Valiant pumpkin carving tips

[jkingman]

Halloween is coming soon and it’s time for the https://www.facebook.com/groups/654491217916051/Canadian Valiant Fan Club's 2nd annual pumpkin carving contest and comic give a way! To enter just carve as many Valiant related pumpkins as you wish and post a picture on the CVFC page between Oct 1st thru Oct 31st by 12 midnight. Vfans are welcome to enter too. If you don't have pumpkins where you live you can use gourds or watermelons. Prize 1 will be the best pumpkin chosen by the admins and prize 2 will be picked in a draw (prizes to be announced soon). Thanks and we can’t wait to see your pumpkins!!

Here are some amazing tips from Jason on how to carve pumpkins. It’s super fun, easier than I (Jake) expected, and they will look beautiful in real life. Give it a shot...the trick or treaters loved them!

Prep your pumpkin and to make it glow. Open and clean your pumpkin as you normally do, then use a spoon to scrape away at the back inside wall where you plan to do your carving. Clean the inside wall well and make the walls thin. Not too thin but also a consistent thickness or you’ll have dark areas.

Next, pick an image. A lot of images won’t work so do some testing. I use an app called photo editor but I’m sure a lot of other programs can do the same thing. I’m choosing Rai 1 mask variant.


Make your picture black and white with the setting "black and white high contrast". you can go ahead and raise the contrast.


Next you’re going to use the setting called "edge" again raise the bar to the effect you desire. You can use this image for your stencil but one more step will make it better.



Use the setting "invert" this will change the blacks and whites giving you a black line. This way your printer is not printing a bunch of black. Its also good to have a regular copy of the image or a black and white copy so you look at it wile your carving design what areas you want to be areas of dark and light or cut all the way through.



To use the stencil, wash and dry your pumpkin. It is best if your pumpkin has been in doors for a few hrs so it’s not cold. Tape your stencil to your pumpkin gently smoothing out the paper so your lines don’t cover one another. Tape it well in place/ use good tape electrical tape or what ever will stick on the waxy coating. Using a pin, poke holes where you want to cut. Follow the lines and poke excessively more around corners. Take your stencil off and be careful, you CAN'T see your dots anymore. You may be able to use some dirt, dye, carbon to wash over your pumpkin to stick in the holes to make them more visible (this requires more testing), I usually just tilt the pumpkin until I can see the holes and cut slow using a razor blade. You can cut straight down or at an angle. Once you’ve done a single line of connect the dots you can do a second or use some wood working tools. Shave and cut design how you want. Cut all the way through to cause super bright spots or areas, layer the pumpkin skin to cause shading. The choice is yours. There are at least 2-3 different ways to carve one image. Think it out, plan in advance keep it simple. Pick images that require less work. Or choose more challenging ones. But have fun and be creative.

here are some pumpkins Jason carved last year.

[lorddunlow]

That's really cool! Thanks for the tips. even though you're a damn dirty Canadian

[bygranddesign]

niiice! Those are greeaat!

[bygranddesign]

That's really cool! Thanks for the tips. even though you're a damn dirty Canadian

I don't think he's a Canadian

As long as you LOVE Valiant comics ... All people are welcome to join the Canadian Valiant Facebook Page ... even you Dunlow. Canadians will accept you and love you even though you are evil and mean to them. They are just good people, eh?

[comicsyte95]

Those Valiant pumpkins look sweet!

[lorddunlow]

That's really cool! Thanks for the tips. even though you're a damn dirty Canadian

I don't think he's a Canadian

As long as you LOVE Valiant comics ... All people are welcome to join the Canadian Valiant Facebook Page ... even you Dunlow. Canadians will accept you and love you even though you are evil and mean to them. They are just good people, eh?

Well, now unfortunately you've been designated a functional Canadian.

[ilzuccone]

does a pumpkin spice frappuccino with extra coffee while reading valiant count?

[slym2none]

No.



I have never done a VALIANT pumpkin before - Master Darque would be great, if you can get all the tattoos right. I have done some other before, including either Venom eyes or Grendel eyes, depending on how you look at it.

Damn... can't find that pic anymore! But here is one I did that same year; say the bats are Batman related, if you want.



This is a shrunken version of one of the other ones that someone animated for me:





-slym

[hawkeyeps]

That's really cool! Thanks for the tips. even though you're a damn dirty Canadian

I don't think he's a Canadian

As long as you LOVE Valiant comics ... All people are welcome to join the Canadian Valiant Facebook Page ... even you Dunlow. Canadians will accept you and love you even though you are evil and mean to them. They are just good people, eh?

Well, now unfortunately you've been designated a functional Canadian.

Jkingman is 'murican, eh? They are Jason's tips though and he is most definitely Canadian.

That said Jkingman is a honorary HARD Cat so watch out Dunlow our operatives are everywhere!

We believe that "friendship is magic" here in Canada so suck on that you brony freak

[slym2none]

Watch who call a freak, pal!





-slym

[depluto]

Cool stuff!

[comicsyte95]

No.



I have never done a VALIANT pumpkin before - Master Darque would be great, if you can get all the tattoos right. I have done some other before, including either Venom eyes or Grendel eyes, depending on how you look at it.

Damn... can't find that pic anymore! But here is one I did that same year; say the bats are Batman related, if you want.



This is a shrunken version of one of the other ones that someone animated for me:





-slym

Like the bat pumpkin and the animated pumpkin looks spooky cool.

[hawkeyeps]

Watch who call a freak, pal!





-slym

[slym2none]

Dang... I was hoping you'd catch the South Park reference.





-slym (#34000, folks!)

[ilzuccone]

Dang... I was hoping you'd catch the South Park reference.





-slym (#34000, folks!)

Thats a lot of thousands

[hawkeyeps]

Dang... I was hoping you'd catch the South Park reference.





-slym (#34000, folks!)

[nonplayer]

I lmao at that picture. Nice bat pumpkin:-D. I Cant wait to see what you make this year. A Canadian operative will post some pumpkin stensils for all ya all to print out and use to make your pumpkins. Or make your own.

[slym2none]

Dang... I was hoping you'd catch the South Park reference.



-slym (#34000, folks!)

THERE IT IS!!!





-slym

[slym2none]

I would love to do the Rai/Bloodshot pose from the old VALIANT's Rai #0 somehow...





-slym

[nonplayer]

I would love to do the Rai/Bloodshot pose from the old VALIANT's Rai #0 somehow...





-slym

You mean him standing there with the sun behind him holding a sword and smoking gun. I did make that stenci. Just so you know thats a tricky one to carve but totally doable.

[jkingman]

I would love to do the Rai/Bloodshot pose from the old VALIANT's Rai #0 somehow...





-slym

like this?

[jkingman]

I also did a Faith pumpkin last year and will likely do one this year...



my daughter did the Zelda one!

[slym2none]

I would love to do the Rai/Bloodshot pose from the old VALIANT's Rai #0 somehow...

like this?

JUST like that!





-slym

[nonplayer]

As long as nothing crazy cimes up stencils will be up.

[slym2none]

I dig those crazy cimes!





-slym