This is the magic moment when a stick figure comes to life.

However there's no camera trick or optical illusion involved with this - it really does happen.

All you need is a whiteboard marker and a flat, shiny surface.

If you can put aside worries about defacing the furniture you'll be able to get this to work without any problem and amaze your friends in the process.

All you need to do is use a a whiteboard marker to draw a stick figure on a flat, shiny surface and drop a little water on it.

Then you'll see the drawing slowly lift off the surface and become one with the watery bubble.

This is because the ink in a whiteboard marker, unlike a permanent marker, includes an oily silicone substance.

Using just a whiteboard marker and some water the stick figure comes to life

The reason the oily substance is added by manufacturers is to prevent the ink from sticking to the board.

Because oil sits on top of water so does this ink, which will also move as the puddle moves.

By gently blowing on the puddle and the stick figure will swish and dance around according to which way you blow on it.

The final product may look like an intricate optical illusion, but the stick figure comes to life thanks just to a whiteboard marker, some water and a shiny surface.