This is the first and only article online revealing the Liquid Glass illusion secret.
It is for those who like to know how this penetration magic trick is done.
How the steel needle could apparently go through the solid glass sheet or plate.
The Liquid Glass stage illusion is a bigger version of the table top Peter Warlock Glass Penetration.
Watch the British Peter Warlock demonstrating his own creation.
Below is Harry Blackstone Jr. performing the Liquid Glass.
This stage apparatus with four quadrants glass windows with two uprights is created by magical illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer.
Jim Steinmeyer is the creative mind behind many magical marvels, including Windshear, Op-Art Illusion, Osmosis Illusion and Walking Through A Brick Wall.
- Read these free books by Jim Steinmeyer
Welcome to another post from the Info Ruckus Magic Trick Secrets Revealed series.
Liquid Glass Illusion Secret Revealed
The method of the Liquid Glass stage illusion is similar to the Warlock Glass Penetration or the Atomic Glass Penetration by Magic Wagon.
Shifting Liquid Glass Sheet
In other words, the secret of Liquid Glass Stage Illusion is by shifting the glass sheet within the frame.
From my observations, the magician uses his hand to slide the glass sheet side way to the uprights (legs or stands) of the apparatus.
The first time when I saw the two short metal features on top of the prop, I thought they are devices for sliding the glass sheet, like the Peter Warlock Penetration Glass or Atomic Glass Penetration.
Actually they are clips to hold the shutters or panels onto the frame.
This is a closeup view of the metal clip taken from illusion designer and builder William Kennedy’s website WK Magic LLC.
I notice the performers flip this metal piece each time after they have placed the wooden shutter onto the frame, and before they remove it.
These two clips on top of the frame are not only there to grip the wooden shutters, but it can be part of trick.
They can help to misdirect the performers’ hand position and movement, when they covertly slide the glass sheet.
Glass Sheet Moving
Watch this brief sequence of this video clip by magician David Penn.
At 0:29, after he has placed the shutter, his left hand flips the clip on top of the frame, then it goes down behind the shutter to push the glass to the RIGHT.
You can clearly see the glass sheet slides to the RIGHT, just before David Penn knocks the glass sheet.
Focus on the top right hand corner of the glass where the smudge marks as indicated in the picture below.
You can see the smudge marks clearly moving towards the RIGHT side of the frame.
Then at 1:32 his left hand goes behind the wooden shutter to push the glass sheet back to its ORIGINAL position.
Similarly you can clearly see the smudge marks on the glass sheet moving inward.
Glass Sheet Width And Positions
First let’s check out the width of the glass sheet.
When it is pulled out from the frame, you would notice the glass edges are closed to the inner side of the 4-window frame.
Here are three images taken from Rick Thomas, Kamyléon and David Penn’s video clips respectively.
This is the original position of the glass sheet when it is placed in the center of the frame.
When the glass sheet is shifted to one side of the frame, this is how it looks like.
Positions Of The Holes
As illustrated above, the edge of the glass sheet on the RIGHT is NOT in the center of the RIGHT side windows.
But the red ribbon appears to go through the CENTER of the four windows.
From the picture below, you notice the shutter holes are actually NOT in the CENTER of the four small windows.
The two white dotted lines in the picture, indicate where the positions of the shutter holes are.
The red color line is the center of the windows.
Shutters Position
To make the four holes appear to be in the CENTER of the 4 windows, the two pieces of shutters are placed right to to the edge of the uprights or stand.
But when the panel holes are not blocked, you can see from Kamyléon’s video, they are closer to the side of the frame.
Psychology Of Liquid Glass Illusion
In the art of magic, they employ the psychologic tricks; making the impossible seems possible.
For instance, when they shift the glass, they use the art of misdirection.
Misdirection is a psychological concept that involves intentionally diverting your visual attention to disguise something.
It also uses the optical illusion, to trick your brain’s perception.
That’s why the holes appear to be in the center of the glass windows, thus making the penetration effect more mysterious and magical.
Slim Needle And Soft Ribbon
As you have read my explanation above, the space allowance for the needle and ribbon to penetrate is limited.
Hence, it uses a slim metal needle threaded with a soft red satin ribbon to do the penetration trick, even though the Liquid Glass Illusion apparatus is rather big.
But it has a big round shaped piece or the rather big black area for the hole.
This is another optical illusion to deceive your visual perception.
It wants you to see that the hole is rather big, when it is not.
As I have just highlighted, because of the space constraint, it can only use a slim metal rod, together with pliable ribbon.
Here are three different presentations of Liquid Glass Illusion by French magician Kamyléon and Rick Thomas of “Mansion Of Dreams” fame and David Penn.
NOTE: For a clearer understanding, when I say LEFT, I mean your LEFT.
Liquid Glass Illusion By Kamyléon
At 1:13 when Kamyléon places the first shutter and slides it to the LEFT upright.
At the same time his right hand goes behind it to slide the glass to the RIGHT.
Kamyléon uses the shutter or panel to block his hand shifting the glass sheet.
Now the glass has moved all the way to the RIGHT upright or the stand, as illustrated below.
At 1:26 Magician Kamyléon pokes the needle into the top hole, it hits the glass sheet inside.
