Face Breakout Pumpkin

I was pretty sure there was a face trying to break out of this somewhat bulging pumpkin, and it turns out I was right.

Step 1: Selection

This pumpkin had a prominent bulge on one side, which meant that there was probably a face trying to break out of it. And since there's carvable material sticking out beyond what a perfectly circular pumpkin would have, I was able to let the round part stay round, and concentrate on the part that's busting out.

Step 2: Drawing

First I made a jagged line where the "breakage" would occur, then I drew a face (imbued with an unsettling level of manic excitement) in the breakage zone.

Step 3: Dig in

Using mainly clay tools, I started removing the bits of pumpkin that were preventing the face from escaping. This ended up having some good thickness to it, so I was able to dig pretty deeply.

Step 4: Keep Digging

I left a few "flying" bits of pumpkin over the face, just carving underneath them so they look like they're frozen in the nanosecond that it takes for a face to bust out of a pumpkin.

Step 5: Finish

To help emphasize the nooks and crannies (because it's all about the nooks and crannies), I brushed in some very diluted black watercolor paint.

This guy will last a bit longer than a traditional pumpkin because I didn't break into the center where the seeds live. He'll get increasingly nasty-looking of course, but as of this writing Halloween is only four days away, and I'm confident he'll live to see a healthy assortment of candy-grubbing ne'er-do-wells wandering the streets.

Cheers!

Mike

Comments

[rpotts2]

Nice! Sadly, the pumpkin I planned on doing this to got wet on the bottom while I was away this past weekend and has rotted. ..

[ginomac]

Very Nice!

[seamster]

Very impressive! I love that you took the unique shape of the pumpkin and used it for inspiration.

I was working on some pumpkins last night with my kids, and realized a paring knife and a spoon aren't the best tools for this type of work! I really need to get some sculpting tools like you have.

[Danger is my middle name]

This is an incredible carving job! Thank you for posting!