Carved Halloween Pumpkin Portraits

These are some of my carved pumpkins.  The techniques are well described in Instructables and elsewhere (e.g. using a Dremel to cut only partial thickness), but I thought these would be enjoyed.  The best part, I think, is turning the lights on and off and watching what looks like not much of anything instantly take on a 3D appearance of depth, as the light showing through the pumpkin flesh fools the eye.

I usually spend about five hours on each one, so I typically just do one per year.  Finding a good image is key, and I have more fun when the subject has some emotional expression that I can try to capture, like Caesar the ape's intelligence, or Captain Jack Sparrow's smugness, or Marty Feldman's wackiness, or Norman Bates'...well, whatever it is he's thinking behind those eyes.

Happy Halloween!