In this tutorial for educators and authors using iBooks Author widgets, we will use Photoshop to create the Jigsaw puzzle pieces for a Drag and Match iBooks Author® widget from Bookry.com. As some of the readers will be young children, we need large puzzle pieces. We will also create a background image that will be used for all of the games in the iBooks Author book project.

As this iBooks Author book is A Visit From St. Nicholas, I designed a background graphic that will be used for all of the games in the book. As you can see, most of the design is hidden by the white overlay. This overlay will be the base for the games pieces. The graphic for the game pieces is the book cover.

To create the puzzle pieces, we will use the Texture - Stained Glass filter in Photoshop. Let’s duplicate the book cover image layer.

1. Right-click on the book cover illustration layer and choose Duplicate Layer from the menu. Add a solid white Color Overlay Layer Style.
   
   
2. To rasterized the layer, right-click and choose Rasterize Layer Style.
   
   Now we can make the puzzle pieces.
   
   
3. With the duplicate layer still selected, click Filter - Filter Gallery and apply the Stained Glass filter.
   
   Notice that we now have 10 stained glass sections that are perfect for Jigsaw puzzle pieces.
   
   
4. Still on the duplicate layer, select one of the sections with the Magic Wand Tool.
   
   
5. With the selection still active, select the book cover illustration layer. Click Edit - Copy to make a copy of this section of the illustration. Click Edit - Paste Special - Paste in Place to paste the puzzle piece on the next layer above.
   
   Repeat this for each puzzle piece, naming the layers piece1 to piece 10.
   
   

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