A. Aronsson’s WeBOLLog

When thinking up this figure I had in mind a modern version of the circular pillars turning into a square U shape, here at Impossible World, just that now three more-than-square pillars turn into four pillars. I really enjoyed creating the actual geometry, but when coloring it ended up being a hassle with all the gradients, even though I finally settled for a comfortable way to manage it.

Update: These kind of figures will be smoother to create soon, when Illustrator CS4 is released. Apparently it will support gradients with transparency, which it now does not. I just hope that there will be more settings for the gradients and that the tool will snap to points. I really wish Illustrator had some of the awesome features Flash has had forever.

After finishing this one I thought the many gradients made the figure a bit difficult to look at, even though it might look nice, it’s hard to appreciate the lines. So I made up my mind about putting up “wireframe” version of the figures as well, with a single line weight and without the colors, shades and background.

Pillars3
2008-08-10

Linework

At the top they are three pillars, but at the bottom they turn into four!

After researching how to draw cylinders and ellipses in three point perspective I gave up on the idea and decided to go for approximations of the shape instead. It was a bit more work to create this figure than most others, but well worth it I think. I have sketched very many variations of this figure so I had to create it somehow! The relationship between the different elements seem to be deeper when the shapes are more complex, I like that… but it also makes me wonder how I can continue making figures like this.

Belt
2008-08-06

Linework

From the left, the belt connects the wheels towards you, but the axles connects the wheels away from you!

I first drew this (with pencil and paper) late at night, before I turned off the light to try and get some sleep. I liked the look of it, but I myself deemed it un-impossible, in other words, possible. It wasn’t until I redrew it weeks later and studied it closer that I realized that it was indeed impossible, so here it is! It still takes a bit of work to wrap your head around it.

Elongated
2008-07-31

Linework

To see why this figure is impossible, compare the two different sides. If you follow both the top and bottom beams, you will notice that the ends will not match up.

I first drew this figure on paper in perspective, a bit distorted. It was fairly complex so I decided I would draw it in an parallel projection to make it easier on the mind… bad idea. It was a great hassle to get the right lengths on everything, so I aborted that and went straight for the computer instead.

This figure probably has the most complex chain reaction of proportional relationships between surfaces in any of my figures so far. I basically worked my way through the entire thing without stopping, as one edit lead to the next and so on. I also found that in the end the lines didn’t match, but through error location I found the two mistakes which had caused the oddness, as well as another minor glitch. I finished it after four hours of concentration.

Framework
2008-06-27

Linework

The outside of this figure makes up a traditional tribar structure, but embedded in the middle is a cube-ish framework. Between them there is a large amount of impossible connections.

I screen recorded the entire process of this figure. I’ve been a bit indecisive about posting how I create these pieces as it’s something I feel fairly unique doing, but it is fun to share. Hopefully it takes a bit of skill and motivation that is uncommon to make these creations. Below is the video embedded, but it is available in HD resolution by following this link to Vimeo!

I like to show my newly created illusions for my friends and family, to hear what they think. Naturally I sometimes hear that the figure surely is possible to create in reality, that it is not impossible at all. It is a bit tiring to explain what my thoughts behind it were, and how it is impossible, but I try to help my online audience (you?) with my descriptive texts, even if I find it a bit tricky to make sense of insensible things.

Clover
2008-05-27

Linework

The four frames intersect each other in a peculiar way. If you follow one, you’ll notice that you can continue to step forward onto another indefinitely, and still end up where you started. This while all the frames are perpendicular with straight angles.

When I title my figures I use the first word that comes up in my head. For this one did I think about a submarine as I think are fascinating, not sure if the design caused me to think of it or if I had that design in mind because of thinking it… Anyway, that’s what it ended up being named after.

When named, I stick with that title until I post it as I use it to name the working folder and all files associated with the figure. The final images themselves have no title embedded in them though, as the current titles in reality are working titles. If I ever print these, they will probably get new titles.

Sub
2008-04-10

Linework

Two bars high becomes two bars wide, and then two bars high again.

This figure might look nicer in wireframe, without colors or shades, as surfaces turn into nothing after they’ve gone behind what is up front. (Which is available now. Check the Linework link below the image.) I’ve tried to show this by adding gradients that fade away. Notice how the lines that seems to just vanish behind the bars end up being part of something else. I have a few personal principles I follow, like how I don’t just leave a line hanging somewhere, they have to connect to something.

Paddle
2008-04-07

Linework

The bottom left and top right part of this figure share a common surface, but not for the same object.

For this figure I decided to transform a surface two times over a single object. Usually I work with a single transformation from one state to another, which can be confusing enough to look at. With two transformations the object needs to be larger, because if they are cramped together it will just look like a mess.

I was working with the center surface, to turn it into a ledge and a ridge, but then I realized that a greater illusion lies in the elevation changes that this generates.

Bar
2008-03-05

Linework

Start at the right end of the bar. Notice how the elevation is at the top, but when you move towards the center, the elevation is at the bottom, and at the left end the bar has turned completely flat!

In this figure I experiment with connecting things with different angles. This is actually a pole and a blocky arc connected through four bars. The pole, to the left, has a constant size, but when the bars connect to it from different angles, they adapt to their angle by varying their width to match the surface of the vertical bar.

I felt that this figure might be hard to comprehend for just about everyone, but I have added a small helpful instruction below the image.

Fork
2008-03-03

Linework

On the left side four bars connect to a single pole, but at different angles, which causes the widths vary. To see this better, start at the right and follow a single bar to the pole, and then follow the pole while ignoring the other bars. Repeat this with the other bars.

This figure was another experiment to work with non-orthogonal surfaces. It is a bit more work, both when drawing and shading, but the figures get a different feel to them. They don’t come naturally when thinking up impossible figures though, not yet at least. At first I was unhappy with this figure, as it was hard to make out how it actually looked, but then I separated it into three differently colored sections, which helped it make more sense.

Tribar7
2008-02-05

Linework

This tribar has had its’ corners rounded, but it is still as impossible as a normal one. If you follow the curves counter-clockwise, you will notice that you keep going towards yourself.