Halloween Carving Skills

10-22-2006, 11:57 AM

Pumpkin Carving Tutorial

Hey guys, its that time of year......pumpkin carving!

If you have yet to try and carve a pumpkin in a 3-D manner you need to. Its fun and everybody enjoys a cool pumpkin. Unfortunately they begin to rot less than a week after carving so be sure to take plenty of pictures. You can experiment with ways of preserving them but I find nothing works better than a nice photo. Some chefs that I have carved for put lemon juice on the faces to help slow down the natural molding process that will occur.

Picking out the right pumpkin is very important. You need a pumpkin with a thick wall. To get this kind you will have to choose one that is very heavy for its size. Also avoid perfectly round pumpkins and opt for ones that have a protruding ridge that sticks out on one side. These shapes make nice faces as you could imagine how difficult it would be to carve a 3-D face onto a shallow flat surface.

Tools

1. large clay ribbon loop...peels the rind off the pumpkin beautifully as well as does 90% of the carving, minus the small details.

1. medium clay ribbon loop...more blocking in of the face

2. mini clay ribbon loops....smaller details, especially around the eyes.

3. Xacto knife and paring knife for sharp defined lines and cuts.

Using the large loop, peel the pumpkins skin.

CONTINUED BELOW, DUE TO IMAGE RESTRICTIONS

10-22-2006, 11:57 AM

Shave away the deepest areas, such as the area below the nose and the eyes sockets. Be brave, go deep. Unfortunately if you go too deep you'll break through and have to get a new pumpkin and start over, but if you don't go deep enough it just will not look as impressive. After a few hundred mess ups you will begin to know just exactly how thick your pumpkin are. The grain will become more fiberous as you approach the center. Every year I accidentally break threw a few. Typically I put my fist through the face, throw it out to the deer and start over.

This pumpkin had a curve in it so I used it to my advantage when composing the face.

The smaller loops work well for getting small deep cut areas such as the inner mouth.

Use the paring knife to create nice sharp creases along the smile marks ans nostrils. To obtain these creases make 2 angled cuts and pull the wedge out. Paring knives have a nice curve to the blade allowing for better ability around curves.

Small loops are great for blocking in areas such as stiches. Be sure to also utilize a knife later so that the details of the stitches become crisp.

After blocking in the eyes with the loops I then add crisp lines with the paring knife.

10-22-2006, 11:58 AM

Use an xacto to draw the pupil and lift out some meat to create shadow.

The loops can create wrinkles that are softer.

Draw the teeth in with an xacto knife, then using your paring knife cut the edges off the teeth at a 45 degree angle. Hard to explain but the pictures may explain.

æcvfootball10æ · 10-22-2006, 12:01 PM

That's awesome

maybach · 10-22-2006, 12:03 PM

Nice work, looks too hard for me.

mickyisthebest · 10-22-2006, 01:14 PM

thats cool, my attempt would be much crappe than that but ill give it a shot, lol

Kellenator · 10-22-2006, 01:20 PM

Too bad I'm not a good enough artist to do something like that. I even have trouble with those stencil things, sometimes. Are parts of the wall thin enough to let light through? I want to see a picture of one with a candle inside.

k0n_ · 10-22-2006, 01:34 PM

Props great thread. The skull one is my favorite

I bet this is gonna come up on the main page of ebaums

10-22-2006, 01:51 PM

^^^^ I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Those are way to hard for me. I can barely even carve the pumpkin right, it just looks bad.

And then I go to cut it and make a face, it looks worse.

Kudos to the great thread though!

Stoink · 10-22-2006, 01:57 PM

Thats pretty friggin awesome, I can't cut two eye holes and a mouth in a pumpkin without it looking like it has down syndrome!

KillerMike · 10-22-2006, 05:00 PM

Wow, Awesome carving skills!

BassGuitar25 · 10-22-2006, 05:04 PM

Noob of the month.

Cool post.

MiKe · 10-22-2006, 05:04 PM

The skull is fuckin badass.

Killersenic · 10-22-2006, 05:07 PM

They should make one for Brian Peppers

shnuffy · 10-22-2006, 05:12 PM

Thats amazing man!

Maybe I'll try... I'll post my failure later.

10-22-2006, 11:57 AM	#1
Lord Anubis Guest Posts: n/a	Halloween Carving Skills Pumpkin Carving Tutorial Hey guys, its that time of year......pumpkin carving! If you have yet to try and carve a pumpkin in a 3-D manner you need to. Its fun and everybody enjoys a cool pumpkin. Unfortunately they begin to rot less than a week after carving so be sure to take plenty of pictures. You can experiment with ways of preserving them but I find nothing works better than a nice photo. Some chefs that I have carved for put lemon juice on the faces to help slow down the natural molding process that will occur. Picking out the right pumpkin is very important. You need a pumpkin with a thick wall. To get this kind you will have to choose one that is very heavy for its size. Also avoid perfectly round pumpkins and opt for ones that have a protruding ridge that sticks out on one side. These shapes make nice faces as you could imagine how difficult it would be to carve a 3-D face onto a shallow flat surface. Tools 1. large clay ribbon loop...peels the rind off the pumpkin beautifully as well as does 90% of the carving, minus the small details. 1. medium clay ribbon loop...more blocking in of the face 2. mini clay ribbon loops....smaller details, especially around the eyes. 3. Xacto knife and paring knife for sharp defined lines and cuts. Using the large loop, peel the pumpkins skin. CONTINUED BELOW, DUE TO IMAGE RESTRICTIONS Last edited by Lord Anubis; 10-23-2006 at 11:59 AM..

10-22-2006, 05:12 PM	#15
shnuffy all she wrote Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Guelph, ON Posts: 2,490	Thats amazing man! Maybe I'll try... I'll post my failure later. __________________ 2112 2112

10-22-2006, 11:58 AM	#3
Lord Anubis Guest Posts: n/a	Use an xacto to draw the pupil and lift out some meat to create shadow. The loops can create wrinkles that are softer. Draw the teeth in with an xacto knife, then using your paring knife cut the edges off the teeth at a 45 degree angle. Hard to explain but the pictures may explain.

10-22-2006, 12:01 PM	#4
æcvfootball10æ Banned Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: ^should be august 05 \/ + 805 Posts: 1,269	That's awesome

10-22-2006, 12:03 PM	#5
maybach Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 479	Nice work, looks too hard for me.

10-22-2006, 01:14 PM	#6
mickyisthebest yeeee Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Location: Posts: 1,634	thats cool, my attempt would be much crappe than that but ill give it a shot, lol

10-22-2006, 01:20 PM	#7
Kellenator Premium User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Annapolis / College Park, MD Posts: 2,910	Too bad I'm not a good enough artist to do something like that. I even have trouble with those stencil things, sometimes. Are parts of the wall thin enough to let light through? I want to see a picture of one with a candle inside.

10-22-2006, 01:34 PM	#8
k0n_ GREEN GINGER Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: taco bell, california Posts: 4,152	Props great thread. The skull one is my favorite I bet this is gonna come up on the main page of ebaums

10-22-2006, 01:51 PM	#9
Last Defender Guest Posts: n/a	^^^^ I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Those are way to hard for me. I can barely even carve the pumpkin right, it just looks bad. And then I go to cut it and make a face, it looks worse. Kudos to the great thread though!

10-22-2006, 05:04 PM	#12
BassGuitar25 I have 22 friends. Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,204	Noob of the month. Cool post.