[adam]

so educate me about this saral paper??? do you just draw over the stenciled lines and than remove the pattern? How does it work?

[sodajazz]

St0ney's How to carve tutorial Shows pics of transfering patterns using saral paper

[SuperSonic]

but im noticing something odd here st0neys idea works with water what are you guys using then or am i just a blonde and not realzing that your using water as well

i most agree about the Saral paper in the shop though

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Hmm, water... Maybe St0ney can elaborate if he passes by here, but it seems his suggestion is mainly to use water to soften the paper pattern so it can mold easily to the exact curve of the pumpkin surface. Then you let it dry before proceeding with the rest of the transferring process.

I don't know about everyone else, but I don't make use of any water. I think it's neater and cleaner, to keep the transfer/carving a mostly dry process.

I think using water to soften the pattern is probably more useful when doing the scraping sort of design with multiple levels of shading. Those sorts of patterns require a bit more accuracy to achieve the sometimes photo-realistic effect. I know some people even like to glue their patterns to the pumpkin surface.

But the patterns here on ZP are stylized and simplified images, so they are a bit more forgiving if you don't transfer the pattern with 100% accuracy. Cutting a couple slits or pleating areas of the pattern are usually all you need to get the paper to adequately conform to the pumpkin. So according to the ZP recommended methods, no water needed.

The Saral paper is my transfer method of course, and it will most certainly be available for purchase in my shop soon.