Carving a 3D Pumpkin

While looking for the perfect pumpkin carving design, have you ever stumbled across a really insane 3D pumpkin? What looks like the ugliest pumpkins carved into creatures or faces with the most artistic and intricate of details. Well this D.I.Y. will show you the easy way to carve one yourself! I can't teach the years of experience some of the pro's have...(http://www.pumpkingutter.com/) The guys from Pumpkin Gutter are pretty ridiculous. But I can give you the tools to explore the new style of pumpkin carving.

So over a course of 3 days I created this pumpkin of an Egyptian pharaoh. I chose this design because it was very symmetrical and looked simple. At first I tried to carve a cat but it didn't turn out quite right because there were so many intricate details with the fur. This is my second time carving a 3D pumpkin so I am just a beginner myself. That's why I downgraded to something that looked a little more achievable. So make sure whatever design you choose to start with is simple.. Unless you like a challenge!!

So you're gonna need some tools to carve this type of pumpkin.
1. A basic pumpkin carving kit with a gut scoop, and a few small knives.
2. A basic kitchen knife.
3. A regular sized flat head screwdriver
4. A set of clay carving tools. (the wooden handled objects in the picture) I got a ten piece set from the craft     store down the street for about ten bucks. I only used the tools pictured.
5. Newspaper
6. 2 large towels, and 2 hand towels.
7. A table to work on. I used a wooden T.V. tray.
8. And obviously a design!
9. A pumpkin that seems a little heavy for its size.

I did this in my living room on the couch so that's why I used the towels. I took the newspaper and spread it on the floor in front of the couch. Then I put one of the large towels on the couch cushion so that it  covers just the seat and the front of the couch and overlaps onto the newspaper for easy clean up. Then I took the T.V. tray on the newspaper and placed more newspaper on top of the tray. I set aside all of my tools within reach.

So I cut the top off the pumpkin and gutted it as usual. I used the kitchen knife to make sure that I cut all the way through. There's nothing worse then ruining your pumpkin lid. Removing all the seeds and as many loose pumpkin strands as I could, I made sure to level out the bottom so the light source has a place to sit without falling over.

Completely gutted, I turned my pumpkin to find where I want to carve. Then I got the second large towel and placed it on my lap for easy tool cleaning, and to keep myself from being covered in shavings.

Then I took the clay carving tools and scraped off the outer layer of the pumpkin. This is probably the hardest part of the whole thing. Sometimes the skin is tough to get off and sometimes it easy. It all depends on what pumpkin you pick. You want to shave enough off of the pumpkin so you get the light colored flesh below the skin. You might see some veins but don't worry, they'll go away later on.

If you're like me and you don't have time to sit all day and carve a pumpkin then you'll need a way to preserve it while your carving. This first part took me a few hours to make and then I had to leave for work. I took one of the hand towels and wiped off any shavings left, then I took the other hand towel and got it completely soaked and rang it out a little so it didn't drip. Then I put the towel on the face of the pumpkin and secured it with the lid and under the bottom of the pumpkin. Doing this between carvings will keep your pumpkin flesh soft and easy to carve. Like so...

The next day I repeated the process of setting up my carving station and went at it again! I stared by making the main shape of the pumpkin, no details, just the general shape of the design before making all the intricate cuts.

I carved out the main shape of the nose eyes ears and crown. I used the metal tipped carving tools to carve the flesh, and I used the flat head screwdriver to make the crown by slowly making two lines vertically and then getting rid of the extra flesh with the flat head.

I also used the screwdriver to shape the eyebrows and the nostril holes. I used the carving tools to round out the hard edged lines that the screwdriver made.

Then I used the carving tools to shape the lips, chin, and ears.

To make the eyes I took the screwdriver and found where I wanted the pupil to be. I slowly, slowly, pushed all the way through the pumpkin making a small hole for the pupils. Then I took the pumpkin carving kit knives  and slowly made the pupils larger so you have a hole about the same size as someones iris.

I used the carving tools and the screwdriver to shape the eyes and ears more realistic.

Finally I did the same thing that I did with the crown but horizontally down the sides of the face to finish the headpiece. I also used the screwdriver to put the criss cross pattern on the beard.

Then I took the pumpkin gutting tool and carefully carved out the skin on the inside of the pumpkin. I made sure I didn't carve through my design. Just enough to see light through the skin. After a few more trials of scraping the inside of the pumpkin and lighting it up, I finally got the amount of light to shine through that I wanted and voila!

So know you know a pretty basic and easy way to carve your own 3D pumpkin. Remember to keep your design simple, and don't rush it or you might just get frustrated. Again it took me three days to do this so take your time, have fun, and teach your friends! If you have any additional questions don't hesitate to comment!!