Happy Who-loween!

[eve11]

So yeah, I decided this morning that, since I still had a pumpkin, and it was still Halloween, that I would carve it. So I decided to do a Monster Weeping Angel from the Doctor Who episode "Blink". I think it came out pretty good! Here are some progress pics too:



I took an Angel image and ramped up the contrast and such, making a basic template. I blew it up and stuck that on the pumpkin. Then I transferred the lines using a pin, and traced the template over with pencil. (ETA: here is the template I used should anyone else be interested)


Pumpkin after a basic cut-out of the traced lines, just the barest skinning.


After carving out the flesh a bit more to get more depth in the shading


First pic: I forgot to turn off the flash.


Finished pumpkin. Boo! Scary!

It is currently outside drying after receiving a coat of clear spraypaint to try and keep it for a bit. I doubt we will get any trick-or-treaters but if we do it should give them a good scare, whether they're Whovians or not! :D

ETA: And I got yummy roasted pumpkin seeds out of it too. All in all, a good day :D

EATA:




Here are some pictures, image adjusted for the color because it was way dark, of what it looks like outside with a votive candle in it :D I should say, it looks way cooler in person, but this is the best I could do.

Comments

[rydain]

Awesome work! It looks so realistic!

[rabswom.livejournal.com]

Love it!

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

Holy bat dren, that's fabulous! And the perfect shape for an icon. :)

[2nd2ndalto.livejournal.com]

Wow, very good! The best I can say for my Dalek pumpkin is that my honey actually recognized it as a Dalek. :)

[livii.livejournal.com]

That's awesome!!!

[clocketpatch]

That's amazing!

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Looks awesome! It's a spooky enough image that even if people aren't familiar with the weeping angels, they'll still get a scare out of it. :)

[kk-animation.livejournal.com]

Nice work! It looks fantastic.

[bexxa.livejournal.com]

Brilliant!

[penwiper337.livejournal.com]

That is FANTASTIC!

[tripoli.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, that looks amazing. Plus, you'll know that any kid who braves that thing staring at them while you get their trick-or-treat candy has legit earned it.

[librarylover82.livejournal.com]

I'm very impressed!

[infinitemonkeys.livejournal.com]

that is completely fantastic.

[lostrack621.livejournal.com]

I LOVE IT!!!! and I'm so happy that you posted your template -- I wanted to do a weeping angel this year, too, but I ran out of time, so I'll "practice" with this template next weekend. awesome and thanks!

[kernezelda]

That is awesome and scary!

[eve11]

Have fun with it: I'm quite glad to share :D Glad you liked the final outcome of it too!

[eve11]

:D I was almost going to use your mask for the template pic but then I came across a great pic taken from a screenshot that I could alter.

[eve11]

lol! Yeah, we don't get trick-or-treaters here, but D and I and the Interwebs are enjoying it :)

[eve11]

Thanks! I was pretty surprised at how well it came out, actually. :)

[eve11]

:D Thanks!

[eve11]

Thanks! And oooh, yeah, an icon would be cool. I could always bring it out for next Halloween; pretty sure the pumpkin isn't going to last that long, even with the spraypaint coating :)

[eve11]

Thanks! And Dalek pumpkins are awesome, no matter what! :D

[snonsumr.livejournal.com]

Hate the angels (they scare the crap out of me), but *heart* the pumpkin. Very nice work!

[atatteredrose.livejournal.com]

That is terrifying. And beautiful. Beautifully terrifying :D Fantastic job!

[rose-cat.livejournal.com]

That is STUNNING. Happy Halloween!

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

Heh....by next year the pumpkin itself will look as if its been soniced.

[aralias.livejournal.com]

genuinely scary. v impressed.

[shadowspun.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I actually like them, but it constantly amazes me how much they actually do scare me. I'm a wuss.

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

Eeeeee!

[stargater.livejournal.com]

That's impressive and totally awesome!

[a_blackpanther]

Oy, that's creepy! But i guess that's the point!

[lostrack621.livejournal.com]

hurrah!

ps. my icon is the pumpkin I did last year - first time carving a detailed design like this and without the proper tools! (did someone say multiple-sized screwdrivers? Yes, yes I did....). :)

[eve11]

Oh hey, that's a bit gorgeous :D

I hear you about the lack of proper tools... I used a fish knife, a bamboo skewer and a big spoon on this one ;)

[eve11]

Thanks! :D

[lostrack621.livejournal.com]

why thank you! and I totally MacGuyver it ALL THE TIME. But I was able to score an "official" pumpkin carving kit at the Walgreen's across the street (I tried CVS, Target, AND the grocery!). So hopefully now I'll be safer.

heh. yeah, riiiiight. :)

[eve11]

Thanks, glad you liked it :) I was really pleased with how it turned out.

[eve11]

Thanks! Yeah, that was part of the reason I wanted to do the angel because they are creepy even if you have no idea what they are :D

[tardis-stowaway.livejournal.com]

Most terrifying pumpkin EVER.

[fyrdrakken]

Extremely well done!

[ogew.livejournal.com]

I can only dream of some day being capable of this type of pumpkin artistry.

[eve11]

Thanks! It's actually easier than you might think at first glance; I was really surprised how well it came out ;)

[memysza.livejournal.com]

Did you use anything special to cut for the light skinning? I got stuck this year trying to figure out what was easiest on a real pumpkin.

[memysza.livejournal.com]

PS: Your pumpkin rocks my socks! : D

[eve11]

thanks! I used a very slender, curved table knife, like a fish knife, to do the cutting, aided by a little bamboo skewer to poke holes and score the pumpkin under the skin so it could be cut out more easily.

After I'd cut the design out and cut the various levels for shading I used an orange scraper/scooper like you get in pumpkin carving kits to thin the whole design out a little bit from the inside, so that candle-light would illuminate it better. But it was still pretty thick afterward, thin at the bright spots like right above the eyes and the hollows of the cheeks right by the jaws, but probably 1/2 or more thick on the meatier parts ;)

[emraldeyedauter.livejournal.com]

Wow very clever.

[eve11]

hey, did you try out the Angel pumpkin with the template? If so, how did it go?

[lostrack621.livejournal.com]

Alas, I ran out of time so I did not try out the Angel pumpkin. I do have it saved for next year, though! (I do have some delicious baked pumpkin seeds now, though...).

p.s. I'm always looking for artsy DW friends...would you like to be LJ friends?

[eve11]

sure! My posting is low-volume, erratic and mostly (this time of year) deals with either ice hockey or Doctor Who.

[lostrack621.livejournal.com]

yay! you aren't alone - as a grad student, I rarely have time to keep up with my flist...so hurrah!