The jig is up ... and down, and sideways
January 22, 2023 11:50 AM   Subscribe

This Guy Noticed Jigsaw Puzzle Companies Use The Same Patterns, So He Made Some Mashups. "Jigsaw puzzle companies tend to use the same cut patterns for multiple puzzles. This makes the pieces interchangeable. As a result, I sometimes find that I can combine portions from two or more puzzles to make a surreal picture that the publisher never imagined. I take great pleasure in “discovering” such bizarre images lying latent, sometimes for decades, within the pieces of ordinary mass-produced puzzles. As I shift the pieces back and forth, trying different combinations, I feel like an archaeologist unearthing a hidden artifact." Via shepgo@mastodon.social
posted by taz (29 comments total) 93 users marked this as a favorite
 
Great eye, great idea, and no AI necessary. Here's the link to the artist's page with many more examples.
posted by not_on_display at 12:00 PM on January 22, 2023 [19 favorites]


These are extremely cool!
posted by obfuscation at 12:02 PM on January 22, 2023


These are amazing.
posted by mhoye at 12:10 PM on January 22, 2023


This is genius.
posted by elwoodwiles at 12:11 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]


Neat!
posted by kyrademon at 12:20 PM on January 22, 2023


Wonlighterful!
posted by mochapickle at 12:24 PM on January 22, 2023 [5 favorites]




This rules
posted by potrzebie at 12:34 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]




Cowdozer is my everything.
posted by MrBadExample at 1:19 PM on January 22, 2023 [2 favorites]


So much better (and creepier) than I'd expected from the headline.
posted by sammyo at 1:30 PM on January 22, 2023


Truck Tut Truck Tut Truck Tut!

This is so neat.
posted by clavdivs at 1:41 PM on January 22, 2023 [3 favorites]


this is like a visual version of that Cthulu font everyone loves so much

you know, this one:

