I'm currently in engineering school, working on special effect type projects, and was interested in some good resources for getting started in crafting illusions. Of course, I want to know how to make "the classics" and what not, but my end goal with this knowledge is to create my own illusions. I think it would be a good challenge.

But I gotta know the basics, and don't quite know where to start . . .

Get some Paul Osbourne illusion plans, and start building.

There is a good Osbourne resource thread here:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&forum=7

The most important thing to get right is a thin-looking base. Get that right, and most illusions will look good.

If you mean Grand Illusions, you have chosen a very expensive craft. The books are very expensive, and you will most likely need all of the plans and ideas for creating Grand Illusions. By Grand Illusion, we are talking about props that the magician and/or assistants you hire are used in.

Here you will find out about using modern materials to build illusions.

http://www.abbottmagic.com/Professional-......oryId=-1

Here is a very good place to start, 6 DVD on how to build illusions.

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S14113

Paul Osborne has a 4 volume set.

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S13476

Rand Woodbury has 4 volumes in 2 DVDs sold separately.

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S8644

Abbott's and Owen Magic are were to find the older classic illusion books and plans.

I can recommend the six DVD set recommended by Bill above

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S14113

I haven't made any of the illusions from it but I learnt a lot and have used a lot of the theory in my smaller builds.

You asked where to start...

If you are an engineering student, that is great. I have nothing but respect for that field. However, if you are looking into building illusions, I will recommend you take at least one or two classes in drafting. I don't know if that is built into your engineering curriculum, but if it is not, it will help. The other thing to strongly consider is some carpentry classes.

Appreciate the responses so far!

Is there any maybe . . . cheaper stuff out there to begin with? For instance, the "masked magician" from a while back did his illusions, then showed how it was done. Are there videos like that on the internet (until I can get a bunch of materials? I know it'll cost money, but now it's just planning and keeping myself interested in the process)? Because I noticed a lot of his tricks had the same 'things' involved (ie pretty much all the aluminum-clad frames and bases which turned out to be roomier than expected), and that was really cool in thinking about applying those.

Then when I can afford it, those Paul Osborne books look pretty appetizing.

My two cents on my own somewhat limited experience with learning to build larger illusions. There are ways of building them and there are ways of building them. I too watched the masked magician and thought I learnt a lot. He gives away the general secret. But the finer points are what you really need.

A while ago I saw a trick where a young girl sat on a bench and was apparently run through with a group of mounted and flaming spikes. When the cloth was pulled back three girls came out. It was only a cheap family circus act but I thought the secret compartment looked big enough to hide them all with ease. So why do some cabinets look way too small to hide anyone whilst others look big enough to conceal a horse? This is the info you need. I couldn't possibly tell you enough to make it worth your while. But I can recommend that DVD set as above. Some very clever thinking in it.

That is why I said learning to build a thin-looking base is the thing any illusion builder should concentrate on getting right. Just go look at Copperfield's Death Saw illusion, and look at how thin the base is. Layering the base with "steps" makes it look thinner than it really is.

I looked into building illusions a few years back but decided to stick with smaller props. Bought several Ozbourne books and spent quite a bit on separate plans or small collections of plans. The best buy was "The seven basic secrets of illusion design" by Eric Van Duzer. Great book for the basics. Not plans but many sketches that explain how things work and just as important why they work in the mind of the audience. Thin bases are covered in detail. The book from memory was around $70 don't think you could spend less for more unless you could find a used copy.

I'm liking this discussion as well! So you're saying that a lot of the secrets comes in the methods of building bases, walls, and other structural parts, and making them look thinner or thicker than they appear? This is what I like.

Keep saying how your favorite is, say, Osbourne, and why? In a couple months, I'll be back home and able to start doing some side work to buy these books and inspirations. But until them, I'm doing some work at a shop where I can at least get familiar with some skills that may be required in the future!

Well plans and plan books don't really explain why illusions work. The Van Duzer book explains some of this. If I were going to design my own illusion the basic knowledge of how the brain interprets what the eye sees would be very helpful.

I think what has been lost over time has contributed to why these large props have been dubbed "illusions." I'm guessing it's not just because of the effects they induce, but also because of the methods they employ.

Much of the magic in these large props is produced through the usage of some old school mechanical and theater methodologies...an amalgamation of arts and sciences...to create amazing visual discrepancies based on relatively ages-old principles. In other words, they are "illusions," that is, not real. They "look" real, but they are not real. People may see the same "effect" in a close up performance, and not believe it. Yet, on a much, much larger scale they may be more likely to believe it because it is so large. The magic may become more believable because it is simply grander, and therefor...somehow...more respectable. Hence, "an illusion."

The principles employed are for the most part ages-old and relatively easy to research...optical illusions...black arts etc., but they have been honed, evolved, and reinvented so they have an impact on today's visually and techno-savvy audiences. But it's still the "same old magic." And a lot of this magic takes place in the mind and will always take place in the mind.

