13.12. Jigsaw

13.12.1. Overview

Figure 17.312. Jigsaw filter example

Jigsaw filter example

Original image

Jigsaw filter example

Filter Jigsaw applied


This filter will turn your image into a jigsaw puzzle. The edges are not anti-aliased, so a little bit of smoothing often makes them look better (i. e., Gaussian blur with radius 1.0).

[Tip] Tip

If you want to be able to easily select individual puzzle-piece areas, render the jigsaw pattern on a separate layer filled with solid white, and set the layer mode to Multiply. You can then select puzzle pieces using the magic wand (fuzzy select) tool on the new jigsaw layer.

13.12.2. Activating the filter

This filter is found in the image window menu under FiltersRenderPatternJigsaw….

13.12.3. Options

Figure 17.313. Jigsaw filter options

“Jigsaw” filter options

Number of Tiles

How many tiles across the image is, horizontally and vertically.

Bevel Edges

Bevel width

The Bevel width slider controls the slope of the edges of the puzzle pieces (a hard wooden puzzle would require a low Bevel width value, and a soft cardboard puzzle would require a higher value).

Highlight

The Highlight slider controls the strength of the highlight that will appear on the edges of each piece. You may compare it to the "glossiness" of the material the puzzle is made of. Highlight width is relative to the Bevel width. As a rule of thumb, the more pieces you add to the puzzle, the lower Bevel and Highlight values you should use, and vice versa. The default values are suitable for a 500x500 pixel image.

Jigsaw Style

You can choose between two types of puzzle:

Square

Then you get pieces made with straight lines.

Curved

Then you get pieces made with curves.