Ever wonder how artists hide secret objects in their illustration work? I’ve been illustrating hidden object puzzles for decades, first for Nature Friend Magazine and then with my own line of Can You Find? illustrations, which won several awards. Take a closer look at how six objects came to be hiding among this squirrel.

The first thing I do is sketch up a bunch of thumbnail sketches with my ideas so I can get the design and composition of the illustration figured out first. Sometimes as I am drawing up the illustration, I will decide that I want to hide an object in a certain area because, as in this case, I like the texture of the object and I think it will be an interesting place to hide something. I knew the acorns could make a good spot for a hidden object.

After thinking about the texture of the cap of the acorn, a turtle shell came to mind because of the texture of his shell. With the shape of the turtle shell and the acorn cap, I could draw that into a camouflaged turtle.  Before I even consider doing the final art, whether it is a black-and-white line illustration or a full-color illustration, I must know exactly where the hidden objects are going to be drawn.

If I used wavy lines to indicate bark on a tree branch, I was able to use that texture on the tree branches to my advantage to easily hide a banana and a bird. The delicate, lighter-colored veins on the oak leaves became another area I wanted to hide some objects. I chose a small mitten in the lower oak leaf at the bottom of the page. I also hid a green pear on the right side of the page.