About this tool
This free online stereogram generator creates autostereograms — flat, repeating patterns that hide a 3D shape you can only see by relaxing your eyes, popularized in the 1990s as "magic eye" pictures. Every image is generated fresh and hides a random surprise: a sphere, torus, heart, star, pyramid, moon, ripple, a short word — or a one-of-a-kind procedural shape (an organic blob, a flower-like bloom, or rolling hills) that will never appear twice. Everything runs locally in your browser — nothing is uploaded, and every click of "Next image" produces a one-of-a-kind picture.
How to see the hidden image
- Relax your focus — look through the screen, as if focusing on a point far behind it. Your eyes should feel like they are day-dreaming, not reading.
- Let the pattern double — when your focus drifts behind the screen, the repeating pattern appears to split and overlap. Hold that state without snapping back.
- Wait for the lock — after a few seconds the overlapped pattern fuses and the hidden shape pops out in 3D. Once it locks in, you can look around the image freely.
- The nose trick — if nothing appears, bring your nose almost to the screen (the pattern blurs completely), then pull back very slowly without refocusing.
- Go fullscreen — the expand button on the image shows it alone on a dark screen, with nothing else to distract your focus. Click anywhere or press Esc to come back.
- Give up gracefully — the Reveal button highlights the hidden shape right over the pattern, so you know what you were looking for on the next try.
Pattern modes
- Dots — the classic random-dot stereogram (SIRDS): pure colored noise with no visible structure until the 3D image snaps in.
- Texture — procedurally drawn tiles (confetti, blobs, shards, waves) that repeat across the image, in the style of the printed stereogram posters.
- Auto — picks one of the two at random for each new image.
FAQ
Why can't I see anything? Seeing a stereogram is a learned skill — most people need a few minutes on their first try. Keep the screen at arm's length, make sure the image is not tilted, and try the nose trick above. It gets much easier with practice.
How does it work? Each pixel copies a pixel a fixed distance to its left, and that distance shrinks slightly where the hidden surface is closer. When each of your eyes locks onto a different repeat of the pattern, your brain reads the tiny spacing differences as depth.
Is it bad for my eyes? No. Viewing a stereogram is just a relaxed divergence of the eyes, similar to gazing into the distance. If your eyes feel strained, take a break.
Can I save an image? Yes — right-click (or long-press on mobile) the image and choose "Save image as". The hidden shape survives saving and sharing.