Belter the Cartoon Singer

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Prep the pumpkin and mount the pattern

   Pick a large pumpkin with a broad, flat front face so the wide mouth has room to stretch. Cut a lid from the bottom or the back rather than the top so the stem stays put and the figure sits centered. Scrape the inside wall behind the design down to about one inch thick so light passes through easily. Tape your home-printed stencil flat and poke closely spaced transfer dots along every line, especially around the mouth and the thin upper lip.

2. 2

   Score all the lines before removing anything

   With the dots as your map, lightly score the full outline with a small serrated carving saw or a craft knife. Trace the hair spikes, the eyes, the microphone, and the outline of the mouth so you can see the whole figure. Do not push through yet. Having every line scored first keeps the thin upper lip supported by surrounding pumpkin while you plan your cutting order.

3. 3

   Carve the inner mouth first from the corners in

   Start the full cutouts with the mouth interior, working from each corner toward the center as the caption technique advises. This releases the biggest opening while the pumpkin around the thin upper lip is still solid and stable, so the lip bridge will not warp or snap. Remove the mouth in a few smaller pieces rather than one giant chunk to keep control. Keep that horizontal upper lip intact as a bridge across the top of the opening.

4. 4

   Cut the remaining openings and details

   Now free the other full cutouts: the narrowed eyes, the gaps in the spiky hair, the microphone, and the raised hand. Cut the smaller detail openings before the largest ones so the face keeps its rigidity as long as possible. Angle your blade slightly outward as you cut so the light spreads through each opening. Support the pumpkin from underneath with your free hand, not with fingers near the blade path.

5. 5

   Peel the shading areas for a dim glow

   Use a lino or ribbon tool to skin off just the outer skin on areas you want softly lit, such as the inner cheeks, the shirt folds, and shading along the hair. Removing skin without cutting through gives a warm mid orange glow that separates these shapes from the untouched dark outlines. Go shallow and even, checking the depth often. This shading is what makes the cartoon face read as more than flat cutouts.

6. 6

   Light it and take your photo

   Drop in a bright battery LED, never a candle, and set it low and slightly behind the figure so the mouth blazes. Rotate the light until the gaping mouth is the clear focal point and the peeled areas read as a soft secondary glow. Wipe the cut edges and rub a little petroleum jelly on them to slow drying. Shoot in the dark on a porch step with the LED as your only light source.

Written with AI to match this design