If you’ve got a freehand design in mind, your pumpkin is all set to carve away. If you’re using a template, place it where you want it on the pumpkin and fasten it with tape. Use a small knife or sharp transfer tool to trace the design, poking small holes along the design. For complicated designs, make sure these holes are close together. These will be your guidelines for carving. Next, use your thin-bladed knife to carve along the lines and create your design.
Your Guide to Pumpkin Carving 101
Wield a carving knife with artistic confidence next Halloween.
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Last night was pumpkin-carving night at my house. Out came the carving supplies, and down we sat to create our masterpieces. Back in the day (you know, a million years ago, when I was a kid), it seemed like you were creative if you carved circles instead of triangles for your jack-o’-lantern’s eyes. But today the sky is the limit when it comes to pumpkin carving designs.
Don’t let all of these new designs scare you. Fortunately, there are free templates galore on the Internet for everything from apples to zebras and anything in between. All you have to do is print, trace, and carve. Here’s how to turn your plain old pumpkin into this year’s Halloween masterpiece.
Gather Supplies
To get started, you’ll need a pumpkin (obvious, I know) and your carving supplies. A large spoon or ice cream scoop, a thin-bladed knife, and some newspaper will work fine. We bought one of those $2 kits about five years ago and are constantly amazed that it still works.
If you just want a simple pumpkin carving idea, grab a dark-colored marker and draw it on the pumpkin (which should be clean and dry). This HGTV gallery has a good batch of simple ideas that are easy to replicate. You can spell out ideas—”Eeek!” or “Boo!” are great, short options—or you could also get several pumpkins and put one letter on each to spell a word.
Use the Pumpkin’s Shape and Texture to Your Advantage
Squashes and gourds are delightfully shaped, colored, and textured in unusual ways. Use these unique features to your advantage, such as using their pointy ends as natural “hats” and adding funny faces. Hollow them out by cutting a circle in the base; this leaves the upper pointy end intact. Never underestimate the power of a good hat—what’s true in fashion is also true for Halloween!
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If you want a more complex design and will be using a template from a kit or the Internet, print it out now so it’s ready to go.
Here are a few sites with complex carving ideas to consider:
- DLTK’s Crafts for Kids
- Zombie Pumpkins
- SpookMaster
Happy Halloween!
In honor of Halloween, I’m going to draw some pumpkins. Recently I joined some friends to draw and paint at a local pumpkin patch. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of pumpkins. I especially loved the gray ones and those that had unusual shapes.
I was reminded of a student who questioned me about my use of vertical lines to draw round objects. He understood how I could draw buildings, “But,” he said, “How could you draw a pumpkin?” “Like this,” I said. Then I proceeded to do a five minute drawing of an imaginary pumpkin using only straight (fairly straight) vertical lines.
Watch for yourself as I tackle a group of pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. I start out with a light pencil sketch placing each of the pumpkins on the pile. Then I literally start in the front and move around the pile drawing each one. I put in a few outlines for definition, but most of the drawing is vertical lines that define value.
It took about an hour to work my way around the pumpkin pile. It’s a simple drawing, but looking closely you can see how the proximity of the lines defines the shape of each pumpkin. I used an 01 Micron pen on sketchbook paper. I wish I would have used watercolor paper. These pumpkins were not the usual orange, but a deep reddish color and I can’t help but think a bit of watercolor would add to the drawing.
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Hi, I’m Paula Ensign
Drawing has always been my favorite thing to do. Not only do I love to draw, but I passionately believe that everyone can learn to draw. It’s not a magical gift to a select few. There are basic skills that can be applied in the same way one learns to play the piano or to drive a car. Follow instructions, practice, and drawings are guaranteed to result. Best of all, drawing is rewarding no matter where you are in your artistic journey.
- The Point that Vanishes
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- Painting and Drawing on Lopez Island
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Cute Halloween Nails
I don’t know about you, but I think these Halloween nails are super cute! Every drawing in this design just looks cute!
If you are looking for some fun Halloween nail art ideas, and looking for something less spooky, and more cute and fun, this is definitely an idea to recreate!
GLOW IN THE DARK Ghost Nails!
This is one of the most coolest Halloween nail art ideas, and it’s because in this design you are going to use a glow in the dark nail polish!
To create these insanely cool ghosts, you are going to need this glow in the dark nail polish from Amazon.
Halloween Skull Nails
Last but definitely not least, is this cool Halloween skull nails design!
This is a super fun, Halloween spirit nails design you can easily recreate. Also, you can create this design on every length/shape of nails.
And that’s it for today! These were 13 Halloween nail art ideas to recreate for Halloween 2021!
