Special Features
I try to incorporate many "special features" into my puzzles which make them appealing and fun. Not every puzzle is well suited for each technique, but I am sure if you look carefully, you will find some of these in each one. Some techniques are special surprises and won't be listed here.
Figurals:
Something really nice about hand cutting my own jigsaw puzzles, is the ability to create almost any shape I wish. Figurals are whimsical creatures, people or things carefully cut and incorporated right into part of the puzzle. I really enjoy not only seeing which Figurals will "show up" from puzzle to puzzle, but also the joy and surprise they bring to the assembler's face when they're discovered.
Occassionally, Interactive Figurals (two or more Figurals which directly interact with others around them) or Complex Figurals (made up of two or more separate puzzle pieces) might be found.
To learn more about my Figurals, please click the button on the left, or click here.
Something really nice about hand cutting my own jigsaw puzzles, is the ability to create almost any shape I wish. Figurals are whimsical creatures, people or things carefully cut and incorporated right into part of the puzzle. I really enjoy not only seeing which Figurals will "show up" from puzzle to puzzle, but also the joy and surprise they bring to the assembler's face when they're discovered.
Occassionally, Interactive Figurals (two or more Figurals which directly interact with others around them) or Complex Figurals (made up of two or more separate puzzle pieces) might be found.
To learn more about my Figurals, please click the button on the left, or click here.
Drop-Outs:
These are decorative areas cut from the puzzle board and intentionally left out. When used, they are for artistic expression, so don't panic if you think the pieces are missing!
Sometimes a Drop-Out is a natural area in the puzzles picture which, by it's absence, helps to lend definition. An example can be seen in the image to the right. Drop-Outs between the boys' arms adds a natural open space.
When encountered in the pile of pieces, the edges of Drop-Out areas may disguise themselves as puzzle edge pieces.
Picture Elements:
These are individual portions of a puzzle's picture which are cut along color lines, separating them into stand alone objects or living things.
For instance, delicate cutting made these puzzle pieces which are things in and of themselves; a blue jay and a couple of interesting hats.
Complex Picture Elements differ in that they are larger in size and are cut up themselves into smaller pieces.
Double-Layered Puzzles:
A fun feature which might be found in some of my puzzles is incorporating "double layered" sections into them. This requires a specialized technique where small "anchor" pieces are glued atop designated pieces on the base layer, to allow assembly of a second layer on top. This top layer will be affixed to the rest of the puzzle when completed so that it does not slide about.
The end effect of this technique is to add not only an extra element of difficulty, but also to give the final puzzle an aesthetic appearance of added depth. Certain portions of the puzzles image will "reach out" at the viewer to give a 3-D effect.
Please visit "Imaginary Flight" in my Puzzle Gallery to see an example of this.
Irregular Borders:
A strategy almost all puzzle assemblers use is to first sort out the straight edge pieces, and then put together the border. I try to make the puzzle more interesting and a bit more challenging by occassionally giving part or all of it's borders irregular shapes. This effectively reduces how many straight edge pieces there are, and the other border pieces "hide" better in the pile of puzzle pieces.
An example would be the top, right edge of "Rebecca's Magical Flight." The flowering tree and pegasus's wing will likely confuse the assembler until the end!
Another example of an irregular border would be the treescape on the horizon in "A Day in the Village."
Color Line Cutting:
I will often cut pieces directly along areas where two colors meet. This will make for unique puzzle aesthetics and again, offers a greater challenge for the assembler. I try not to do this too extensively, however, as I feel that part of the fun of making a puzzle is hunting for pieces which might contain hints of color from an adjoining piece.
An example of color line cutting can be seen in my "Americana" puzzle, around the sun and it's surrounding clouds near the horizon.
Inset Gems:
I have added a totally unique element to some of my puzzles by insetting small glistening "gems" into certain areas of the image. The gems are recessed into the wood itself giving them exellent durability. I have perfected a technique to do this without damaging the surrounding paper material of the print. The Watchful Dragon was my first puzzle which contained this feature.
Inlaid Figurals:
This is an element I first designed with "Choosin' Ups" which incorporates Figurals which are made of an entirely different species of wood than the rest of the puzzle. They are cut perfectly to fit into the rest of the puzzle with, hopefully, no noticeable disturbance on the covering picture.
Achieving this effect is very difficult and requires quite a bit of concentration. To my knowledge, this is an art which has never been performed with jigsaw puzzles in the past, and I see "Choosin' Ups" as a pioneering piece in my collection.
