Jigsaw puzzles are not only manufactured in the original horizontal format but as ovals, circles, square, vertical and in various freeform shapes depending upon the images place on the puzzles. Some even are three dimensional shapes such as globes, animals and buildings. And puzzles do not always have just a plain 2D picture printed on them but are embellished with glitter, perfume, or with a 3D image. Puzzles are not only made with cardboard but with wood, plastic, and rubber. Note: Wooden puzzles are expensive to produce and they are usually made one at a time. Many times the licensing deal that those manufacturers offer to artists is to put the artists art on their website. "If" the art is chosen by a customer, the manufacturer will product the puzzle and the artist will get paid (royalty or flat fee) for the use.
Puzzle manufacturers normally want art that:
1. has bright and saturate colors
2. have an awe factor such as cute kittens, children playing, beautiful scenery and florals, or landmarks that generates an emotional response in the customer.
3. does not have a lot of "white space." Too much white space makes the puzzle difficult to assemble. But if the painting is of a popular subject or was painted by a well known artist, the amount of white space does not seem to matter.
4. in a rectangular horizontal format which is the most used. However, some manufacturers produce puzzles in other formats as mentioned above so art created in other formats can also be used for puzzles.
Some jigsaw puzzle manufacturers specialize in producing puzzles for different speciality markets such as colleges, museums, children, teens, or mystery while others cater to the general retail market. In order to find out what type of images each manufacturer puts on their puzzles, you need to check out their websites and call them for their art submission guidelines if they are not listed.
Jigsaw Puzzle Manufacturers List
Buffalo Games
Ceaco
Elms Puzzles (wooden puzzles)
Great American Puzzle Factory
Heritage Puzzle
Masterpiece Puzzles
Melissa and Doug
Ravensburger
Spilsbury
Springbok
Stave Puzzles (wooden puzzles)
SunsOut
TDC Games
White Mountain Puzzles Inc
Joan Beiriger.
As a self proclaimed art licensing junkie, Joan continually searches for info about art licensing. Please visit her site to read more.
http://joanbeiriger.blogspot.com/
