Thursday, December 29, 2011

Optical illusions: Intricate oil paintings that hide remarkable double images


Often in art, a closer look yields something more than initially meets the eye.

These amazing oil paintings by Ukrainian artist Oleg Shuplyak show remarkable double images hiding behind dramatic scenes and tranquil landscapes.


Through carefully placed objects, characters, colouring and shadows, a second image is cleverly concealed within the first.



His passion was always painting, however, and he has used the technical precision of an architect to create these intriguing optical illusions.


Often his pictures depict famous historical figures like Charles Darwin, Vincent van Gogh and William Shakespeare.

The works are similar to those of the famous Mexican artist Octavio Ocampo, who is well known for evocative paintings in which detailed scenes weave together to create larger images.



Ocampo has dubbed this the metamorphic style, and in his works the second image can sometimes be so subtle it is hard to discern without squinting.


Shuplyak, by contrast, makes the second image so easily recognisable that observers can miss the original.


Tuesday, December 27, 2011

'REAL' Angry Birds brought to life by artist


The Angry Birds have been tracked down in real life - if you believe these wacky images.


The characters from popular phone game were created by a fan of the app who wondered what the avian stars would look like in the wild.

Mohamed Raoof, from Kerala, India explains: 'I got the idea when I Googled the Angry Bird images and got confused what type or species they are as I thought of them as real things.




'I decided to create something quickly on my old PC. The first image only took about one hour or less, and I did it to just pass the time.


'But the response that my friends gave me made me do the rest, and these other images took on average two hours each.



'I tried to reflect the right look and colours of the birds, from the simple starting red bird to the green boomerang toucan. I think I have captured their characters.'




Sunday, December 25, 2011

Google new office @ London (Trendiest office in the world?)


Google needs its engineers to come up with brilliant ideas. The search giant’s London headquarters in Victoria covers three floors

Meeting rooms feature strange angular sofas, the corridors look like the inside of the starship Enterprise and the workers can play pool and video games during their breaks.






When Google set about creating it, they started with a completely blank canvas.
All the walls were knocked through and the furniture taken away.




Ideas are obviously a key part of working for Google, and there’s never a shortage of space to write them down – some of the walls in the corridors are made up of huge white boards.




To help keep the engineers’ brains fully fuelled, meanwhile, there's plenty of food and liquid refreshment on offer.

There is a 'coffee lab' serving 19 different blends and four free restaurants - including a tapas and sushi bar.


Paying is never a distraction either, because it's all free.





There’s also a gym, sound-proofed music room with drums and guitars and a games room with a pool table, video consoles and a giant Samsung TV.



The Google office even features its own version of the Big Brother garden complete with deck chairs, carpet that resembles grass and a rowing boat.


Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Seven Wonders of the Natural World


They are the most spectacular, awe-inducing sights our planet has to offer, and now an online contest is set to reveal just which seven are the world's most special.

A worldwide poll to find the best natural wonders on the planet is nearing its conclusion after receiving millions of votes from around the globe.

Established international landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, the Amazon and the Great Barrier Reef are all represented in the voting, alongside lesser known sites such as the Bay of Fundy in Canada and Jeju Island in South Korea.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef 

According to the judges on the event's official website, the 28 finalists were chosen from specific criteria such as unique beauty of the site, as well as diversity and distribution.

Ecological significance, historical legacy and geo-location were also considered by the panel choosing the finalists.

The voting process started in December 2007, before the top 77 sites were moved onto a shortlist in July 2009. Now after being reduced to 28, the official top seven are about to be named.
The Mud Volcanoes of Azerbaijan


Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland

The 28 remaining finalists are spread across the globe, while the closest representation to Britain comes in the form of the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland.

Well-known natural spectacles such as Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania are strong contenders for the final seven.

The snow-capped 5,895-metre mountain is one of the most famous in the world, although it will face strong competition from South Africa's Table Mountain.

The 446km-long Grand Canyon in the U.S. and the Amazon rainforest are also certain to be frontrunners.
 Iguacu National Park in Brazil and Argentina


The Grand Canyon

In 2007, votes were cast to reveal a new set of official wonders of the world, prior to voting for the planet's most spectacular natural marvels.

The official seven wonders of the world were named as Chichen Itza in Mexico, Christ Redeemer in Brazil, The Great Wall of China, The Colosseum in Italy, Machu Picchu in Peru, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, and India's Taj Mahal.


Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania

The list aimed to replace the seven ancient wonders of the world, of which only the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt remain.

The New7Wonders of Nature is a global Internet contest under the slogan: 'If we want to save anything, we first need to truly appreciate it.'


The Jeita Grotto, a compound of crystalised caves in Lebanon


Bu Tinah Island in the United Arab Emirates