Happy (almost) Halloween
 

If y'all remember correctly from last year, I posted pictures of my Halloween pumpkin carvings. Even though we're more than 2 months out, My creative juices have started to flow. I have already started drawing out several patterns for this year. Although actual pumpkins are difficult (or impossible) to find, I have done a bunch of mock-ups which will give a good idea of what the finished piece will look like. Most of these were images I found on the internet and redrew to work as a jack-o-lantern. Click the pix for full sized bigness.


1. A standing Executioner, This one I drew myself.
2. Grim Reaper.
3. A zombie named Lord Raptor from the fighting game, Darkstalkers
4. The THING!
http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/8...mock1oh.th.jpg

1. Pennywise the clown, from Steven King's "It."
2. Straight from the 1984 video game of the same name, SINISTAR!! RUN, COWARD!!
3 & 4 Chernabog the Demon from Disney's Fantasia
http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/3...mock4bl.th.jpg

I have a few more original designs that I'm hanging onto that I plan on entering in the Pumpkin Masters contest. I'll share those after I send off the entry. And for those of you who think these cannot be carved into a pumpkin, I highly reccomend the purchase of the Pumpkin Masters tool kit, follow their instructions, and the results are quite impressive.

If anyone wants these patterns, send me an email or PM. They were drawn in Adobe Illustrator 9.0, I can send them that way, PDF or JPG. I'll never have time to carve all of the ideas I have, so feel free to take what I have and send pictures of the results!

Sinistar? :lol: Pity the kids visiting your house for candy will have no idea what that was...

Your work looks amazing. I wish we had more than 10 kids a year visit our house.

Here's more, because I'm obsessed.

1. A Vampire coming from the shadows
2. The Disney Buzzard from Splash Mountain
3. The Sith Lord Vader
4. The Phantom of the Opera (Lon Cheney)
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/1340/...ock22pf.th.jpg

Redlemon: yeah, Sinistar was mor for my own amusement. And I have the same problem at my place, no keds ever come. That's why I usually go to my mom or sister's place on Halloween night.

Those are quite cool. I can't wait to see the real thing come Halloween. You will post pics, won't you?

The Thing looks cool! :D

anyone capable of carving those out is deserving of the title Pumpkin Master. where do you get the aforementioned kit?

Nice designs, I have a few questions, do you have any real pictures of pumpkins carved AND do you happen to have any print out transfers to carve these suckers!

Awesome work! I hope the creative juices keep flowing

El Pollo, I will indeed post pictures as soon as I can find real pumpkins in my area. Should be around the start of October.

Doodle, I see the kits everywhere, but usually not until stores start putting out their Halloween stuff. I'm sure they'll have them at Wal-MArt or Target. If not, check out local hobby/craft stores. I'm sure they can be purchased online somewhere too. The kit comes with a pattern book, but I think my designs are better. (if I do say so myself) I know you are a real creative type, Doodle, so I'm sure you'll pick up the knack quickly. The secret is the tiny little saws in the kit.

Truman, Here's a pic of the 6 I did last year...
I'm more than happy to send you any of my designs. (I also have a series of Nightmare Before Christmas) Just PM me or send me an e-mail. I can send them in either Adobe Illustrator 9.0, Adobe PDF or JPG.
http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/8...ne043tk.th.jpg

Oh, these look stunning. I wish I could view some of these pumpkins.

4 More new ones for your viewing pleasure...

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/4...e9166nn.th.jpg

1. "She Devil"
2. Beetlejuice
3. Gomez Addams, portrayed by John Astin in the TV show
4. Dr.Doom

Also here's the Nightmare Before Christmas ones...
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/9...mare9ji.th.jpg

And 4 more "old" ones from last year that I didn't get a chance to carve,
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/724/4old3qm.th.jpg

1. Aku from Samuari Jack, with a shadow design of Jack's eyes
2. Gladiator, Mask shield and swords
3. The Birds (VERY challenging, good luck with that one)
4. Rear Window

If you want any of these patterns, please be sure to include in your PM or e-mail the format in which you can use them. Either Adobe Illistrator, Adobe PDF (Acrobat), or .JPG.

My e-mail is soggyjay@yahoo.com

Wow! "She Devil" is the sexiest pumpkin I've ever seen!

I love Halloween!

Coaster, I remember your pics from last year and they were the most phenomenal carvings I had ever seen. I'm eagerly looking forward to your carvings this year. :thumbsup:

More, more, more!!!

Also, I have figured out a cooler way of doing the mockup designs. They are done completely in Illustrator, like the patterns.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3...e9210lm.th.jpg

1. "Head Case" a shrunken head with sewn eyes and mouth
2. "Nosferatu" A vampire from the silent movie of the same name
3. Casper the Friendly Ghost
4. Scarecrow

Yep, I'm still at it. 4 More for your viewing pleasure...

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/7...hyde2aj.th.jpg

1. Batman
2. The Crow
3 & 4 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Had a bunch of downtime at work today, so I did more...

http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/3...e9275dw.th.jpg

1. "The Butler Did It"
2. Tell 'em "Large Marge Sent 'Ya!"
3. The scariest pumkin of them all, Jacko-Lantern!
4. Alien

Four more, Disney villians this time...

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/4...sney3kx.th.jpg
1. Maleficent
2. Wicked Queen
3 & 4 The Horned King form The Black Cauldron

Of the ones you did last year, I love the Poltergeist one and the Psycho shower scene. All of them are great though.

I'm loving the new designs too. Some great stuff in there. I'm going to look through these and I just might take you up on getting some designs from you. These look like fun.

