45 Times People Showed Their Skill When it Came to Carving Pumpkins for Halloween 2022

Halloween may be over and done this year, but that doesn’t mean we have to let the spirit of the season fade away entirely. Whether you carved your own pumpkins or simply appreciated the hard work of others, you no doubt saw a few jack-o-lanterns out and about during the holiday. Today, we’re celebrating the art of pumpkin carving by calling attention to these varied and mostly-impressive displays.

Whatever a Spider Can

Marvel is a huge powerhouse in media, and even the people that don’t care much for it can recognize many of its characters. With that said, we’re sure there were many Spider-Man pumpkins out there during Halloween this year.

Some of those pumpkins settle for just the mask, while others go for the entire character. Either way, this is an impressive carving depicting the friendly neighborhood hero that likely earned a few smiles in a neighborhood of its own.

Classic Jack

Sure, the classic jack-o-lantern is a very simple design in some ways, but that doesn’t mean there’s no skill in carving a pumpkin this way. After all, many of us have tried and failed to make a classic jack — there’s a lot more to it than carving wild point shapes into a pumpkin!

This pumpkin has the perfect blend of menace and Halloween spirit. You can’t really remove the classic jack-o-lantern from Halloween, or it will stop being what it is.

Pumpkins of the North

Most people associate pumpkin carving with Halloween, but the truth is, pumpkin carving is its own art form that’s carried out year-round, and many of the designs have nothing to do with Halloween at all — as we can see right here.

There are many highly detailed carvings of faces, exaggerated though they may be, to be found in pumpkins. Whoever carved this guy showcases some very impressive skill and finesse in his craft!

Nosferatu

The film “Nosferatu” is a bit before the time of many people today, but even so, the titular character is a Halloween icon easily recognized by many. His bulbous forehead, pointy ears, and fangs influenced the perception of Halloween monsters for generations.

So, we think it’s safe to say that the carver of this pumpkin did the character justice. Funny thing is, he doesn’t look like a scary guy so much as an annoyed goblin or something.

Pumpkins From the Deep

The odd thing about Halloween is that we often think of fantasy monsters as scary things, but we have plenty of actual scary things in the world as it is! Have you seen angler fish? Well, if you’ve seen Finding Nemo, then you most definitely have.

Angler fish are scary, which makes for a perfect pumpkin carving. They even managed to fit some other Halloween aesthetic into it, so this is really the best of both worlds, a least as far as intimidation is concerned.

A Classic Cartoon

Pop culture is often the subject of pumpkin carvings, though most people tend to carve something a little more recent than this. Still, for all but the youngest of people, Johnny Bravo is a pretty recognizable character.

It’s kind of hard to see the pumpkin itself in this image, but do we really need to? The design is what we’re here for, after all. This may not require the same level of skill as some of the other pumpkins on the list, but it’s still pretty neat.

This Is the Way

When it comes to pop culture pumpkins, people tend to focus on more recent media phenomena if they can. Star Wars is, of course, an extremely popular subject as far as this is concerned, and The Mandalorian made big waves a few years back.

Needless to say, a lot of people love these characters, so it’s no surprise that we can find a bunch of pumpkin carvings out there that represent them so well.

Shows From Childhood

Halloween is an opportunity for people to represent things they love. Many of them can show off the types of shows and media they really enjoyed as a kid (or as an adult!). This is one such pumpkin carving, and it’s a pretty rad representation of a popular show.

We imagine that people use a frame of reference for this sort of thing, since it would be hard to do this from memory and scratch. But hey, there’s nothing wrong with having to do that!

Big Ol’ Eyes

Turns out that a lot of people really like this character. But, the way they go about representing him can vary wildly. This impressive carve really created the whole character out of the pumpkin, which is super cool.

We’d like to know what the eyes are — did they just paint the pumpkin, or did they insert something else into the pumpkin for that effect? It looks like a glass of some sort, but you can never be sure. People have done some amazing things with pumpkins!

The Pumpkin Genie

Most of us think of a small pumpkin when it comes to pumpkin carving, but the truth is, there are some gargantuan pumpkins out there — and they get carved too! In fact, the huge pumpkins often allow for some crazy designs, like this pumpkin genie.

We have no idea how long it took these guys to carve this impressive pumpkin, but we do know they have a lot of skill and patience. It’s definitely not something that just anyone could do.

Inception

You can really do almost any sort of art on a pumpkin. Anything you could do with another type of carving material, you can do with pumpkins. That’s why you can get some interesting ideas like this, where the same picture is within itself.

We’re not sure what the exact term for this kind of composition is, but it’s quite impressive. We can barely even cut out a basic face on a pumpkin — never mind something like this!

Pumpkin Jellyfish

Not all pumpkins carved to look like deep-sea creatures are inherently frightening. In fact, some can be quite majestic and alluring, like these pumpkin jellyfish. We have no idea how these were made, but they look incredible!

Of course, we’re certain that some parts of it are not actually pumpkin — but we also bet that a lot more of it is pumpkin than you’d think. As a plant, it’s actually a lot more durable and stable than most realize!

What’s in a Face

Faces are a popular subject matter when it comes to carving pumpkins because there are many details that go into it. With a skilled hand, you can create a truly amazing face, whether it’s hyperrealistic or exaggerated. This is one such example.

Of course, because it’s Halloween, most people don’t go for a particularly attractive face carving. But hey, the whole point is to be a little disconcerting, and we can’t deny that reality in this pumpkin.

