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I Made Immature Search And Find Puzzles For Adults, And It’s As Stimulating To Both Your Brain And Your Funny Bone
My name is Mike, I’m the co-founder of AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com, and dad to a nine and seven-year-old. During many Covid quarantines, I have spent a lot of time doing search and find puzzles with my kids and I quickly became obsessed with them. Not only are they good for your brain (scientifically proven, actually), but they are also lots of fun. I wondered if anyone was making a more irreverent search and find for adults and was surprised to see that there wasn’t much out there. So, I thought, let’s make one...
Search and Find Puzzles for (Immature) Adults is a humorous twist on the classic search and find puzzles we all remember doing as kids. This project is about making people laugh and celebrating this really unique art form and the incredible illustrators behind it.
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Crazy Cat Guy
Illustrated by Chuck Dillon
I really wanted to make the book as authentic as possible, so I brought on veteran search and find illustrators like Chuck Dillon (Highlights), Rich Powell (Mad Magazine), Laura Close, and Brian Michael Weaver to bring my concepts to life. These artists are so incredibly talented and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they were all excited to push the genre to an edgier place.
Goodfeathers
Illustrated by Brian Michael Weaver
All of the puzzles have been meticulously sketched by hand and it took over 4 months to complete 40 puzzles with over 500 random hidden objects. Having seen the process firsthand, I can attest to how special these illustrators are. To not only be able to create an engaging illustration but also convincingly hide lederhosen within that picture is a very unique talent.
I'm proud to say this is the only brain activity book proven to make you smarter and dumber at the same time! Hope you dig it.
Puppy Love
Illustrated by Laura Close
So, in terms of the process, I would first come up with a loose concept for a puzzle setting and a list of random hidden objects for each illustrator to work with. So, for "Wet Dad Bod" contest as an example, I would write to Chuck and say let's do a puzzle in the classic Spring Break wet t-shirt contest setting but instead, it's middle-aged dads or for "Zombies on Zkis," let's do a zombie attack on the ski slopes, something I had never really seen before and made me laugh. Then the illustrators would bring the concepts to life by adding all of the subtle and amazing details and of course, all of them are geniuses when it comes to hiding the objects within the drawing. It's such a talent to be able to do that, especially when I was giving them such strange objects to work with. All of the illustrators were so easy to work with and it was truly a collaborative effort to create the puzzles.
Wet Dad Bod Contest
Illustrated by Chuck Dillon
The most fun was just seeing the concepts come to life. When the illustrator would send me that first draft of the puzzle (which would typically take about a week), it was such a blast seeing what they did with it and how they chose to hide the objects. Oftentimes, they would take my concept and make it so much funnier with their own ideas and instincts! I was very much in awe of their talents.
Unicorn Tipping
Illustrated by Brian Michael Weaver
The most challenging part of the process was definitely coming up with all of the hidden objects. I would literally be in my car driving and see someone changing their tire on the side of the road and say to myself "tire iron!" and then would quickly scribble it down in a notebook I carried all the time. I had to come up with about 20 objects for 40 puzzles, so it was a lot to think of without repeating. But for me, it was so important, because the concepts are the first layer of comedy and then the objects are the second layer of jokes. I love that multidimensional kind of humor.
Search and Find Puzzles for kids already exist and they are so well done. My kids are obsessed with them... there is just something so addictive about trying to find the hidden images. But after doing some searching around, no pun intended, there was really nothing out there for adults that was both legitimately challenging and also humorous and irreverent. So, I thought it would be a fun challenge to try and create something for that adult who loved doing these kinds of puzzles as a kid. It's a throwback with a twist.
Trick-Or-Reap
Illustrated by Rich Powell
Burning Mammal
Illustrated by Gideon Kendall
So, when I was working on the search and find puzzles with my kids, the illustrators always received a credit. And so I decided to search online for the ones I really admired and see if I could contact them. Many have websites or Instagram pages featuring their work and so I would write and say, "Would you be interested in working on a more irreverent search and find for adults?" and to my surprise, almost all of them responded with "Yes! I've always wanted to do that!" For them, I think it was very liberating to create these knowing there were no rules, no limitations, and that they could push the humor as far as they wanted.
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa
Illustrated by Chuck Dillon
Field Trip To The Meth Lab
Illustrated by Brian Michael Weaver
People sometimes ask me why I call myself Awkward Mike. Well, I am the co-founder of Awkward Family Photos and have always been a fan of awkwardness. I also grew up a very skinny kid, feeling very awkward all the time, which I used to be embarrassed about. As I got older, I thought, hey, why not celebrate my awkwardness!? Wear it as a badge of honor. And today, I'm proud to be Awkward Mike.
Brain Surgery Camp
Illustrated by Laura Close
Catch Of The Day
Illustrated by Laura Close
Strung Out
Illustrated by Gideon Kendall
Medieval Dentist
Illustrated by Gideon Kendall
These are fun! As a kid I loved this style of puzzle found in Highlights magazine.
Sewer Rat Adventure
Illustrated by Rich Powell
This is the one I really find funny and I did laugh. Just look at those faces as they are having fun.
Eggsorcist
Illustrated by Brian Michael Weaver
Goldilocks
Illustrated by Rich Powell
O.m.g. This is so great!! I remember these kind of pics from a kids magazine (maybe Highlights?), I loved to do these. Now I can enjoy them again, and I love the twist of them being for adults ❤️ Bookmarking this so I can get me some books (accidental pun hah leaving that in)
Am I the only one that wants to print these out so I colour them in.?
This is fantastic. Great idea and excellent end result too. I'm in the UK... Mike do you have a preferred place to buy your book from?
Thank you! Amazon is best, Nopety... we self-publish through their platform. It's available thru Amazon anywhere in the world.
Load More Replies...O.m.g. This is so great!! I remember these kind of pics from a kids magazine (maybe Highlights?), I loved to do these. Now I can enjoy them again, and I love the twist of them being for adults ❤️ Bookmarking this so I can get me some books (accidental pun hah leaving that in)
Am I the only one that wants to print these out so I colour them in.?
This is fantastic. Great idea and excellent end result too. I'm in the UK... Mike do you have a preferred place to buy your book from?
Thank you! Amazon is best, Nopety... we self-publish through their platform. It's available thru Amazon anywhere in the world.
Load More Replies...