Editor’s Note: Ok let’s take a stab at JIGSAW PUZZLES! We’re starting off with an illustration that originally published on Autostraddle in 2021 — Baopu #93 by Yao Xiao.
A couple of things about jigsaws: there are two icons at the bottom of the puzzle — one will show you the reference image, and the other will toggle between all of the pieces or just the edge pieces. You can also hide the timer if you don’t need that kind of pressure, mute the little clicking sound when the pieces slide into place, and change the background color (in Settings). Click the Start Game button to explode the image into 30 puzzle pieces, and then have a chill AND COZY time putting it back together! And let us know what you think about jigsaws!
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Yao Xiao is a China-born illustrator based in New York City. Yao Xiao creates artwork depicting a poetic visual world where complex concepts and human emotions are examined, amplified, and given physical form.
Her work has helped people all over the globe connect at unique moments, from the celebration of the 20 Year Anniversary of the SXSW Interactive Festival, to the grand release of pop singer Katy Perry's single 'Dark Horse.' She has created deeply emotional and beautiful graphics for editorial print publications, pop music record covers, concert posters and book covers.
Yao Xiao's serialized comic Baopu currently runs monthly on Autostraddle. It is an original comic exploring the nuances in searching for identities, connections and friendships through the fictional life of a young, queer emigrant.
Baopu stands for 'holding simplicity,' a Taoist ideal of wishing to return to a simpler state.
Find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Etsy or her website.
Yao has written 129 articles for us.
lnj has written 310 articles for us.
Love this!
I love jigsaw puzzles! This was super fun :)
That was fun and easy to use on my phone!! I love jugsaw puzzles! Thank you
this is cool! really makes you appreciate every component of the art :)
Ooh, this was lovely
Loved this!
I loved it too, not too hard for someone who never puzzles and very cozy!
Autostraddle, thank you so much for the games. I do them almost daily!
wow you know i had never even thought of doing jigsaw puzzles online? this was really cute! agree w/ kate about how it brought attention to the art, and echo EJ on the thanks :)
Echoing hihello on the echoes!
This is so cute!!
I found this incredibly soothing. I’m not sure if that’s because of the puzzling process, or the fact I was doing it while trying to block out annoying people on a work call.
I adored this!!
really enjoyed doing this!
More puzzles please!! 🧩💚
2 minutes 37 seconds, every one of them a delight!
Adding jigsaw puzzles to the puzzle lineup is a resounding thumbs up from me!
Clearly I have needed queer
jigsaw puzzles in my life! I didn’t mean for my comment to be a jigsaw puzzle but now it is.
i thought the first half was poetic honestly
@queergirl comment award!!!!!!!
This is awesome, thank you!
This was so charming. I did it with the sound on and loved the soothing sound effects
ahh I loved this! I’m a huge nerd for jigsaw puzzles and this was great :)
Definitely a winner ! I too did it with the sound on, very soothing.
And yes to appreciating Baopu’s art even more the second time around. Building it was super fun
This was cute, really enjoyed this! And worked better on my phone than some of the other puzzles. Thank you!
Such a lovely way to bring fresh eyes to excellent illustrations from the Autostraddle archives! Hope you do more of these.
I love this!!!!!! Literally any way to engage a Yao Xiao’s art is a joy,,,,, plus the satisfaction!!!!!!
PUZZLES!! Big yes.
How did I miss this until now? The little clicks were so satisfying, & such a treat to revisit this art!
This was a pretty cool idea. Hope there will be more. Or the tile ones you have to move around. 😛