Pimpkin' my ride

Arminas

Disclaimer: This thread has nothing to do with pimping or rides. I'm sorry to have misled you.

So it's already mid October, in fact, Halloween is less than two weeks away. My company was giving away pumpkins to employees and I figured what the hell. I grabbed one and I decided I wanted to carve it out. I'm planning to do this with friends, but I realize that the whole process is messy. So in preparation of carving out my own pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern I thought I'd ask H/A for some tips and advice. I've carved a pumpkin before, but man, I last did it in elementary school. It's been over a decade since I have. (...geezus, I just realized what I said. I'm not that old! )

Things I figure I'll need:
Aluminum foil / newspaper: To serve as a mat to clean up the mess I will produce
A blade: For the surgical removal of pumpkin components and organs
A marker: For marking and planning said removal
An idea!: A pattern in which I'd like to carve into the pumpkin. I don't have too many ideas, but I'm aiming for something geek or game related.
A candle: To light the inside. Duh. (thank you PeregrineFalcon :oops:)

What am I missing? And do any of you have any ideas or recommendations for getting a stencil? I was thinking of making my own, but wasn't sure what kind of guidelines I'd need to follow. I remember VG Cats used to put some up every year, but I haven't seen anything yet. Oh, and if it's worth anything, I just found out that the pumpkins are for a contest actually. I guess best-carved? I'm not aware of any prize but am more concerned about carving it for fun anyways.

Also, bonus points if anyone has ideas for what to do with all the filling.

PeregrineFalcon

A candle or light source: Duh.

And pattern? Carve the awesome face.

Arminas

Er, what's the awesome face?

PeregrineFalcon

Surely you jest.

Phisti

Simple, Nerdy, and Awesome...

Spoilered for Size.

Edit: You may want to set aside the seeds as pumpkin seeds are delicious roasted with a bit of salt and garlic. If you can't win the carving contest you can win the hearts of coworkers with delicious snacks!

Arminas

PeregrineFalcon wrote: »

Surely you jest.

http://i37.tinypic.com/ekhji8.jpg

Ha! I was trying to find that damn face last week. I had no idea what it was called though. I just sort of associate it as MrDelish face because his avatar is a modification of that face.

Sir Carcass

I would recommend getting one of the carving kits and using those tools instead of a knife. They also have patterns you can use, if you want.

Asiina

You should definitely do Mr. Awesome. I wanted to do smug.gif for mine, but couldn't find it at the time.

I carved my pumpkin outside so that any residual mess and/or smell remained out there.

When you cut out the top remember to do so at an angle (wider at the top than the bottom) so it makes an easy lid rather than just falling through.

Also a knife isn't really the best tool for getting all the innards out of the pumpkin. Use a strong spoon or an icecream scoop. Something that you can scrapes the sides with and it won't bend. It's easier to just take a layer off the inside than trying to detach the stringy gross bits with a knife.

MetroidZoid

Don't just settle for a candle to light the thing. Usually tea lights go out quicker than you think. What I've had better luck using are those 'tap-lights', like the ones that used to be on infomercials. Or anything like this:



Get the smaller sizes, somewhere cheap like a dollar store or closeout store, and they'll last a night. Plus be nice and bright.

Alternatively, if you want some cool colors, get the larger Glo-sticks. They'll last awhile, but you can always throw in another if one's dropping brightness.


Also:

I've had an easier time spreading out cardboard sheets and just tackling most of my pumpkins at once, then shoveling the mess into a few 5 gallon buckets and tossing the cardboard and everything I missed into the trash / burn pile (rural Oregon has ) And on the floor just seems easier for me ... not knocking things off the table. Oh and pass on 'carving kits' in the store. They're shit. If you're worried about fucking your knives up, get a cheap set at Wal-Mart or somewhere. You're not needing them for a lifetime of cooking, you just want something kinda sharp for a night of fun ... (that sounds bad)

Also post pictures in the Halloween thread. It should be mandatory (I'll post mine when I get to carving ... 8+ pumpkins so far)

E: Oh, couple more things! Don't be afraid to cut the 'access hatch' from the bottom if you want to keep the top of your pumpkin ring-of-light free. And if you're using artificial light, you don't need to worry about ventilation, otherwise if you're sticking to candles, just make sure the face has enough open holes to let carbon dioxide out so the candle doesn't go out.

ascannerlightly

if you could procure a 2nd pumpkin you could do a fruit fucker and a scared-face pumpkin. put one on either side of the front door (if your plan for them is the front porch)

Figgy

If you don't trust yourself to draw your design accurately, print it out onto a sheet of paper, tape the paper over your pumpkin, and pokes holes along the lines where you will cut. When you take the paper off, you'll be left with a perfect transfer of your carving lines.

MetroidZoid

Also, Crayola washable markers work great if you are confident in your drawing abilities. Unless you're like me though, and constantly grope and grab your pumpkin as you carve and have to constantly re-draw lines.

Figgy

MetroidZoid wrote: »

Also, Crayola washable markers work great if you are confident in your drawing abilities. Unless you're like me though, and constantly grope and grab your pumpkin as you carve and have to constantly re-draw lines.

Luckily, crayola washable markers won't stain your pants.

guar

I wonder if there are any Coraline stencils out there..

ascannerlightly

http://kotaku.com/5385896/a-patch-of-gaming-pumpkins/gallery/

Arminas

I wanted to do the plants vs. zombies one, but well, as the first jack o lantern i've done in a long while, I thought I'd start with something easier.

Stencil

Shot 1 Whole

Shot 2 Close up

I still haven't bought candles, so uh, no lit image yet.

Figgy

You might need to thicken those lines up a bit. If it's a fairly thick walled pumpkin, the light won't actually come through there because the pumpkin will settle down and sort of close them back up.

MetroidZoid

I sketched out four of the faces I'm gonna start carving on Tuesday, not including the fat exploded-pumpkin-candy bowl. I am excited.

E: Also that looks pretty damn good Arminas for not having carved in a few years. Getting a nice even circle like that is hard.

Improvolone

Scraping the pumpkin the right thinness is so, so key.

MetroidZoid

I'm tempted to get really drunk and carve one of the smaller pumpkins, just to see what I come up with. Wait, scratch that, that sounds bad for my fingers. I'm gonna get wasted and sketch a few ideas. Much safer.

Arminas

Improvolone wrote: »

Scraping the pumpkin the right thinness is so, so key.

Poop. I didn't scrape it very much :?

Unearthly Stew

Make the pumpkin into a sick man, then save the innards. When putting it on display, string the gooey pumpkin innards through the mouth of the carving. It will make it look like your pumpkin has thrown up everywhere.

MetroidZoid

Arminas wrote: »

Improvolone wrote: »

Scraping the pumpkin the right thinness is so, so key.

Poop. I didn't scrape it very much :?

It's like this (I'm phrasing it like they did on the Food Network Challenge - Pumpkin Carving they did last night) ... the thinner you cut it, the less force you need to shove the knife in, so it makes it easier to do details and such. However, if at the same time not all your cuts connect, (before you push out the 'shape' or whatever chunk you're specifically carving out), the thinness can contribute to the pieces pulling on eachother when you push it out and then it takes out a chunk you didn't want it too.

Pumpkins are a cruel, cruel mistress.

Rent

PeregrineFalcon wrote: »

And pattern? Carve the awesome face.