Cartoon Pumpkin Stencils

Creative Fun Cartoon Pumpkin Stencils For Halloween 2008

We have all been conditioned for so many years to think of cartoons as the animated movies produced by Walt Disney or Hanna-Barbara. And that is absolutely true, those are indeed cartoons. However, cartoons are also non-animated or static illustrations or drawings: comic books are cartoon, caricatures in newspapers and magazines are cartoons, illustrations in children’s books and picture books are cartoons, all the drawings that we have ever done as children are cartoons, even some art that we see hanging in museums can be considered as cartoons.

In other words, cartoons are all around us and we, (the young and the old, male or female) have all grown to love them because they have acquired personalities that we can either identify with, look up to as role models or we learn life’s lessons through their mistakes. I do not mean to infer that we all love all cartoons but we certain all love some cartoons.
 
And since cartoons are such a big part of all our every day lives, why don’t you pay a tribute to them next Halloween by carving a cartoon in your pumpkin? Are we in agreement? Good.

So, to carve a cartoon in a pumpkin, you need to get yourself a pumpkin, of course. I suggest that you opt for the larger pumpkin because it will be easier to carve on. Also, try to get a pumpkin that is symmetrical and one whose skin is smooth all around. You need to cut off its top (where the stem is) at approximately 1/8 from the top (For example, if the pumpkin stands 16 inches high, divide 16 by 8 and you get 2. 16 minus 2 is 14. Therefore, measure 14 inches from the bottom of the pumpkin to its top and that is where you will be cutting.)

You then need to decide what cartoon to use. You can use the well known Walt Disney or Hanna-Barbara cartoon characters. You can also decide on a favorite drawing or an illustration. Or you can draw something yourself and make your pumpkin carving unique and one of a kind.

Let us assume that you decided to use your own original drawing. So, please proceed with the drawing. Grab a sheet of paper and draw a pair of eyes, a nose and a mouth. You might have drawn shifty eyes, a crooked nose and a frowning mouth. Or you might have drawn big round eyes, a tiny nose and a toothy smiling mouth. You decide what that face should look like but, in any case, you have drawn a cartoonish face.

Scoop out all that you can from the inside of your pumpkin. Now you will now use your drawing as a cartoon pumpkin stencil and tape it to the surface of your cleaned out pumpkin. With a poker tool or a nail, mark the outline of the areas that you will want to carve out and then remove the cartoon pumpkin stencil you have created.

Start carving your pumpkin along the poker holes you created. Be careful, there is no need to rush and make sure that you carved all the way through. Do you now have two holes for the eyes, one for the nose and one for the mouth? Great!

Congratulations, you have just carved a cartoon into your pumpkin. But you can also add surface (skin only) carvings for the hair and eyebrows, or a mustache or a beard, or add a couple of smile lines if your cartoon is smiling or frown lines if it is not. Or you might also create a few wrinkles around the eyes or a beauty mark.

Insert a candle holder with candle, light it and enjoy your very own original creation.

Posted in Pumpkin Stencils