[1] Break down the entire puzzle into manageable parts
Unless you are an expert or super serious puzzle maker who likes to start with the most difficult portion of the puzzle (eg the entire blue sky!), it usually is more helpful if you complete the ‘easier’ portions of the puzzle first to encourage yourself to go further. Success breeds success, and there is nothing more invigorating than finishing different portions of the puzzle until you finish the entire thing!
[2] Start with the sides and form the frame
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out. There will be less pieces with straight edges and so you can quickly form the frame of the puzzle, which allows you to start building the puzzle inwards from the sides.
[3] Spend some time sorting out the pieces
It pays to be systematic, so it is worth spending the time separating the pieces according to where they will appear in the puzzle. Look at the picture of the puzzle. Identify and group the pieces that go together. Make use of the following cues to do your sorting:
(a) Colours and shades
Look for pieces of the same colour, eg the blue sky pieces, the green grass pieces, or the brown animal pieces. These may form a sizeable portion of the entire puzzle. There may also be smaller objects in the puzzle of an obviously different colour, eg a red balloon, a white cloud, or a yellow car. Look for these pieces, piece them together, and build up your puzzle from there.
Even among pieces of the same colour belonging to a portion of the puzzle, eg the blue sky, look for differences in the shade of the colour to help in your sorting and piecing together.
(b) Boundaries
Look for boundaries between objects, eg the line where the grey building ends and where the blue sky starts, and find those pieces with the boundaries. After you have joined the pieces and formed the boundaries, work your way inwards or outwards from those boundaries.
(c) Textures and lines
Look for portions which are polka-dotted, striped…………anything different! Remember, you are trying to take advantage of any visual cues which will allow you to identify and pick out pieces easier from among all the pieces.
Look for lines appearing in the picture, eg a road, a train track, the edge of a building. These are easy to form.
[4] Use cues on the puzzle piece itself
In addition to using the different cues from the picture, eg colour, texture, lines, you should also use the cues on the actual puzzle piece itself. Some pieces have 1, 2, 3 or 4 tabs, (also known as knobs or outies), which are the protruding parts of the jigsaw piece. Likewise some pieces will have 1, 2, 3 or 4 innies. If the gap where the missing piece is has 3 innies, you can narrow down your search by only looking at pieces which have 3 or 4 outies.
For portions of the puzzle which have uniform colour and texture, eg a blue sky portion, you may not be able to use colour, shade, texture or other cues. In such a situation, before attempting to try piece by piece on a trial and error basis, look at the characteristics of the jigsaw pieces. I sometimes find it worthwhile to align all the (for example) pieces with 2 innies and 2 outies in the same orientation, and look out for special quirky characteristics of each piece. Some pieces may have innies or outies which are slightly bigger, or the outies may be curved slightly upwards or downwards, or the piece may be slanted in a particular way. Look for the corresponding piece which has the complementary characteristic.
My wife calls this technique (if you can even call it a technique) ‘staring’. It is almost as if you are looking for some unique feature of each piece, from pieces which appear to be the same. Look at the gaps in the puzzle where the ‘special’ piece would fit. You’ll be surprised how a little bit of additional observation can save you from having to do everything by trial and error.
When all else fails, well …… you would have reduced as much as possible the pieces you need to fit using the trial and error method.
[5] Be patient and persevere!
There will be pieces that are practically impossible to sort because you just can’t identify where they go in the picture. That’s fine. Start piecing together those you have already sorted, making use of the cues listed above. Depending on the puzzle and also your own abilities and experience, you will encounter roadblocks along the way where you can’t seem to find the correct piece to fit. That’s all part of the frustration and fun of jigsaw puzzle making! Keep at it and don’t give up. Move to another portion of the puzzle and come back later to the portion where you were stuck at. Consider changing your orientation, perhaps move to the opposite side of the table to view the puzzle ‘upside down’. Who knows, everything is about perspectives, and you may fit a missing piece that much easier.
When you do complete the puzzle, admire the picture for what it is, and give yourself a pat on the back for having overcome the challenge.
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