Most people think there’s only one way to carve a pumpkin: cut some holes, done. Over the years I’ve carved, taught hundreds of kids, and studied others’ carvings. I’ve found they can be broken down into 9 different carving styles. Each one works better for different subjects, whether it’s cartoon characters, animal portraits, or faces of real people.
What makes one style different from another? It comes down to shades: how many different levels of light and dark your finished pumpkin shows.
Think about it this way: pumpkin skin is typically your darkest shade. When you cut a hole all the way through, light shines out and becomes your brightest shade. With certain carving techniques you can also create shades between, a soft glow that isn’t fully bright but isn’t dark either.
The more shades your carving has, the more detail it can show. More shades also means more steps and more time, but not necessarily harder. Even if this is your first pumpkin, you can pull off styles with many shades by just following the steps one at a time.
Basic Shapes Staged (Style 1+) is the one style where the creativity doesn’t come from more shades. It uses the same two shades as Style 1, but adds props and staging to turn a simple jack-o’-lantern into something that gets the whole neighborhood laughing.
Sculpting (Style 5) is also completely different. No stencil, no shades, just wood carving and clay tools shaping the pumpkin like a sculpture. Because it’s so different, it gets a bit more detail in its own chapter.
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64 chapters covering every technique, every tool, and all nine carving styles. Written by someone who has carved pumpkin portraits for over 30 years and taught 500+ kids. Illustrated with real carvings by the author and his students.
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