"Anyone that doesn't agree with leggings as pants can physically fight me.
And I'm going to win because I have a full range of motion due to the fact that I am wearing leggings as pants."

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Kam-tastic

I don't know if any of you got the hint from my last post, but I decided to brush up on my pumpkin carving skills today. Some people train for marathons by running before the event; I train for Halloween by carving watermelons.

OK, so honestly, there's nothing special about watermelons and I don't actually do this every year.

I just happened to have an uneaten watermelon lying around. And since Kam's birthday's coming up, I decided to do one of him. I asked Jenny to send me some pictures of this snarky face that he does. We decided that one of them would be perfect if we just added some horns...



Jenny's the one that actually drew on the horns. I think they're perfect, as is that sweet face and the arched eyebrows. Isn't he just the cutest thing ever?

Oh, and I made the executive decision that for this portrait, Kam would be bald. I just couldn't face all that thin hair. Not until I figure out a better way to do it, anyway.

One of these days, if I have an entire weekend to do nothing but carve pumpkins, take pictures and write instructions (because there are a lot of instructions), I'll post exactly how I do this. Until then, please check out this fantastic tutorial by Nitrozac. It's where I got the idea for this. For the most part, I follow the steps he describes.
Here is my abbreviated version...
-Find (or make) high contrast black & white picture.
-Draw lines around white areas, gray areas and black areas.
-Tape to watermelon/pumpkin with clear packing tape.
-Use pushpin to mark dots along lines.
-Drill white dot in middle of iris.
-Completely carve out the white areas, remove skin on gray areas and leave black areas alone.
-Look at it lit up, in the dark and refine.

So, I didn't actually get any pictures of the in between part. Mainly because I was, you know, carving. I did stop to eat some pizza and watch 30 Rock, but other than that, I kept at it. And it really wasn't that difficult. It took me about 2 hours or so. Doing his gigantic noggin was the most tedious part. Very hard to get smooth. I need to get a better scraper. And I definitely like the eye on the right (when looking at the picture) better than the one on the left. And the ear was a bitch. I just couldn't figure it out. But I think for the most part, it turned out pretty cool. I think I'm getting better.



You also may have noticed the flashlight shining in on it from the left there. This is because after I cut off the top (and Jenny and Kam helped scrape out all the pink stuff) I realized that Kam's head would fit much better if it were sitting sideways. So, there's tip number one... match your picture to your watermelon/pumpkin before you cut into it. Although, it did work out fine, because it was easy to refine with the flashlight just lying next to it to light it up.

And here's a picture showing it with the lights on. The Kam-mask with the glowing green eyes lying next to the watermelon is what I pulled off after poking it all over with a pushpin.



The cool thing is that the eyes actually turned green after I drilled into the middle of them. I guess if you did this on a pumpkin, they might turn orange.

So, I guess that's it.

Happy Birthday, Kam! If this doesn't show you how strange your Auntie Dee Dee is, you're just not paying attention.

8 comments:

Elora said...

That’s so cool! I can see what you mean by practicing for Halloween this is a real talent. I have a real love for pumpkins - meaning that I like to cook them into pretty much everything. So as Halloween is the only time I can really get hold of pumpkins I feel loath to carve them and let them dry out. We will probably be celebrating here with big vats of pumpkin soup!

Angeleen said...

SOOOOO very cool!

I might have to try this for Pumpkin Palooza.

Beth from ShurikenandCevre@blogspot has a yearly pumpkin carving fest at her house. She's a chef, so there is also a completely pumpkin menu! Super fun.

THIS little trick could make me a shoe in for the much coveted First Prize Cut-Out-Paper-Pumpkin-Face-Taped-To-a-Purple-Plastic-Trophy!

Breanna said...

Wow. I can't believe you did that! So cool, something I am certain I could never pull off. You must be a pretty cool aunt!

Jenny said...

I know what you mean, the idea of letting all that good pumpkin material dry out and go to waste... Oof!

That's why Wendy started a tradition in our family a few years back; we carve pumpkins on Halloween day, set them out for display on Halloween night, and then at the end of the night, we bring them back in for baking, boiling, straining, mashing... you name it. We try and take the day after Halloween off so we can sleep in the next day since we stay up so late the night before. What a Great Holiday!!!

P.S. – I love how the ear turned out!

Tip Junkie said...

That is AMAZING!! You are so incredible talented! I just wanted to let you know that you were awarded a "Great Tip Award" for your Monster Cupcakes over on TipJunkie.com.

Thanks for all your inspiration!

Anonymous said...

that is so freakin' cool

Sarah said...

That is so, so cool! And for some reason, it really cracks me up to see a watermelon used as a "practice pumpkin."

Wendee said...

What a clever idea! I love it!!! We have a pumpkin carving party next week. I'll have to send out this link and see if our guests will give it a try.