Aug 18, 2026

Koi Fish Pumpkin Carving With Lily Pads

A koi fish glides across this pumpkin in flowing etched lines, surrounded by a lotus blossom, lily pads, and swirling water. The design is surface carved, peeling away the skin at two depths so the fish glows brighter than the ripples around it. Trace the pattern with a poked-hole transfer, then etch the koi first and keep the swirls shallow so they read as background.

This is an AI-generated concept image: a realistic, carvable design idea rather than a photo of a finished carve. AI concepts are always labeled and sit out the leaderboard and the contest.

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Hard Animals Artistic Shaded / Peel

koi-fish japanese lily-pad lotus etched water-swirl front-porch

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Want to try this?

Want to try this glowing koi and lotus scene on your own porch?

Some experience helps \u00b7 Shading + shallow etching

Read our carving tips

Similar stencils

Browse similar koi and lotus stencils to trace this flowing water scene.

Cute Starfish Pumpkin Stencil
hard difficulty
View printable pattern

Tools for this approach

Our suggestions for trying a similar carve. Start with what you already have.

Elmchee Pumpkin Carving Kit
13-piece kit with carrying case
Saws for the larger cutouts, plus a scoop for hollowing. Covers both jobs in one kit.
View on Amazon
Speedball 4131 Lino Cutter Set
Handle + 5 interchangeable cutters
Interchangeable cutters for peeling and shading the face. Useful for the finer details.
View on Amazon

A little extra help

Our tips for carving a similar design

The core trick here is depth control: the koi is peeled deeper so it glows brightest, while the water swirls, lotus, and lily pads stay shallow so they read as a softer background. This is a surface carving with almost no full cutouts, so the pumpkin wall stays strong. Plan to transfer the whole pattern first, etch the fish, then work outward to the plants and ripples.

Written by PumpkinCarvingIdeas.com, inspired by the image above. These are our suggestions, not instructions from the uploader. This approach to the AI concept has not been tested on a real pumpkin.

From pumpkin to porch

Prep the pumpkin and transfer the pattern
Pick a tall pumpkin with a smooth, flat-ish carving face and cut a lid from the bottom or back so the front stays clean. Scrape the inside wall behind the design down to about one inch thick so light passes through evenly. Tape your koi and lotus stencil in place, then poke along every line with a pin or awl to leave a dotted guide. Peel off the paper and connect the dots lightly with a pencil so you can see the full composition.
Etch the koi as the brightest layer
Start with the fish since it is the focal point. Use a shading loop or ribbon tool to peel the skin away over the koi body, going deeper than anywhere else so it will glow strongest. Leave a thin ridge of skin for the eye and the darker scale patches so they stay defined. Work slowly and keep your free hand behind the blade, never in its path.
Shade the lotus and lily pads
Move to the lotus blossom and the round lily pads next. Peel the skin here at a shallower depth than the koi so these shapes glow a softer, dimmer orange. Keep the little radiating lines on the lily pads as thin scored grooves rather than wide cuts. This layering is what makes the fish pop forward from the plants.
Keep the water swirls shallow
Trace the flowing water lines with a small V gouge or a shallow etch, removing just the top skin so they read as faint background ripples. Resist the urge to cut deep here, since these lines should be the dimmest part of the scene. Vary the pressure slightly so the swirls fade in and out like real moving water.
Add a few bright accents last
If you want extra sparkle, you can cut a handful of tiny full openings only in the koi eye highlight or a couple of water bubbles. Do these true cutouts last so the wall stays rigid while you carve everything else. Keep them small and bridged so no thin section snaps.
Light it and photograph
Drop in a battery LED puck, warm white or amber, and never a candle for a design this thin. Set it on a flat porch step at dusk and check that the koi clearly outshines the swirls. Coat the cut edges with petroleum jelly to slow drying, and shoot your photo the first night while the etching is crisp.

Gather your supplies

Check things off as you get ready.

Work on a stable surface, keep your free hand out of the cutting path, and have an adult handle sharp tools.

Three levels of light

Leave intact
The background pumpkin skin and the koi eye ridge and dark scale patches stay untouched and dark
Peel & shade
The lotus blossom, lily pads, and shallow water swirls are lightly peeled for a soft dim glow
Cut through
Only tiny optional accents like an eye highlight are cut fully through for the brightest points

Learn the carving basics

Before you start cutting

How do I make the koi glow brighter than the water around it?

It comes down to how much skin you remove. Peel the fish deeper so more light comes through, and keep the swirls as shallow scratches so they stay dim. Test with your LED partway through and deepen the koi more if the contrast looks weak.

This is a concept image, so is a design this detailed actually carvable?

Yes, because it is almost all surface etching rather than cutouts, so the pumpkin wall stays strong. The thin lily pad lines and water swirls are just scored grooves, which hold up fine. Keep any true openings tiny and save them for last.

What kind of pumpkin works best for this scene?

Look for a large pumpkin with a broad, fairly smooth front so the flowing lines are not broken up by deep ribs. Thinner-skinned varieties etch more easily and let light through better. Scrape the interior wall thin and even behind the whole design.