Over the years, one of my signature projects have been hidden object games. I first did these monthly for Nature Friend Magazine as a freelance illustrator and my own full-color line of Can You Find? illustrations won several awards. But what goes in to creating a good hidden object puzzle? Here’s a little insight into the black-and-white version.

When I am illustrating a hidden object page, I am always thinking and planning out my strategy for my line work ahead of time before I even begin the final drawing. Should I use a stipple technique (tiny dots), vertical or horizontal line work, swirls shapes, thin or thick line weight? What will surround the object and how can I make the hidden object blend in with its surroundings?

There are certain areas in each illustration that are easy to see a place where an object can be hidden. The trunk of a tree and line work — all that texture — make great places to hide a paper clip, pencil, banana or, in this illustration, a clam shell.  

In the mountains in the background of a landscape, depending on the object I want to hide, I will draw my line work in a specific direction to accommodate hidden objects. For instance, in the black-and-white illustration of the fox and the bunny rabbit, vertical lines were used to suggest rocks and mountains in the background. Using that line work to my advantage, I was able to hide a canoe and pliers.

The rocks in the foreground were an easy place to draw a hidden turtle. I changed the shape of the rock and added some texture to create a turtle-like shape. Or, I could have added some marks to the rock and, hidden among the dotted lines of grasses and the dirt in the ground, it can easily be turned into a slice of watermelon.

I think the more difficult place to hide an object is in the negative space of a drawing. An example of that in this illustration is the duck — hidden above the fox’s head — between his ears and among the tree branches.

I also think about the shape of an object and what shape may be similar to it when hiding an object. For instance, a daisy flower petal is long and slender, similar to a pencil, paper clip, banana or a spoon. Flower centers can become a strawberry or a blueberry.

Hopefully this will give you a small insight as to how I go about drawing up one of my Can You Find? illustrations.