Sharing knowledge for the art of artificial craft pumpkins.
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By BrookR1
#96671
This year was my first attempt at shading a foam pumpkin, and I will have to say, I struggled with it and did not enjoy doing it. I used a Dremel tool and tried a few different attachments, but was unhappy with the results. I also tried using clay carving tools, but the foam was too tough and rubbery for me to cut through it. The shaded area was very rough. When I lit the pumpkin, the whole pumpkin glowed like a giant blow mold. The shaded areas barely stood out. It was a sugar skull pattern on a white Michael's foam pumpkin.

What I really need is a set of clay caring tools that are as sharp as xacto knives. Can anyone tell me the best tools for shading a foamie?

Thanks
Brook
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By Pumpken
#96678
The best thing I have found are the high speed cutter dremel bits. It helps if you have a flex shaft and a foot controller. Stoney discovered a great set of bits for shading that work on the real small parts. I can't remember the link, but check his forum for "the best bits ever" and you can find a link. They work great. You might also want to look at some of the tutorials on carving foam pumpkins on stoneykins.com.

I started trying all kind of hand held tools, but the dremel is the way to go.

Keep trying, and good luck.

Image
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By Rich D
#96709
One thing I do is light the pumpkin while I'm doing the shading. That way I can see how deep to go. Also after using the cutter bits, I use either a sander bit or stone bit to smooth everything out.