Frequently asked questions

Almost always because your eyes are focusing on the screen instead of behind it. Sit at arm's length, relax your gaze as if looking at a wall a metre past the display, let the pattern blur and double, and wait for two repeats to fuse. Our viewing guide includes three practice drills that work for most people within minutes. If the image looks sunken or inside-out, you are cross-viewing — relax your eyes outward instead.

Stereopsis — depth perception built from the two eyes' slightly different views — varies naturally from person to person. Most people with two reasonably aligned eyes can learn the technique, though some need more practice than others. Conditions that affect how the eyes work together, such as strabismus or significant amblyopia, can make fusion difficult, and the depth cannot be perceived with one eye alone. For visitors who don't see it, every gallery piece includes a reveal option showing the hidden subject, and the generator has a depth-map spoiler.

Yes. There is no account, no watermark, no export limit, and no paid tier. The site may show advertising in the future to cover hosting costs, but the generator itself is free to use.

No. Generation happens entirely in your browser with the HTML5 Canvas API. Your text, the depth map, and the finished stereogram are never transmitted to us. Downloading uses your browser's own canvas-to-PNG export. See the privacy policy.

Anything personal or non-commercial: greeting cards, party invitations, classroom materials, puzzles for friends, social media posts, wallpapers. If you'd like to use generated images in a commercial product, please contact us first.

A classic stereogram is a pair of images, one for each eye, viewed through a device such as a stereoscope. An autostereogram folds both eye-views into a single image using a repeating pattern, so it needs no equipment — just the parallel-viewing technique. Magic Eye pictures, and everything this site makes, are autostereograms (specifically SIRDS-style single-image stereograms).

Images on this site are authored for parallel (wall-eyed) viewing, the same as printed Magic Eye posters: the hidden subject pops out toward you. Cross-eyed viewing inverts the depth, so the subject appears carved into the page instead.

That usually means the depth setting is high and your eyes fused the pattern one repeat off, which creates ghost copies of the subject. Lower the 3D depth slider toward 18–22, blink, and re-fuse. Shorter words also reduce the chance of echo artifacts.

High-contrast, fine-grained patterns like Static and Confetti give your visual system the most matching detail and are typically easiest to lock onto. Larger, smoother patterns like Autumn look beautiful but demand a steadier gaze.

Letters contain thin vertical strokes and gaps close to the disparity limit of the illusion. Solid shapes like the heart or star present one large continuous surface, which fuses more easily. For text, use short words, capital letters, and a mid-range depth.

Yes, though a larger screen is easier. On a phone, hold the device a little closer than usual, rotate to landscape so the image is as wide as possible, and run the finger warm-up ladder from the viewing guide. The generator itself works fully on mobile browsers.

For most people, casual stereogram viewing is considered harmless, though the experience varies between individuals. Some beginners feel brief eye tiredness while learning, which typically passes with rest — work in short sessions and take breaks. If you experience persistent discomfort, headaches, or double vision that lingers after viewing, stop and consult an eye-care professional.

Print resolution is far higher than screen resolution, so posters can encode subtler depth ramps. On screen, view the image at 100% size rather than zoomed out, and download the PNG for the crispest result — scaling a stereogram after generation distorts the pixel-exact repeat distances the illusion depends on.

Please do — the tool improves through visitor feedback. Use the contact page and include your browser and device if you're reporting a rendering problem.