Optically variable security element

The invention relates to an optically variable security element (12) for the protection of security papers, value documents and other data carriers, with a motif region (20) from different viewing directions, different image information (14-A, 14-B, 14-C) are presented. According to the invention it is provided that the design area (20) of two or more groups (22-C 22-A, 22-B) consists in each case congruent pixel elements, of which at least two groups (22-A, 22-B, 22- generate C) image information (14-a, 14-B, 14-C) in different viewing directions. The pixel elements (22-A, 22-B, 22-C) form the tiles of a tiling of the plane and cover the design area (20) without gaps and without overlap. The pixel elements (22-A, 22-B, 22-C) have a complex contour shape that is neither triangular, square, hexagonal, circular yet, and the pixel elements (22-A, 22-B, 22-C) have a maximum dimension of 500 microns or less.