Actually it is the glass edge that is near to the hole, as I have explained above.
The glass edge is just next to the two holes of the shutter or panel.
Then he pushes the slim needle slips past the glass edge through the narrow space inside the hole.
At 1:49, as he places the second shutter onto the RIGHT side of the frame, his left hand goes behind it to push the glass sheet to the LEFT as seen below
When the glass sheet is shifted to the LEFT upright, its edge will push the soft satin ribbon along with it.
Thus the slim ribbon would be dragged into the LEFT shutter holes slightly.
But Kamyléon knows how to hide it away from his audience, by standing in front of the LEFT shutter.
Now the glass sheet is over at the far LEFT side of the frame.
The diagonal ribbon is tightly stretched is because the it is being pulled by the edge of the glass.
At 2:12 as he walks behind the apparatus, his right hand secretly shifts the glass sheet slight back to the RIGHT to its original position.
Before he slides the glass sheet back RIGHT to its original position, the diagonal ribbon is taut as seen above.
After he has shifted the glass sheet inward to its original position, you can see the diagonal red ribbon slacks slightly (indicated above).
It is because the glass edge has moved inwards, the ribbon looses its grip.
He has to shift the glass sheet back to its original position.
At 2:14 when he lifts up the glass sheet, it should be seen as it comes out right in the middle of the four windows.
The red ribbon behind the shutter or panels should hang loosely because of the glass movement.
To hide the loose hanging red ribbon, this is what he does.
At 2:20 he puts on a dramatic finale by pulling the red ribbon tight, and then spins the frame around.
Liquid Glass Illusion By Rick Thomas
Now let’s watch how magician Rick Thomas performs his needle through glass illusion adapted from Peter Warlock’s creation.
When placing the shutter on the RIGHT side of the frame, his right hand slides the glass sheet to the LEFT upright of the prop at 4:18.
As I have just mentioned above, the shutter holes and the edge of the glass is very closed by.
Before he can remove the wooden shutter from the frame, at 4:49 his left hand flips the clip, while his hidden right hand slides the glass sheet back to its original position.
At 5:14 when both of them place the shutters onto the frame, the female assistant just pulls the clip.
It is Rick who is sliding the glass sheet towards the RIGHT with his left hand.
Now the glass sheet is pushed to the RIGHT upright.
So Thomas can insert the metal needle through both holes of the LEFT shutters.
To penetrate the RIGHT shutter holes, he has to slide the glass sheet to the LEFT upright.
To misdirect the audience attention, he puts on an act by passing the needle to his female assistant.
Then he makes a dance-like turn and proceeds to the apparatus.
When he is behind the prop at 5:34, his left hand pushes the glass sheet to the LEFT side of the frame.
When he slides the glass sheet back to LEFT at 5:36, focus on the red ribbon at the bottom hole.
You can see the red ribbon moving into the hole.
It is because when the glass sheet is pushing the soft ribbon, as it slides to the LEFT.
Now he can push the needle through the RIGHT shutter holes.
Because the glass is now set to the LEFT side of the frame.
To finish up the act, Rick Thomas has to slide the glass sheet back to its original position.
At the finale, when he walks back to the frame, his right hand slides the glass to its original position at 5:54.
You can see the red ribbon through the top hole of the RIGHT shutter moves slightly.
Then using both hands, Rick Thomas coolly lifts up the glass from the wooden frame.
The ribbon behind the frame should be loosen because of the shifting of the glass sheet.
Look at the picture above, the ribbon on the LEFT shutter is taut or tight.
It is because the glass sheet is not over there to pull or stretch the ribbon.
Furthermore, at 5:58 the female assistant pulls the ribbon as she lifts up the ribbon, when Rick pulls the glass sheet out from the frame.
The ribbon on the RIGHT is loose is because the glass sheet is on that side just before, it is pulled out from the frame.
Liquid Glass Illusion By David Penn
Here is another Liquid Glass Illusion performance by tech magician David Penn.
His first move I have already elaborated above.
At 0:29, after he has placed the shutter, his left hand flips the clip.
As he bends down, his left hand behind the shutter discreetly pushes the glass sheet to the RIGHT.
I have highlighted above you can see the glass sheet moving because of its smudge marks.
At 1:32 his left hand goes behind the wooden shutter to push the glass sheet back to its ORIGINAL position.
Again you can see the smudge marks on the glass moving back towards him.
Probably at 1:52, his left hand slides the glass sheet to the LEFT.
Then he can insert the needle through the holes on the RIGHT shutter.
At 2:15, his left hand shifts the glass sheet to the RIGHT.
He continues to thread the ribbon through the two hole on the LEFT shutter.
Before he pulls out the glass sheet from the frame, at 2:29, his left hand moves the glass sheet back to its ORIGINAL position as seen above.
The ribbon behind the frame should be slacken or loosen because of the glass sheet movement.
But after the act, when he turns the frame around, the red ribbon behind the frame is rather tightly stretched.
The trick is before looping the ribbon onto the upright, his left hand is tugging it to make it taut.
That’s why the ribbon behind the frame is not loosely hanging when it should be.
This is the Liquid Glass illusion secret; by moving the piece of glass sheet inside the frame.