or change the look's own layers, or add snow, fireworks, lights and more on top.
The look's layers
- General background
Position and size
- Stage light, floor and haze
Position and size
- The illusion
Position and size
- Motes and the truth's marks
Position and size
Added layers (0/6)
No layers added yet.
"Use in Classic" and "Open in Studio" keep these layers. All about layers
Engine 40 of 60
Geometry
Optical Illusions
Famous optical illusions drawn from the principles behind them and played with your music, each shown six ways: the illusion itself, the truth revealed in the loud parts, a gallery wall, an op art wall, a projection in a hall and a stare challenge. Kept within broadcast flash and pattern limits.
- 6 modes
- Setup easy
- 16:9
- 4:3
- 21:9
- 1:1
- 4:5
- 9:16
Embed on your websiteWordPress, Squarespace, Webflow, Shopify, Wix
Put this look on your own site: in a page, or behind and over the site you already have, without changing your theme. It sets no cookies and shows no ads. How it works, and the WordPress plugin
Preview
With the free Sonic Weaver Embed plugin: paste this shortcode, or add the Sonic Weaver block and pick the same settings in its sidebar.
[sonicweaver look="optical-illusions/the-illusion"]Every embed carries a small “Made with Sonic Weaver” mark. To have it removed, message us.
- Modes
- 6
- Engine version
- 4.0.0
- Desktop budget
- 140
- Mobile budget
- 70
Preview video
Optical Illusions visualizer: The Illusion preview
The Illusion, 8 seconds on a steady 120 BPM test beat, looping with no sound. The illusion itself, played the way that shows it best and set on its own lit stage: wheels that seem to turn while they stand still under a studio key light, a phantom that runs round a ring on an even grey, stairs that never end in a moonlit courtyard, an endless spiral. The stage's lights pulse with the kick and swell on a drop, every move lands on a beat, and the truth stays hidden. The live preview at the top plays the same look: pick a song there to watch it follow your own music.
What it builds
What this engine can build
Pick an illusion (peripheral drift, the lilac chaser, the Fraser spiral, the endless stairs, the hypnotic spiral, moiré waves and more by family) and show it with the music: the illusion, the reveal, a gallery, an op art wall, a projection and a stare challenge. Start with The Illusion, then combine it with logos, masks, captions, camera layers, and global effects without changing document formats.
- Editable 2D and 3D geometry, transforms, motion, and materials
- Every property has a default, keyframes, and bounded audio routes
- Blend with masks, media, text, logo, character, camera, light, and effect layers
Where it fits
Where Optical Illusions fits
- Look
- Geometry
- Shared editable 2D and 3D geometry
- Setup
- Ready as-is
- The defaults are a finished look: attach audio and export
- Render load
- Moderate
- Fine on any current machine
Individual layers
Layer assets for Optical Illusions
Browse every visualizer’s current and earlier look layers, plus the universal added-layer presets. This page starts with Optical Illusions selected; choose any asset to open it in Classic.
Loading layer assets… · Showing Optical Illusions and universal added layers first. Select any visualizer to browse its full set.
Each preview is the layer asset’s transparent still. Use it in Classic, or visit the full animated library to preview and download it.
Controls
The Illusion controls
Every control this mode has, grouped by what it changes, with its starting value. Each one is yours to change in Classic and Studio; the ones marked “Follows the music” can also be driven by the song through an audio route.
Style
| Control | Default | Music |
|---|---|---|
| Primary colorPrimary color used by the engine palette | #fb7185 | Set by you |
| Secondary colorSecondary color used by the engine palette | #14b8a6 | Set by you |
| BackgroundBackground used by the engine palette | #0a1016 | Set by you |
| Color modeDuo palette, primary→secondary gradient, or full rainbow sweep | duo | Set by you |
Transform
| Control | Default | Music |
|---|---|---|
| OpacityVisualizer opacity | 1 | Set by you |
Audio
| Control | Default | Music |
|---|---|---|
| SensitivityBounded overall audio response | 1 | Set by you |
| Spectrum rangeHow much of the 40 Hz to 14 kHz range the visual spans, from the bass up. Lower it to give the bass and mids more of the bars | 1 | Set by you |
| Frequency scaleHow the bars are spread across the frequencies. Log spreads them by octave, mel by how pitch is heard, and linear by hertz, which gives most bars to the highs | log | Set by you |
| Auto-levelLifts every part of the spectrum to its own recent range, so quiet highs move as much as loud bass. A note held for several seconds settles lower as it adapts. 0 shows the raw spectrum | 0.8 | Set by you |
| Primary audio source | bass | Set by you |
