Among summer vacation homework assignments in Japanese schools, one of the most typical is 自由工作 jiyū kōsaku. It's literally "free craftwork," but "free" as in students can give free reign to their creativity.

Both parents and teachers are often surprised at their children's creations full of originality and ingenuity.

For some children, however, getting started can take time because they may not know what kind of theme to work on, or they may not have any good ideas.

For families with kids in this situation, maybe Twitter user マメ Mame's (@womame33) creation will give them an idea!

Morning glories with eyes that follow you

Mame created this morning glory vine based on a recently revealed image of Ashiya Douman (蘆屋道満 ashiya dōman), a major antagonist in the Fate/Grand Order game, wearing the Morning Glory Yukata (Cursed) Spiritron Dress.

As you can see in the video below, Mame didn't simply draw eyes within morning glories. They added a chilling feature: No matter where the viewer is, these "eyes" meet your gaze, seemingly following your every move.

This very mysterious work was created by applying a type of trick art.

"The key is to give depth to the eyes," Mame explains. The petals of a morning glory are circular when viewed from the front, but conical when viewed from the side. Drawing the eyes on the conical part adds depth and creates the illusion of "following the viewer's gaze."

This creative use of trick art techniques elicited a lot of feedback, with some people saying, "Wow, I'm impressed" while others said, "It looks like something from a nightmare."

This technique can be applied to other creative crafts, so whether you're a student in Japan looking for a project idea or just enjoy making things, maybe this could give you a hint!