Halloweenis coming up, which means that we will finally be able to enjoy pumpkins in forms other than just lattes. The legendary orange fruit — yes, that’s right — will make its way onto everyone’s porches.Part of why it’s among the stars of the spooky occasion is its versatility. So no matter if you’re a passionate craftsperson or a curious beginner, Bored Panda compiled a list of the mostcreative Halloween pumpkin carvingsthat should inspire you to pick up the knife.Continue scrolling to see all the beloved fictional character portraits, creepy spiders, and even famous painting reproductions!This post may includeaffiliate links.
Halloweenis coming up, which means that we will finally be able to enjoy pumpkins in forms other than just lattes. The legendary orange fruit — yes, that’s right — will make its way onto everyone’s porches.
Part of why it’s among the stars of the spooky occasion is its versatility. So no matter if you’re a passionate craftsperson or a curious beginner, Bored Panda compiled a list of the mostcreative Halloween pumpkin carvingsthat should inspire you to pick up the knife.
Continue scrolling to see all the beloved fictional character portraits, creepy spiders, and even famous painting reproductions!
This post may includeaffiliate links.
RELATED:
I try to carve 1-2 pumpkins as an annual tradition. This year I carved my sister’s dog Axton (left) and my dog Orvi. They both are Australian Cattle Dogs. They are carved into a 19" and 15" diameter Funkin brand foam pumpkin so we can put them out every year. Happy Halloween!
To learn more about current trends, we contacted Ryan Lisson, the owner and master carver atPumpkin King Creations, a business specializing in unique and artistic pumpkin carvings.“From a general Halloween perspective, it seems like Beetlejuice is very popular with the movie coming out this year,” he toldBored Panda.“I’ve also seen a lot more vintage Halloween decorations and themes popping up, which is cool.”
To learn more about current trends, we contacted Ryan Lisson, the owner and master carver atPumpkin King Creations, a business specializing in unique and artistic pumpkin carvings.
“From a general Halloween perspective, it seems like Beetlejuice is very popular with the movie coming out this year,” he toldBored Panda.
“I’ve also seen a lot more vintage Halloween decorations and themes popping up, which is cool.”
Of course, as with any creative endeavor, you need to push yourself and step out of your comfort zone if you want to get better at it.“For me, the most challenging part ofpumpkin carvingis knowing when to stop!” Lisson said.“I can always find one more detail to add or something to edit slightly, but at some point, you just get lost in details. It helps to step away, take a break, and come back to it with fresh eyes.”
Of course, as with any creative endeavor, you need to push yourself and step out of your comfort zone if you want to get better at it.
“For me, the most challenging part ofpumpkin carvingis knowing when to stop!” Lisson said.
“I can always find one more detail to add or something to edit slightly, but at some point, you just get lost in details. It helps to step away, take a break, and come back to it with fresh eyes.”
So it’s important to progress at a moderate pace and don’t overwhelm yourself too much.“I always tell beginners to start with simpler patterns and get used to a variety of tools (I use mostly clay sculpting tools),” Lisson explained. “As you get more comfortable, you can take on more advanced patterns and styles.““As with anything, it just takes practice, patience, and a bit of grace. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re probably not advancing your skills either!”
So it’s important to progress at a moderate pace and don’t overwhelm yourself too much.
“I always tell beginners to start with simpler patterns and get used to a variety of tools (I use mostly clay sculpting tools),” Lisson explained. “As you get more comfortable, you can take on more advanced patterns and styles.”
“As with anything, it just takes practice, patience, and a bit of grace. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re probably not advancing your skills either!”
Hubbub has warned this adds to the country’s mountain of avoidablefood wasteand is urging consumers to experiment with new recipes.
“Pumpkins are a valuable source of food and are not just for decoration,”saidTessa Tricks, the head of food programmes at Hubbub.
“Even if it’s labelled a carving pumpkin, you can still eat it and it will taste delicious with spices like chilli, ginger or cumin.”
This was carved using various rotary bits, X-ACTO blades, and some light sandpaper. These pumpkins were from the year after Joann stopped selling Funkins and started to make their own similar style. I prefer Funkins due to their wall thickness and more natural-looking shape. These foamkins carve well, but their shape is hard to work with for portraits. Their circumference is oval-shaped, with a wider carved face on the side with the seam running right through it. I misjudged where I placed my reference photo and ended up having that seam run right through it. I think it still looks good, but the lesson is learned.
