Designer Diary - Bumfuzzled #16 - Simian Cask

Some designs come along quite easily, and this was one of them! In general, ideas that are more of an illustration are a shorter process from start to finish, as you're simply drawing the subject matter, and then slicing it up into smaller pieces. However, there were still some fun twists and details to tackle here!


The Original Idea

This puzzle started out when I realized the pieces from the Barrel of Monkeys toy would make a great puzzle piece, being both whimsical and highly connective. If you're unfamiliar with the toy:

However, as I played around with a puzzle featuring this shape, I just wasn't happy with where it was going. The puzzle was failing to feel as playful as the subject matter would suggest. Time to pivot!

A More Literal Approach

Sometimes, ideas take a surprising turn! What started out as an idea based on a fun piece shape turned into a "barrel of monkeys" theme. I'm not the best illustrator around, so it took me a long time to get a barrel of monkeys I was happy with. You can see there was copious amounts of erasing necessary to get to this point!

You can see how in these more illustrative designs, a lot of the work is already done once the illustration is complete. Now it was time to chop it up!


Come for the Monkeys, Stay for the Barrel

While the monkeys are obviously the thematic star of this puzzle, the barrel surprisingly became the star of the puzzling challenge! Since I was playing this design rather straight, and a large barrel could easily become a boring element, I decided to go for an intricate wood grain pattern in the barrel.

This both served for visual interest, but I also knew the monkey section would be quite easy, as there are very few orange, green, and pink pieces in this puzzle, making them fairly easy to group and assemble. This meant the barrel section would have to be rather difficult to balance things out.

I was really pleased with the result; a wood grain-feeling pattern that was also a satisfying challenge! It also drove the piece count above my average, as it necessitated lots of small pieces. I tend to avoid lots of small pieces in my puzzles, but for this particular execution, it was worthwhile, and in testing it, they don't feel so small as to be a pain.


The Finishing Touches

With the main challenges cleared, there was just a bit more linework to fill in, and deciding on a color scheme. Since the monkeys are the star subject matter, I knew I wanted them bright and fun, whereas the rest of the puzzle is supporting them.



Funny side note: way back in Bumfuzzled #3: 34 Keys, we introduced slightly varying wood shades to add visual interest. Being non-native English speakers, my production partners called these shades "Slightly Darker" and "A Little More Darker", which remain the "official" shades used whenever I want to retain plain wood, but in slightly varying shades.

I still giggle a bit when utilizing these colors vs. the Pantone call-outs for the other colors!


The Final Monkey Bath

Part of the fun of designing puzzles, or maybe art in general, is that you never know exactly how a project will come out, so it's even fun for me seeing the results! This one is a bit off the beaten path for the Bumfuzzled series, but I'm really proud of the result.



I hope you all have as much fun with the puzzle as I had designing it!

Blessings,
Chad