Watermelon Carving has been a fun little self taught hobby of mine that I enjoy. I created some other Instructables to share some methods I've learned along the way. The best part about it is that it's really not as tough as it looks. Just check out this new Watermelon Lotus Carving Instructable along with some of my previous flower carvings. (Watermelon Carving Basics: Sunflowers! and Watermelon Carving Basics: Roses!). All you need is a Watermelon, Paring Knife and for the other two Flower types I linked - a circle cookie cutter. Anyone can do it!

Step 1: What You Need...

A Watermelon and a paring knife!

Step 2: Level the Bottom!

First, start off by trimming off some of the bottom rounded part of your watermelon so that it can stand flat on a surface. See photo for reference.

Step 3: Outline Leaves!

Next, I use the tip of the paring knife to sketch out some leaves along the bottom edge of the Watermelon. Sketch them all around the bottom edge, going up the side. See photo for reference. Don't make any real cuts yet, this is just to rough out where you want your leaves to be.

Step 4: Cut the Leaves!

After you have roughed out where your bottom leaf border will be, go around and cut along, ONLY the top edge of the outline. Follow along the top edge of your leaves, and cut only 1/2 inch deep.

Step 5: Peel the Watermelon.

After cutting into the top edge of your leaves, next you will peel away the skin of the watermelon starting at the top down. Peel away only the green part. Careful not to go too deep and reveal any of the red fruit. You want to have it so the rest of the watermelon, excluding the leaves, is white. Careful when you get down to the leaves that you don't peel away any of their coloring. You want to keep them green.

See Photos.

Step 6: Clean Up - Watermelon Canvas!

After peeling away the green part of the rind, I like to go back and clean up any of the lighter green so that I'm left with a clean as possible canvas to work with. This isn't always necessary, as you see we end up cutting into it a lot more. This is just a little detail I like to do.

Step 7: First Row of Petals - Part One

In the space between the leaves, start your first row of flowers.

Take your paring knife and cut the shape of the petal using a 90 degree angle, straight down about a 1/2 inch in depth. Don't worry about all your petals and leaves being the same size and shape. That's the beauty of flowers and nature, its organic and rare to see things symmetrical and perfect like that.

See the photos for reference.

Step 8: First Row of Petals - Part Two!

After cutting the petal shape, go back and use your paring knife to carve around the background of it in a half circle.

Cut behind the the petal at a 45 degree angle towards the cuts you made to shape the petal, revealing some of the red coloring. See photos for reference.

Step 9: First Row of Petals - Part Three!

After cutting the background, add some depth and color to the front of the petal by making another 45 Degree angle cut on the inside of the petal. See photos.

Step 10: First Row of Petals - Part Four!

Repeat the previous steps completely around the watermelon giving you your first row of petals. See photos.

Step 11: Second Row of Petals!

For the second row, start your petals in between where the first row petals meet. You will do the same as the previous row. First carving a petal shape out with a 90 Degree straight up and down angle, 1/2 inch in depth. Then in a half circle surrounding the back of the petal cuts, you will angle your knife at a 45 Degree angle and cut around the petal and pull out the access revealing part of the red fruit to give it depth.

Repeat this around the whole watermelon completing the second layer of petals.

See photos for reference.

Step 12: Third Row of Petals!

At the third row of petals start to change it up where the petals are now becoming a little longer and thinner the higher up the watermelon we go versus the first two rows being wider.

Change the shaping a bit but still use the same carving method. Carving a petal shape out with a 90 Degree, straight up and down angle, 1/2 inch in depth. Then in a half circle surrounding the back of the petal cuts, you will angle your knife at a 45 Degree angle and cut around the petal and pull out the access revealing part of the red fruit to give it depth.

Step 13: Fourth Row of Petals!

For the next row, again you will see the shape of the petals are getting thinner and longer, but still the same carving methods as the previous steps. Only changing the shapes as we go further up the melon.

See photos.

Step 14: Fifth Row of Petals!

By this row the petals have almost just become triangle, spearhead shapes, thinner than the previous petals.

Again still the same carving method as the previous steps.

Carving a petal shape out with a 90 Degree straight up and down angle, 1/2 inch in depth. Then in a half circle surrounding the back of the petal cuts, you will angle your knife at a 45 Degree angle and cut around the petal and pull out the access revealing part of the red fruit to give it depth.

Step 15: Flower Center!

For the center, I circle around what was left of the top of the watermelon and carved at a 90 Degree, straight up and down angle, a series of triangle cuts like the previous row, but smaller. I then cut out the very center of the top white part that was left and removed it. Then gently spread the small triangle cuts I made out a bit. See photos for reference.

Step 16: Details!

At this point, your Watermelon Lotus is carved, now you can go back and detail things.

I added some color to the base of each petal by doing some angled triangle cuts into it. See photo for reference.

This step just adds more depth to the petals, you can do larger cuts for more dramatic color like the first row of petals, or stick with smaller subtle cuts, it's up to you.

Step 17: Done!

With that you have finished your carving and can show it off! If you are looking to store the carving for an event, dampen some paper towels and place them over the exposed parts of the melon, then gently cover it in cling wrap and place in the refrigerator. This will help to keep the melon from drying out until you are ready to display. Multiple day storage will require you to potentially switch out the paper towels. Make sure that they stay damp and replace them as needed.

I hope you liked this Instructable and were able to learn something new. Please share photos if you give this a go! Thanks!