I recommend looking up anything by Jim Steinmeyer. Even his books about magic but not necessarily for magicians, like, "Hiding the Elephant" ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001O5CYJA/ref......8&btkr=1 ) offer us a lot about the psychology of magic, and how one's greatest theater may be as close as one's brain.

I would second the recommendation of reading anything by Steinmeyer.

Contrary to popular belief, understanding this topic is far more than making thin bases.

Invest in the best books in stage illusion theory over perhaps books about constructing them in your garage.

Google "magic illusions cardboard" and you'll find some interesting (and low cost) results...

An earlier post mentioned Eric Van Duzer's book "Seven Basic Secrets of Illusion Design." If you want a less expensive introduction to Van Duzer's work and thinking, his book "The Magician's Secrets of Illusion Design" is available from Amazon's Kindle Store as an ebook for $10, which is a pretty amazing bargain for the volume of material it contains. It doesn't provide detailed illusion plans, but it does cover a lot of the theories and principles at work in stage illusion.

If you'd like to make a few stage-sized illusions on the cheap, you might get a copy of "Victory Carton Illusions." You should be able to buy this as a downloadable PDF for less than $10, and it contains plans for a dozen illusions you can make from cardboard cartons.

This has been said many times here in the Café, so I'm just going to repeat it...

An "illusion" can be a device that helps a performer create a "magical effect" for the audience, or it can be a box or gadget that just stands on its own, and which you demonstrate for its own sake, because that's all you can do with it. We see a lot of the latter on TV and YouTube (and live) nowadays, but relatively few of the former. And, going by a lot of previous threads on this very subject, it seems the problem is people starting out with "what's a good first illusion to build?" or "what's a good first illusion on a small budget?"

Thin bases and such are fine, but they don't do anything to "create magic" for the audience. They just make the demonstration of the box or gadget more "convincing." That's not magic.

From the OP, we're not clear why you want to craft your own illusions. So, if you want to craft illusions so someone else can buy them and "perform magic," then the books and resources listed above are fine. Or, if you want to demonstrate boxes or gadgets, then the resources listed above are fine too. But if you want to craft these to help you be a convincing magical entertainer for an audience, then you need a solid grounding in magic and showmanship first.

I went through all this a million years ago, and, if I had to do it all over again, I would study woodcraft and cabinetmaking first, along with theatrical design and painting, and only then attempt to build an illusion from published materials. And that's AFTER studying magic and showmanship extensively and deciding who I wanted to be on stage, and why, and how I would create magical entertainment for my audiences. In other words, "which particular illusion (if any) would help me convince my audience that I am who I want them to think I am?"

Hi, in continue in this subject to ask you a question for building my own illusions.
Who can me tell me what wood I need to build illusions?
And wich thickness habitually used to building bases ?
Thanks for all and sorry for my english, I'm french..

A couple of years ago, some klutz posted that an illusion was something done with a big box!

I started to point out his error, then decided that a sign on the wall in the SHOWMEN'S LEAGUE club rooms in Chicago, said it better than I could have said it.

It's just a little sign, but, it says it well: >>> "YOU CANNOT SMARTEN UP A CHUMP!" <<< So, I deleted what I had written.

In my school assembly program, which I presented for 50 years, from coast to coast and border to border, I started doing a presentation, in 1971, that explained to the youngsters (K thru 12) how their minds worked, and then performed three illusions that demonstrated that point. The props for the three illusions, could be carried in my pocket, or one hand.

Later in the program, I did one more illusion that used NO PROPS! --And, the kids did the illusion, themselves!

They, especially the older ones, gained a new appreciation of how wonderful their minds were!

I often describe "magic" as being 5% sleight of hand skills, 5% esoteric principle of science, 5% perceptual illusion, AND EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT PSYCHOLOGY.
So, I'm a lousy mathematician, but, a fairly good magician/illusionist! (Heck! I made a living performing magic/illusion for 50 years!

BTW, I wrote up the "illusion routine" in my book.

NOW, here is the real reason that I'm writing this:

You've had some EXCELLENT INFORMATION G I V E N TO YOU BY SOME WELL QUALIFIED "GIVERS"! (especially detailed information by Bill Hegbli)

HERE COMES THE "BUT"::::::::::::BUT, GEORGE LEDO, WHO IS EMINENTLY QUALIFIED, HAS GIVEN YOU AN EXCEPTIONALLY FINE "COLLEGE COURSE" IN the "REAL WORK".

I suggest that you read the whole thread, again, and then, >>> MEMORIZE what George has said!<<<

[quote]On Sep 22, 2016, Dick Oslund wrote:

I often describe "magic" as being 5% sleight of hand skills, 5% esoteric principle of science, 5% perceptual illusion, AND EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT PSYCHOLOGY.
So, I'm a lousy mathematician, but, a fairly good magician/illusionist! (Heck! I made a living performing magic/illusion for 50 years!

Dick, I once heard that 95% of statistics are just made up.

Gimpy...

I used that to make a point! I wanted to stress how much PSYCHOLOGY is involved in the performance of a magic trick.