How To Draw Interlocking Puzzle Pieces In Illustrator

In this tutorial we'll be going over how to create a vector puzzle piece using Adobe Illustrator. This is accomplished using some ellipses and a little bit of design magic. The resulting puzzle piece can be duplicated and connected infinitely.

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[mitchellpayne]

I am continually and unexpectedly feeling mind-blown every time I watch one of your vids that I haven't seen before. You're just fricken MAGIC! That is all. :)

[bryanvanmaalsen]

Very helpful video! Was looking for a tutorial on this. Thanks for sharing!👍🏾

[henryzuleta]

Muchas gracias tu aporte con el puzzle, me encantó!!!

[janettetsmith]

Amazing! I have an old version of illustrator, so I couldn't round those corners; but other than that, mine look pretty good! Thanks!

[souljaboy]

FOR THOSE WITH ISSUES AT 2:46 WHERE THE MIDDLE VOID IS NOT BEING SELECTED
If your Shape Builder tool in Adobe Illustrator isn't recognizing the void between shapes, it's likely because the "Gap Detection" option is turned off in the tool settings; you need to enable it to have the tool identify and interact with spaces between closely positioned shapes.

How to fix it:
Access the settings: Double-click the Shape Builder tool in your toolbar to open its options dialog box.
Enable Gap Detection: Make sure the "Gap Detection" checkbox is ticked.
Adjust Gap Length (optional): Depending on how close your shapes are, you may need to adjust the "Gap Length" setting to fine-tune how the tool recognizes gaps.

Key points to remember:
Default setting: Gap Detection is usually off by default.
Consider Open Filled Paths: Another setting to check is "Consider Open Filled Paths as Closed, " which can affect how the tool handles shapes with open paths.
Check your shapes: Ensure that your shapes are properly overlapped or close enough for the Shape Builder to detect the intended void between them.

[AyyyyyyyyyLmao]

Very nice! I'd like to see how you'd go about making a puzzle piece texture from this

[pbjbagel]

My shape builder tool wouldn't accept the peanut shape until I overlapped the circles for some reason. When I did that, I think my shape came out a little bit off due to circles not overlapping symmetrically, but it works for its purpose for now.

[gialovesjesus]

Where did you get that square command box on the lower left side?

[JenniferHackbarth-Musil]

Do you know if I can bring this into design space on cricut as a cut?

[FOX-umwr]

2nd since the person below me has 1st. LOL.
Nice Tutorial. Very clear in your instruction too. Thank you. :)

[PastorTDesigns]

Why doesn’t my center add to the circles to make the peanut??

[jordan]

For some reason this doesn't work for me, the shape builder only works if the shapes are overlapping? Which doesn't create the perfect shape