Pandemic Puzzles by Aaron Wolf

In these times of social distancing and self isolation I have decided to launch a new jigsaw puzzle company to help pass the time and keep the mind active with a little bit of frustration.  I have always been a fan of jigsaw puzzles since I was a small child.  I used to build jigsaw puzzles with my mom and the other children in her care at our home daycare.  I have always wanted to put my artwork on puzzles and I have used this time during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic to find a high quality manufacturer to produce these puzzles.  

A lot of people with all this newfound time have turned to puzzles to occupy their time and stimulate (or puzzle) the mind.  I am very excited to finally be able to share my artwork in this format because it gives people a chance to see the detail I put into these images that you can’t come close to seeing on a screen.  There are 9 designs in total, and all are available in 500, 1000, or 2000 pieces, and they ship to nearly anywhere in the world.  Click on any of the images to purchase any of these puzzles or follow any of the Pandemic Puzzle links, and follow the FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM pages for images and news on new puzzles

A Delicate Balance: The Kingdom

I recoloured this image specifically for this puzzle project, knowing that the original coloured version wasn’t interesting enough for a puzzle design.  I was told once that every piece in a puzzle should be interesting and I think this puzzle encapsulates that perfectly.  There are large portions that are detailed but then the open areas have lots of variation in colour.  It is a challenge but totally manageable.  Before the background sky and water were both an aqua blue/green and were a little to plain for the image to work properly as a puzzle.  I knew that a more dramatic background was needed so added in clouds that encircled the sun and wrapped around the castle.  I also reworked the castle as to remove little defects that up until this point were unnoticeable, as it had never been reproduced in colour at this scale and minor updates adding more shadow and depth.  I have spent a bit of time updating old drawings and making them more interesting for Pandemic Puzzles.  In a late post I will show both the before and after illustrations and the work that went into them.

A Delicate Balance: Penrose Heights

For this image I just cropped out the sides, as I originally drew this in a square format for a past project.  I like the original square formatting better but I do love this as a puzzle because of its complexity, but also for the different coloured elements that you could begin building the puzzle around.  I think that this would be the second hardest puzzle out of the batch of 9, right behind Mother Nature.

A Delicate Balance: Cathedral of the Changing Tides

I recoloured this image about six months ago when ARTIFACT PUZZLES bought this design off me to produce high quality wooden jigsaw puzzles.  Once COVID-19 started and they stopped production, I had requests from friends for this puzzle and that is what made me find a manufacture to start Pandemic Puzzles.  Before this piece did not have the lily pads in the water and the reflection wasn’t nearly as surreal and dreamlike looking.  The cathedral also wasn’t nearly as ornate and the colours were less earthy.  It is a huge improvement on the original and made me realize how much I have learned in the last few years.

Death of the Auto Industry

This piece was also recoloured for Pandemic Puzzles.  Before it had plain white background and the splatter of the blood and guts explosion was much more cartoony looking.  This was originally drawn by hand and coloured on Photoshop over a decade ago, so it was in need of a minor update for this project.  I didn’t change anything on the horse or pickup truck.

Mother Nature

For this puzzle all I added to the illustration of Mother Nature was the red circle in the forehead and a few duplicates of the red flowers to add a little more variation.  Not bad considering that this was drawn over a decade ago and was the first image that I had drawn completely digitally.

Rex Brucus Hunts the Koba Fliege

This image is just the way I had drawn it a few years back.  I think a lot of the colouring techniques that I learned doing this piece I applied to the other pieces that I recoloured or added changes to for the Pandemic Puzzles project.  One day soon I will share the black and white version and the original pencil and ink drawing.

King of the Dead

For this image I added the neck, collarbones, and the halo of bones behind the King, as originally, the fur dominated the bottom third and made for an uninteresting portion of a puzzle.  To see the process for this artwork, including the original ink drawing, CLICK HERE.

Hunter S. Thompson: This is Bat Country

This was an old illustration that needed no work.  I have been happy with this one since it was complete.  Black and white doesn’t make it the most exciting puzzle but it’s Hunter S. for fuck sakes.  That’s interesting enough.

David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust on Mars

This tribute to Bowie was drawn before he passed but when I updated it I added a later Blackstar reference.  Combined with imagery and iconography from different stages in his career, this is a tribute to him that I didnt realize I was creating when I originally drew this.  I updated the whole image, except the hair and helmet but did so very quickly.  The updates sure make a difference though as this looks so much better then the original.  This is the biggest improvement of the bunch and the least amount of time put in.  I am really in love with this image and still miss Bowie so much.

Thanks for reading about all of these puzzles, the work that went into the artwork, and looking through my drawings.  Too the people that are interested, or have purchased a puzzle, thank you very much and enjoy!  I can tell you that I bought myself a 2000 piece of A Delicate Balance: The Kingdom and I am so happy with the quality of these puzzles.  The lines are so crisp and the colours vibrant and deep.  Even though I have spend over 200 hours between drawing that piece in ink at 19 x 26 inches, colouring it on Photoshop, and then recolouring it for Pandemic Puzzles I still pick up pieces and do not remember certain buildings.  Enjoy puzzling, take care of each other during these times, and don’t touch your face!