t̷̢͕̠͕̫̱̯̞̰͕̲͎̪̣͛̈́̐̋̒̈͆͑͑̑͋̓̒h̷͉̩͓̫̮̻̠̠̪͔͔̱͗̈͆͆̄̄̈͂͠ī̸̡̥͕̯̱̣̦̼͔̺̫s̷̯͇̪̼̱̙̬͇͉̊̐͝ ̶̡̤̮̜̭̹̘͕̓̆̈̈̍i̴̢̧̬͕̭̙̯̩̽͊̀̏̋̐̎͑̏͑͆̚š̴̨͙̤͍͚̂̓̿̎́͆͘͠ ̴̧̢̱͖͖̫̯̱̖̲̟̫͒͗̐͑̀͋̑͋͒͋́̾͑̄͘l̸̢͍̮̙͓͍̣͖̗̻͙̅͆͊͂̌̓̅̇̓̚̕̕ỉ̷̡̹̠̖̹̻̥k̴̢̦͎̱͈͖̩̩̙͕̂̔̉̍̚͜ê̷̬͆̏̆̀́̕͠ ̸̨̛͕̠̗͈̪̮̼̞͙̀͑ạ̵̲̘͇̩͙͍͈̹̞̉̋̈͊ ̴͔̦̮͍̙̯̈́̈́̓̏̉̿̓̀̑̈́̓̚͘͠v̷̛̛͔̞̼͙̘̲̼̤͎͕͕̘̄͋̔̃̎͑̎̂̑͘͝͝i̴̧̨̲̦͇̦͚̻̦̩͐̈́̽͗̾̄̓͋̿͊̉̋͝ͅs̸̡͍̺̲̠̗̼̤̜̭̠͉̹̞͋̀͆ͅư̸̢̧̨̢̧̝̗̳̈́̇̐͌̔͒͛̂̇̚͝ą̴̧̬͚̭̩͙̭̝̔̂͊͊̓̀̈̚͠l̶̘͈͕̺͉̩̈́ ̸͕̬̺̝̜̯̳̞̩̩̱͓̩͆̈́̍͑̈́͌͝ͅv̶̨͇͇̬̝͚͍̦͔̈́̿͆̀̔̉͘̚͝ͅe̶̢̡̙̝̠̗͙͉͔̰͑̓͛͜ͅr̵̛̙̬̞̠̰̣̈̎̇͒̓̔̂̈́́̉̀̇͒͝ͅs̴̛͎̈́̈́̍̈́͌̈́͆̄͑͌̈́̇ͅi̵͓͔̪̓ṓ̶̘̿̕n̴͙̱̙̳͔̹̪̘̙͍͇̙͛̽́̇̉͋́͛͘͜ ̷̭͚̞̆́̓́͆̒͝ͅo̶̲̻̰̜͎̰͎̖͚̬̜̒͑f̶̡̮̩͍̳̬̱̥͙̙̱͉̎̾̈́́̉̀͋͐̇̐͠͠ ̸̢̡̡͉͙̮̺̱͉̥̯̻̙̜̫͂̑̈́̆̅̎͂͠t̶̢͕̦̜̭̊͌̅͒̈́̈́̕͝h̴̜͈̯̊͌̎̿͝ͅą̵̛̰͚̫͔̜̠̣͖̄́̌t̸̬̤̮̏̌̆̑͌͛ ̴̢̛̛̬͓͉̣̭̗̻̘͍͔̩͓̜̗̔̐̿̽͊̀C̵̖̤̥̬̗̭̣̈́̇̅̇̽̍͗͆̈́͑͜t̴̪̣̋͐̄͒͠h̶̡̨̛̜̱̪̒͂́͐ŭ̵̡̨̙͉̲̲̖͙̋͛͛̇̆̕͠l̴͖̼̫͇̟͔̙̀̐́̇̒͒̌̋͝͝u̷͚̼̤͓̰̫̜̼̯͖͍̝̔̅̉͂͝ ̸̱̼̥̎͂́̐̂̍̀̃̋̓̚͘ͅf̷͖̙͎̤̫̱͓̆̇͋̈̀̐̌̂̈́͜͠ô̵̡͔̖̝̞͉̮͉̱͆͘͜͠͠ṉ̸̢̪̗̦̆̉̈̅t̶̢̡̛̗̩͈̞̫̫͙̞̥͂̄͑̓̆̃̏͆ ̸̛̘̮̱͚͕͉̈͊̽̐̋̄̄̀̀͘͘͝͠ͅe̴̡̧̖͙̗̲̠̜̝̣̓̒̓͋͒̂͋̅̄͂̕͘ͅͅv̶̧̛̯͙̠̫̣̹͎͋̓̐̌̍̉̎̀͒͒̈͐͘͝ȇ̶̡͎͎̘̮͈͇̩͖͉̰͜͜r̷͚͎̺͙̺̥̩͍̙͖̲͙̫̦̀͋̉̿̕ÿ̶̢́̈́̃͗͠o̷̻͎͔͎͒̿̀̋̑̓̈̅̾͐̆n̵͈̹̤̦̖̺̹͙̜̹̥̹͚̥̊̿̋͂̊ͅe̵̬͉̝̍̈́̉͒̾͜͝ ̴̧̘̱̹̩̱͈͕͍̯̼͚̯̩͗͒̈́̕͝l̴̝̼̮͈͇͇̣̞̯͇͉̺̂̿́̇̓͌́̐́͗̅̒̚͜o̸̺̟̾͐̓̏̆̅̂͝v̸̡̲͙̪͕̝͕͓̯͇́e̵͛́́͋̔̂̉̃̒̊̓̇͗̿͝ͅs̴̨͓̹̗͉̲̳͕̜͖̈́͊̈́̓͑̒ ̶͈̥̿ͅs̸̨̖̜̺̬̆̅͂̍̎͛̑̎̍̂̕ỡ̸̞̫̮͖̞͇̘̹̳̄̓́̚ ̵̡̛̫̰̮̝̅͒̐̂̽̍̒̑́̃̍͑m̷̡̹̺̼̳͉̮̫̜̼̏̆͂̊̀̊ͅu̷̖̺̥̼̜̘̲͓̯̓͜ͅc̴̖͔̫͙̫̤͖̥͍̳͈̟̗͑ͅh̴͎̝͋͆͌̐̓̅̃
posted by chavenet at 1:48 PM on January 22, 2023 [2 favorites]


Some really good ones added from the previous, too.
posted by Jacen at 1:57 PM on January 22, 2023


m̷̡̹̺̼̳͉̮̫̜̼̏̆͂̊̀̊ͅu̷̖̺̥̼̜̘̲͓̯̓͜ͅc̴̖͔̫͙̫̤͖̥͍̳͈̟̗͑ͅh̴͎̝͋͆͌̐̓̅̃ t̶̢͕̦̜̭̊͌̅͒̈́̈́̕͝h̴̜͈̯̊͌̎̿͝ͅą̵̛̰͚̫͔̜̠̣͖̄́̌t̸̬̤̮̏̌̆̑͌͛



l̴̝̼̮͈͇͇̣̞̯͇͉̺̂̿́̇̓͌́̐́͗̅̒̚͜o̸̺̟̾͐̓̏̆̅̂͝v̸̡̲͙̪͕̝͕͓̯͇́e̵͛́́͋̔̂̉̃̒̊̓̇͗̿͝ͅs̴̨͓̹̗͉̲̳͕̜͖̈́͊̈́̓͑̒e̴̡̧̖͙̗̲̠̜̝̣̓̒̓͋͒̂͋̅̄͂̕͘ͅͅv̶̧̛̯͙̠̫̣̹͎͋̓̐̌̍̉̎̀͒͒̈͐͘͝ȇ̶̡͎͎̘̮͈͇̩͖͉̰͜͜r̷͚͎̺͙̺̥̩͍̙͖̲͙̫̦̀͋̉̿̕ÿ̶̢́̈́̃͗͠o̷̻͎͔͎͒̿̀̋̑̓̈̅̾͐̆n̵͈̹̤̦̖̺̹͙̜̹̥̹͚̥̊̿̋͂̊ͅe̵̬͉̝̍̈́̉͒̾͜͝