Pumpkins possess a lot of nutritional and medicinal benefits.Rich invarious essential nutrients and relatively easy to grow, this hardy, drought-tolerant crop is often underrated.It contains antioxidants that help prevent various cancers. Nutrient-dense but with a low calorie count, this water-rich fruit is a great source of vitamin A. The fruit is also rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, and folate, all of which strengthen our immune systems.
Pumpkins possess a lot of nutritional and medicinal benefits.
Rich invarious essential nutrients and relatively easy to grow, this hardy, drought-tolerant crop is often underrated.
It contains antioxidants that help prevent various cancers. Nutrient-dense but with a low calorie count, this water-rich fruit is a great source of vitamin A. The fruit is also rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, and folate, all of which strengthen our immune systems.
Pumpkin seeds have a high magnesium content, and they also contain tryptophan, an amino acid needed for growth in infants, and maintenance of the body’s muscles and proteins.The aforementioned research from Hubbub also suggested that after Halloween, 2 million of the discarded pumpkins in the UK will end up in general household bins. Therefore, people who can’t find any use for theirs are advised tocomposttheir carved pumpkins, put them out for birds, or dispose of them in the food waste collection.
Pumpkin seeds have a high magnesium content, and they also contain tryptophan, an amino acid needed for growth in infants, and maintenance of the body’s muscles and proteins.
The aforementioned research from Hubbub also suggested that after Halloween, 2 million of the discarded pumpkins in the UK will end up in general household bins. Therefore, people who can’t find any use for theirs are advised tocomposttheir carved pumpkins, put them out for birds, or dispose of them in the food waste collection.
Halloween is big. In 2024, American consumers areexpectedto spend around 11.6 billion U.S. dollars on the occasion, including nearly 4 billion on costumes and outfits alone. While it feels nice to give pumpkins a spooky makeover, let’s try to remember to put them to good use afterward!
I recently finished this carve of Lisa Marie’s Martian imposter girl character from Mars Attacks! This was hand-carved on a 13” foam pumpkin using X-acto knives, a variety of rotary bits, and a few pointy things.This model of foam pumpkin is one of the “Time & Place” pumpkins from Joann from a few years back as they were transitioning away from Funkins. These particular pumpkins were honestly kind of bad to carve when I first bought them. The skin would peel off really easily, which made it difficult to get tiny details of high contrast. However, a few years of sitting in my attic seems to have done the trick. These are much better now. Who knew curing foam pumpkins was a thing?
Continue reading with Bored Panda PremiumUnlimited contentAd-free browsingDark modeSubscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited contentAd-free browsingDark mode
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In
See Also on Bored Panda
It’s the largest foamkin I’ve ever done. Minus the stem, it’s about 22” tall.While the pumpkin shell itself was pretty thick for a foam pumpkin, the texture of this foam was pretty light, similar to Funkin’s “Natiello” models. That means because of the foam’s low density you don’t need to carve very deep to bring out the light. However, it makes it more difficult to get richer and darker shades like you would with something like a Boland model Funkin that is more dense. The foam thickness was also a little inconsistent, like thin in some spots but thicker in others. Thankfully that didn’t interfere with my design too much, but it did make it harder to get more realistic shading in places like her hands.The whole carving took about maybe 12-16 hours over the course of a week and was carved with various rotary bits, X-ACTO knives, and other pointy things. I hope you like it!
Modal closeAdd New ImageModal closeAdd Your Photo To This ListPlease use high-res photos without watermarksOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Modal close
Add New ImageModal closeAdd Your Photo To This ListPlease use high-res photos without watermarksOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Modal closeAdd Your Photo To This ListPlease use high-res photos without watermarksOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Add Your Photo To This ListPlease use high-res photos without watermarksOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
Add Your Photo To This List
Please use high-res photos without watermarks
Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
Not your original work?Add source
Modal closeModal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Modal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Upload
UploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
Error occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.
TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermark
InstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermark
FacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
ChangeSourceTitle
Occasions
