Variable digital optical images may be fabricated using generic optical matrices. A generic optical matrix may have pixels corresponding to color and sub-pixels corresponding to non-color effects. The pixels may include first pixels corresponding to a first color and second pixels corresponding to a second color. The sub-pixels may include first sub-pixels corresponding to a first non-color effect and second sub-pixels corresponding to a second non-color effect. Individual ones of the pixels and/or sub-pixels of the generic optical matrix may be obliterated according to a negative while remaining pixels and/or sub-pixels may be preserved. The remaining pixels and/or sub-pixels may form an optical image corresponding to a base image. The optical image may be colored based on the remaining pixels. The optical image may exhibit non-color effects corresponding to the remaining sub-pixels. The optical image may comprise a hologram or a stereo image.