WOW!

I try to do the same thing every year and end up with a pumpkin gut mess on my hands. My lid is off to you.

Carving tips...

Thought I'd add some carving tips. I tend to put quite a bit of detail into some designs, but with some planning and patience, all of these should be doable.

1. Carve slowly, and always allow yourself enough time to finish. Don't start on Halloween night a half hour before it gets dark and expect a complex design to get done both quickly and accurately. I think the Bates Motel one took me nearly 3 hours from start to finish. When using the saw, you'll want to keep the saw moving up and down quickly, while actually progressing foreward slowly. Also, try not to twist the blade much, they can and will break. I noticed Pumpkin Masters has a battery powered saw this year. I'll probably pick one up and report how well (or poorly) it actually works.

2. Start small. A general rule of thumb would be to start with the smallest/ highest detail cutouts first, then work around those and do the largest ones last. When I first started doing my own designs, I did exactly the opposite, with tragic results. You want to get those detail sections done while the pumpkin still has a lot of structural integrity. Once the big chunks are gone, it's much more difficult to do the details.

3. Start in the center. Much like starting with the high detail, starting from the center of the design and working your way out will keep the structural ingegrity of the pumpkin as you work on it. An extreme exaple of this was my Vertigo design from last year. The entire carved figure and swirls are only held aloft by his right hand and left foot, VERY fragile, but by starting in the center, I managed to get it done.

4. Scrape it, scrape it good. Scrape the thickness of the pumpkin down to less than an inch thick. For the most detailed sections, you may want to take it down to a half inch or less. Although the carving kits usually come with a scraper, nothing works better than a large ceramic trimming tool, the one pictured here on top.
http://www.theceramicshop.com/images...ge/LC8323L.jpg
If you have ever taken a ceramics class, you probably have one of these laying around somewhere. To get a specific thickness, I will push toothpicks in to the desired depth from the front and trim the insides until I hit the toothpick.

5. Oooops!! If you accidently trimmed through something that was supposed to stay or if something else broke while carving another section, don't throw it away just yet. Toothpicks & glue can usually save it. Don't forget, once the candle is inside and it's dark outside, the actual face of the pumpkin is not very visible. As long as the shapes of the cutouts are relatively correct, the design will read. Who cares if there is a minor repair job? You'll still have the best pumpkin on the block. Even if you totally desroyed it, don't trash it, start over on the other side of the pumpkin, few people will ever notice.

So that's all I can think of for now. I'll keep posting designs and tips. Also, stores now have pumpkins, and although I doubt I'll be able to keep them alive until the end of the month, I think I'm going to start carving soon. I'll post pictures in a new topic when I get to them.

Thanks for the advice!

I've been wondering how you managed to get in so much detail! :)

My birthday is on halloween.. do i get a pumpkin (cookie)?

Thanks for the tips Coaster. I'm thinking I'll buy an extra pumpking this year and try this out. We are doing a Trick or Treating activity (Trick or Trunk) at our church this year where everyone is bringing their car to the parking lot with our trunk decorated, and we set up and let the kids go from car to car, and this pumpking would be the perfect addition to my trunk :)..

Besides, we have a pumpkin farm nearby that we go to every year and they have thousands of pumpkins. Another fun place to take the kids.. hay rides, animals, hay mazes, and all that stuff.. I'll just grab some extra pumpkins while I'm there =D

Okay, my favorites are the Bird and Vampire from this set

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/1340/...ock22pf.th.jpg

and the Scarecrow from this set

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3...e9210lm.th.jpg



I really like the scarecrow but I was thinking it would probably be 1) more complicated with all the really tiny detail and 2) wouldn't show up as well from a distance because it is a small picture.

Am I right on those assumptions?

Do you think the Bird is doable for a beginner?

Where did you get your pumpkin carving kit? Is this something I could get at something like Wal-Mart? I figure the ceramic tools I can have my wife pickup at Hobby Lobby probably.

Spanxxx: There is a lot of small detail in the scarecrow, but the little things like the straw around the collar and sleeves, the corn stalks, and the sleeve hole cutouts could be eliminated and the basic design would still read. You could also bring down the arch of the top of the circle so it meets at the top of the scarecrow's head instead of the tip of the "stem" to give it a bit more structure.

The buzzard would definately be the most challenging of the three. The hardest part of that one would be the folded hands. In fact, even if I attempt this one, I think the actual line that defines the fingers would need to be thicker than what I have drawn. The neckline and cufflinks would also be difficult.

I'd suggest doing the vampire first, to get a feel for the tools. Next do the simplified scarecrow. By the time you get that done you'll probably have a good feel for the saws and how to use them. The buzzard may be a challenge, but definately doable.

The carving kits should be at wal-mart or any drug store that has a large halloween aisle.

Send me an e-mail or PM with your e-mail address and I'll send out the PDF's.

Thanks coaster, will do!

Wow, that's amazing :) Can you come carve some for my house??!

Sweetpea

Four more...

http://img424.imageshack.us/img424/6...10119ix.th.jpg

1. The Punisher
2. "Claude"
3. Cujo
4. Jurassic Park Raptor

I've started carving, once I submit my entry to Pumpkin Masters, I'll post pictures of the actual carved pumpkins.

4 More, these will probably be the last ones I design for this season, I may get a website up with the designs up sometime soon.

http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/5...etut6zk.th.jpg

1. Kung Tut
2. Captain Barbosa, Curse of the Black Pearl
3 & 4. Venom (logo and face) the logo can be carved into the back of the pumpkin and use as a shadow design.