| Frequency focusWhich part of the spectrum drives this visual; while no explicit audio source is set, the motion envelope follows this selection | full | Set by you |
| Burst intensityGlow and trail swell on sharp hits; 0 keeps bursts off | 0 | Set by you |
| Audio contributionMaximum contribution from the primary audio route | 0.55 | Set by you |
| Audio dynamicsHow much of the band's movement reaches the visual. 1 = full dynamics; 0 holds it at a steady level for a calmer, more constant look | 1 | Set by you |
| Audio attackEnvelope attack in milliseconds | 45 | Set by you |
| Audio releaseEnvelope release in milliseconds | 240 | Set by you |
| Beat responseHow hard every engine hits on each detected beat | 1.2 | Follows the music |
| Beat smoothingHow long each beat hit rings out before it settles | 0.35 | Follows the music |
| Beat attackSeconds for a hit to swell to full. 0 snaps instantly | 0 | Follows the music |
| Beat releaseSeconds for a hit to fade, overriding Beat smoothing. 0 follows it | 0 | Follows the music |
| Beat sync allRoute beat energy into spawn, shake, pulse, speed, and scale | true | Set by you |
Effects
| Control | Default | Music |
|---|---|---|
| Ambient bedProminence of the standing background layer behind the beat-born elements | 1 | Set by you |
| Wake lengthHow far motion trails stretch behind beat-born travelers; 0 removes the wake | 1 | Set by you |
| Glow | 0.55 | Follows the music |
| Global glowShared emissive strength across the frame | 0.35 | Follows the music |
| Pulse intensityBeat pulse scale for spawn, size, and shake | 1 | Follows the music |
| Beat shakeFrame kick strength on each beat | 0.6 | Follows the music |
| Motion echo | 0 | Follows the music |
| Blur | 0 | Follows the music |
| Chromatic aberration | 0 | Follows the music |
Geometry
| Control | Default | Music |
|---|---|---|
| Geometry scale | 1 | Follows the music |
Motion
| Control | Default | Music |
|---|---|---|
| Motion directionRotate the animated visual pass to face this direction; the general background stays fixed | none | Set by you |
| SpeedTime-based motion; default major cycle is 6–12 seconds | 0.1 | Follows the music |
Shape and symmetry
| Control | Default | Music |
|---|---|---|
| Symmetry and tilingReshape the whole picture: mirror it, fold it into a kaleidoscope, or tile it (the plane groups p1, p2, p4m and p6m) | none | Set by you |
| Kaleidoscope foldsHow many mirrored copies go round the kaleidoscope | 6 | Set by you |
| Symmetry angleTurns the mirror line, or the kaleidoscope, in degrees | 0 | Follows the music |
| Kaleidoscope spinHow fast the kaleidoscope turns, in turns per bar of the song (0.25 is once a phrase) | 0 | Follows the music |
| Tile sizeEach tile's size as a share of the frame | 0.5 | Set by you |
| Tile gapThe gap between tiles, as a share of a tile; it shows the background colour | 0 | Set by you |
| WarpBend the whole picture: a twist, a bulge, waves or ripples that move once a bar, a polar unroll, or a fisheye lens | none | Set by you |
| Warp amountHow strong the warp is | 0.5 | Follows the music |
| Warp centreWhere the warp is centred in the frame | centre | Set by you |
Illusion
| Control | Default | Music |
|---|---|---|
| IllusionWhich illusion the look shows: each is drawn from its published principle, and every mode shows it a different way | peripheral-drift | Set by you |
| Illusion strengthHow strong the effect is: the drift's greys, the Fraser twist, the moiré offset and the chaser's softness | 0.85 | Set by you |
| Pattern scaleSize and density of the pattern | 1 | Set by you |
| MotesSlow motes in front of the illusion that the highs light up | 0.5 | Follows the music |
| Chaser stepsHow often the gap moves: on every beat, every eighth or sixteenth note, or faster in the loud sections (auto); never more than eight steps a second | auto | Set by you |
Comfort
| Control | Default | Music |
|---|---|---|
| ContrastLower it for a calmer, softer pattern. Patterns always stay within broadcast safety limits | 1 | Set by you |
Version
| Control | Default | Music |
|---|---|---|
| VersionPlay an earlier version of this visualizer. Current look follows every future update. | current | Set by you |
Earlier versions
Earlier versions of Optical Illusions
Optical Illusions was rebuilt, and its earlier look is still here. Preview it, or open it in an editor: a project made with an earlier version keeps that version until you change it, and every other project follows the current look.
Oct 3, 2026 to Nov 7, 2026
Optical Illusions 1
The first Optical Illusions: six modes, each one illusion (Rotating Snakes, Endless Stairs, Hypnotic Spiral, Fraser Spiral, Moiré Waves and Phantom Chaser), the snakes in yellow and blue. Replaced by one engine with an Illusion picker and six ways to show any illusion with the music: The Illusion, The Reveal, Gallery, Op Art Wall, Projection and Stare Challenge.
Keep looking
