Hey, what's new with you? Tell us about yourself.
#98921
Hello!

Just found your community from a post made on Reddit by Chuckwagon. (i'm babysmash3r over thar)

I'm an artist who has been passionate about carving gourds most of my life. Here are some examples of some Funkins I carved this last year.
Image

More of my work can be found on my portfolio site www.edwardsartanddesign.com or on my instagam https://www.instagram.com/jo3y3dwards/

Pleased to meet you! :lol:
#98922
So glad you made it here! It's a little dead right now cause it's January, but don't let that discourage you. Hopefully Ryan (our fearless leader)will get the notification of your post, and be along to say hello before too long. I encourage you do browse the forums and join in the discussions. Definitely post some more pics of your carves in the pics section if you've got them, and just have fun taking it all in. We're all friends here, and looking forward to having you along for the ride!

Your pics... WHOA! Impressive. Most Impressive! Your skills are pretty top notch, and far beyond anything I've ever attempted. You'll get along great with guys like Pumpken, and Stoney if you're into the layered/shaded stuff. I don't think I have the mental capacity for it, lol. Really looking forward to sharing ideas and stories. Welcome!! :thumbsup:
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#98925
Welcome to the forums! Looks like you'll fit right in here.

Those are some amazing pumpkins. The light on the shading and shadows is really well done, especially for foam. Do you need to do the final shading with a light source inside? What do you use to light the pumpkins?

I have a lot more questions but I'll save some for later :pirate:
#98926
Thanks! I light them throughout the carve process and reduce the light in the room the closer I am to finishing. I use rotary switch lamp lights and LED C7 bulbs. You have to be mindful of how you handle the pumpkin while you carve with a light plugged in. Too many spins can cause the wiring to fray and even spark- which is horrifying while working in the dark with highly flammable foam pumpkins :pale:
#98931
:D
Here is a time lapse of the Beetlejuice carve.



I do make my own designs. I used to spend hours (and often up to weeks) fine tuning custom graphic image carve designs, like the ones that are a big part of the commercial side of this site, but I found that a lot of my work was getting reverse engineered by other carvers online and posted as their own with no credit given. I get it, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but it takes so much time and effort getting those just right and to see that happen was disheartening. Overall it was of It was one of the pushes that led me to moving exclusively to the 3D shading style. I feel like emulation becomes more skill based when doing it like that.
Basically I build a base image in Photoshop, print it, and then carve directly though the image. That's what I've come up with that works for me at at least.
#98933
That's awesome. Thanks for sharing that. So, it looks like you cut the base design and then do the rest just looking at the template image on the table. The whole deal is super impressive.

I have sites with original content for non-Halloween stuff and my content gets downloaded then uploaded as is or in part, all over the web. People suck sometimes. I completely understand the frustration.

Do you have some images from other years? I'd (and I'm sure the others) would love to see them.
#98934
Yup. Its funny. Since my process has changed its gone from starting off very cerebral then then ending with with very easy going and monotonous to being almost all cerebral. What I mean is that I used to spend so much time making the designs that when it came time to carve there was nearly no creativity left- just cutting. Its like all the heavy lifting was done ahead of time, so while I carved I could just listen to a podcast or put on a movie in the back ground. Now doing the shading work its all heavy lifting trying to figure out how to do it - especially starting!

Also I sure do! most of the last 4 years can be found on my portfolio:
http://www.edwardsartanddesign.com/#/pumpkins/

Bunch of older stuff can be found here:
https://jo3y3dwards.deviantart.com/gall ... umpkin-Art
#98938
That is some amazing work. Can I ask what your favorite foam pumpkins are? I've tried several brands, and so far my favorites have been the Home Living pumpkins sold at Lowe's. The density and flexibility is similar to Gemmys sold at Michaels, but without the visible ribs on the inside.
#98939
So far I've only ever worked with the Michael's and the Funkins. Michael's are more durable but have a plastic-ey coating. good for cut outs, but have that crappy internal ribbing. Funkins are thicker which can give a deeper gray scale, but scratch easily since they are less dense.
#98976
Welcome Joey! Indeed, you are very welcome here, you've got the skills. :shock:

Looking at your first collage of pumpkin carvings, I was trying to pick a favorite to mention... but they're all so spot on in their likeness and execution. So I was then going to mention one of my favorite character choices... but you also happened to pick some of my most favorite movie characters. So you win... they're all tied for #1. :lol:

Thanks for sharing some insight into your methods and links to your videos. You have the artist brain, for sure. It must be so rewarding to basically take a photo printout and just start cutting and shading, figuring it out as you go. As you said, that's the cerebral part, which is unique to the artist and can't be easily duplicated.
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#98977
Thanks! That means a lot. It's super rewarding, but the process is equally ridden with anxiety. I have my next carve lined up already but I keep putting it off behind other projects. It's funny because I think this is the only group on the planet who can understand my stress of worrying about not having carved enough pumpkins yet in March :lol: