Customer Reviews

Extreme Pumpkin Carving: 20 Amazing Designs from Frightful to Fabulous

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had a tough time deciding on how many stars for this book. I really like the book but I was just a teensy bit disapointed. My reasons may be a little bit unfair but I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.

They walk you thru step-by-step how to carve one pattern with nothing but a carving knife and another pattern step-by-step with how to carve with carving tools. The photos on this part are great and close-up in color. For the pumpkin carved only with the knife they used 86 pictures! For the pumpkin done with carving tools they showed 40 (because it's faster and easier to use carving tools hence it took fewer pics). This part is very much for the beginner which is exactly what I needed. Under each photo (which are about 4 to a page) they tell you what tool to use and explain what is happening in the photo. This part is amazing, they did not skip on the photos here!

I am slightly disapointed however, because they only show two pumpkin patterns step-by-step and I admit I am greedy and would have liked more.

The other 18 pumpkins they give shaded line patterns for and a color photo of each finished pumpkin. Depending on how dark the shading is on the drawing is how deep to carve that feature. This will no doubt not bother those more advanced at carving than myself but it does intimidate me.

This book is well worth the price just for the two step-by-step pumpkins they did. I will learn a lot and maybe by the time I do a couple I will feel comfortable tackling the others on my own.

I got this book for halloween this year. Read through it in a short sitting, and had a clear view of how to create releaf style pumpkin sculptures in no time.

I had some background many years ago in highschool pottery classes doing sculture, and the techniques detailed in this book easily recapped each of the basics and then advanced into the more skilled techniques.

I highly recommend this for anyone with little to no sculpture background.

The draw backs I found with this book are that they focus heavily on how to accomplish the effects with typical knife. Then they transition in to using more specific tools. The issue being that they spend far less time detailing the technique with the specific/advanced tools, it would have been better if they keep the same level of tenique details for the advanced tools. Also on the subject of advanced tools, the author provide teh list of tools he uses(which have been built over many years specializing in the spaced). There is very little time spent on talking about what tools are used or suggestions of locations to get ahold of them. I have found that getting ahold of tools that fit the task have been hard to find and better descriptions or sources would be extremely helpful.

This is the best book I've seen on carving pumpkin. There are patterns for everything from scary to comical faces. Carving is done only with knives or for those carvers with tools, good directions are available for a really terrific creation. I would not recommend unsupervised children doing this kind of carving, however. The tools must be very sharp.

This book takes the fun out of carving jack o lanterns. It contains two designs that are done step by step, but both take hours and hours to complete. I'm not sure I have that kind of time to put into carving a gnome. I was hoping for some tips on how to turn someone's face into a carving or something like that. Instead there are just some examples of stuff I didn't like. I spent at least 6 hours on a pumpkin and when it was done, I have to say that it didn't turn out to be spooky or gross, so I wasn't happy. I carved a puking pumpkin as well and more people commented on that than the carved one. The puking pumpkin only took a couple of minutes.

This might be a good book for a grandpa or someone with a lot of time on their hands. For most halloween types, I think it is sort of uncool.

The examples and carving techniques shown in this book are excellent and well detailed. Two carving styles are demonstrated. The first uses straight knives such as a pocket knife, and the second utlizes wood carving tools. My disappointment with this book was in the limited scope of examples. When I think of pumpkin carving I think of Halloween. While there are two witches as examples in the book, there are also 2 Santas and the rest are a mixture of folk faces, such as those resembling trolls, gnomes, and the classical representative of the West Wind. Heavy, exaggerated male faces dominate. I would have greatly liked to see more Halloween themed ideas inclusive of skeletons, cats and ghosts. The book provides photographs of actual carved pumpkins, then "patterns" of those same faces, supposedly for the reader to use for their own carving. My idea of a pattern is a line drawing that can be transferred onto a pumpkin or gourd face, then detailed as you carve. The patterns provided are heavily shaded pencil drawings taken directly from the photographs, and not, I think, very helpful to use. The pumpkins in this book are only carved - not hollowed out to allow the placement of a light inside. I personally think one of the charms of carving pumpkins are the different shades of light and texture you get through the skin once you light it from inside. Overall this book is great as you see the work of a a master carver and his different techniques. If you are unfamiliar with textural carving, this book is a great reference. If you already have a grasp of the work involved in carving and want instead to get inspired to do Halloween themed pumpkins, check out the other pumpkin carving books available.

This shows what fun can be had with a pumpin and some carving tools. The results are a delight to all who see them.

Finally a book that explains the art of power tool carving to create scary and entertaining pumpkin stories. You will never look at a cutsie pumpkin again without thinking about how it can be lit on fire.

This book has some great designs, but they are not for the beginner. The authors show you, step-by-step, how to carve two of the 20 patterns. One design is done in 86 steps using simple tools (pocket knife, finish nail, toothbrush, etc.) The other design is done in 39 steps using carving gouges. You will need thick-skinned pumpkins. Great book if you want to take your pumpkin carving to the next level.

We do an annual adult Pumpkin carving night and now with this book we will make them even more amazing!

This book is a great tutorial for carving a masterpiece. The pictures are very professional and every step of the process is documented. Only two carvings are shown in complete detail, but you won't be disappointed. The technique is defined in such a way that you should be able to take this idea and run with it using your own ideas. Lots of other pictures and ideas are given, just not in the detailed description as the first two. I'm very impressed.