C̵̖̤̥̬̗̭̣̈́̇̅̇̽̍͗͆̈́͑͜t̴̪̣̋͐̄͒͠h̶̡̨̛̜̱̪̒͂́͐ŭ̵̡̨̙͉̲̲̖͙̋͛͛̇̆̕͠l̴͖̼̫͇̟͔̙̀̐́̇̒͒̌̋͝͝u̷͚̼̤͓̰̫̜̼̯͖͍̝̔̅̉͂͝ ̸̱̼̥̎͂́̐̂̍̀̃̋̓̚͘ͅf̷͖̙͎̤̫̱͓̆̇͋̈̀̐̌̂̈́͜͠ô̵̡͔̖̝̞͉̮͉̱͆͘͜͠͠ṉ̸̢̪̗̦̆̉̈̅t̶̢̡̛̗̩͈̞̫̫͙̞̥͂̄͑̓̆̃̏͆ ̸̛̘̮̱͚͕͉̈͊̽̐̋̄̄̀̀͘͘͝͠ͅ


t̷̢͕̠͕̫̱̯̞̰͕̲͎̪̣͛̈́̐̋̒̈͆͑͑̑͋̓̒h̷͉̩͓̫̮̻̠̠̪͔͔̱͗̈͆͆̄̄̈͂͠ī̸̡̥͕̯̱̣̦̼͔̺̫s̷̯͇̪̼̱̙̬͇͉̊̐͝





v̷̛̛͔̞̼͙̘̲̼̤͎͕͕̘̄͋̔̃̎͑̎̂̑͘͝͝i̴̧̨̲̦͇̦͚̻̦̩͐̈́̽͗̾̄̓͋̿͊̉̋͝ͅs̸̡͍̺̲̠̗̼̤̜̭̠͉̹̞͋̀͆ͅư̸̢̧̨̢̧̝̗̳̈́̇̐͌̔͒͛̂̇̚͝ą̴̧̬͚̭̩͙̭̝̔̂͊͊̓̀̈̚͠l̶̘͈͕̺͉̩̈́



Turn screen sideways to see
Cape Canaveral
posted by clavdivs at 2:14 PM on January 22, 2023 [2 favorites]


Nice try, DALL E 2
posted by Going To Maine at 2:18 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]


These are great. This jigsaw mix-and-match is also a central feature of this episode of Dave Gorman's Modern Life is Goodish, which is well worth a watch (and also mentioned in the prior thread).
posted by erolls at 3:28 PM on January 22, 2023 [4 favorites]


I love these and admire the hell out of the amount of patience it must take to simultaneously find the matching cuts and make the pictures align in a pleasing way.
posted by ActionPopulated at 5:00 PM on January 22, 2023 [3 favorites]


I thought same! Does he put both puzzles together next to each other and then carefully replace one into the other? Probably, right?
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:06 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]


These are great but gotta give it up to the OG of this, Alma Haser, who made her own puzzle pattern and then used her own photos of twins to do the mashup.
posted by dobbs at 5:52 PM on January 22, 2023 [8 favorites]


The plantation/mountain is poignant.
posted by Ahmad Khani at 6:50 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]


Wow! This was so much better than I was expecting. Very cool, thanks for the post!
posted by Sparky Buttons at 6:58 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]


We had several 200 piece puzzles made by Gem when were were kids, and soon noticed they had only one die because each puzzle had the same weirdly shaped piece. Alas, the die was rotated, so it was harder to blend the pictures than we expected - Sunny Suzy could not be stood on the beach in Palms at Sunset because she would have been standing upside down. There we also problems of scale, as Suzy was as tall as the palm trees.

It was cool trying it out though - but our mother strongly disapproved because of the risk of getting the puzzle pieces mixed up and never getting around to separating them again.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:49 AM on January 23, 2023


The beer/bear one seems like something that would come with the DTs.
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:01 AM on January 23, 2023


This is so cool!
posted by dg at 2:23 PM on January 23, 2023


The confusing edges of the different portions make these as convincing as any Photoshop.

(a lawyer slowly rises in the background behind me)

Sigh. As any image produced with advanced image editing software such as Adobe(C)(TM)(R) Photoshop(C)(TM)(R).

(the lawyer slowly nods before slowly sinking back down and out of sight. a whiff of brimstone can be smelled.)
posted by BiggerJ at 4:32 PM on January 23, 2023


Wow!
posted by doctornemo at 4:56 PM on January 23, 2023


I think the OG here is Mel Andriga, an art professor in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who was mentioned in the earlier article about Klein:
CR Artist Combines Puzzles to Create Collages (and So Can You)
posted by Caxton1476 at 12:46 PM on January 26, 2023


Regardless, these are excellent! I want one.
posted by Caxton1476 at 12:46 PM on January 26, 2023


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