Pixel Pumpkins

On the surface, this pumpkin might not seem that impressive. It’s just some eyes and a mouth, right? Well, think about how hard it would be to actually achieve this pixelated effect with those facial features. It would certainly be harder than you think!

Of course, maybe it has more to do with proper lighting than it does the carving itself, but either way, this is one impressive pumpkin — even if it’s not as blatantly obvious as some other pumpkin designs out there.

A Silly Choice

Halloween generally involves some unsettling or creepy designs, but that isn’t always the case. Some people like to be a little sillier or carefree. There’s nothing wrong with a funny face for Halloween, and that honestly takes just as much skill in many cases.

Despite its origins, Halloween is truly a holiday that exists for everyone these days, so it makes sense that there should be something for kids to enjoy out there as well. Although some do enjoy the creepy aspect of it…

From Pumpkin to Egg

Pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes, and admittedly, some of them look a lot like eggs. So, it only makes sense that some people will carve them to look like eggs.

It’s even better if someone carves that egg to look like there’s something coming out of it. Well, to be fair, the dinosaur is the most impressive part of this masterpiece. But, the pumpkin functioning as the egg is what really sells the whole thing.

Seeing Double

Some people dislike raccoons while others really like them a lot. Some people like them enough to carve them into pumpkins around Halloween. As for how this person got a raccoon to stand near the pumpkin like this, we’re not entirely sure.

Maybe it was just a coincidence, or perhaps they planned it out somehow. Either way, it ended up making for a perfect picture. Still, there are some more impressive pumpkins on this list for sure.

I Am Iron Man

It seems like people prefer to carve Marvel heroes into pumpkins, rather than DC characters. Then again, Tony Stark sacrificing himself for the greater good is an incredible moment, and it deserved to be temporarily immortalized in a pumpkin carving.

It’s almost instantly recognizable and very well done. Needless to say, this type of pumpkin carving was probably very popular with a lot of people. Iron Man is one of the most beloved Marvel characters, after all.

The Memes Become Reality

Memes have been around for the better part of two decades (and a little longer if you really want to get into it). Even people who don’t know much about memes can probably recognize a few of the most popular ones, such as this one that focuses on a cat.

Cat memes tend to be particularly popular, so this should come as no surprise to anyone. Bonus points for this being a piece of art that actually requires several pumpkins to complete!

The Hive

Bees play a hugely important part in human society, but they don’t receive enough appreciation for it. Whoever carved this pumpkin realized that bees are pretty neat, and the honeycomb structure of their hives would look pretty good on a pumpkin.

This is a different type of carving compared to those who carve out a pumpkin as though it were stone or marble, but it still looks really good, and it most certainly still requires a great deal of skill to do.

Like Glass

Does anyone else remember those mosaic stained glass lamps that used to be trendy? This pumpkin is sort of bringing it back, though we doubt the aesthetic will make a huge resurgence. For this pumpkin though, we think it works!

It may not look that impressive on the surface, but you have to ask — how did they get the lighting to work like that? Did they have to shave the pumpkin down to make the exterior thin? Either way, it’s very impressive!

No Capes!

Oftentimes, someone’s favorite character from pop culture is not who you’d expect. In fact, they may have an odd favorite that they want to carve on a pumpkin. As far as The Incredibles is concerned, though, Edna Mode is actually very popular.

As for why that is, maybe it’s just because she has a lot of funny lines, or maybe it’s because she’s such a quirky character. Either way, this pumpkin carving of her is very impressive!

The Simple Things in Life

OK, so we really just threw this one in here for fun. Obviously, it doesn’t take a lot of skill to carve something like this on a pumpkin. But at the same time, it’s not like a pumpkin has to be Picasso-level in order to be appreciated.

This pumpkin is still quirky and cute, and supposedly it even won first prize in some capacity for those qualities. And hey, we promised a list of people showing off their skills — but that doesn’t necessarily mean their skills are any good.

Truly Majestic

There are many majestic designs out there that one can carve on a pumpkin, but few of them can match up to this level of impressive majesty. OK, so maybe there’s a lot of still competition out there, but this unicorn carving is still pretty awesome.

Between carving something into the surface or actually sculpting an entire thing out of a pumpkin, which do you prefer? We think both types of design have a special sort of charm.

The Light of Heroism

We already had one Iron Man pumpkin on this list, but there’s no reason we can’t have another one, right? Besides, it’s a different design and it still looks pretty amazing! This one depicts the character in full costume, and the details are pretty neat.

Besides, of all the different heroes you could carve into a jack-o-lantern, one that places so much emphasis on light is a really good idea. It adds a unique design element that’s awesome to look at.

The Wild Things

Monsters have often been depicted as something scary, but in some cases, they’re instead depicted as friendly or approachable. Such was the case in the story, Where the Wild Things Are. This pumpkin pays homage to one of those friendly creatures.

It’s not quite as intricate as some of the other pumpkins that have been shown on this list, but honestly, it’s still far beyond anything we could ever manage, so we’re still very impressed!

The Power of Paint

A pumpkin carving is impressive in its own right, but if you add paint to the equation, you can really make some pretty impressive things that you wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. Paint adds color, but carving adds depth. That’s how you get things like this!

Whether you care for the character or not, you have to admit that a fair deal of skill has been put on display here. Lots of people wish they could be so artistic.

Can you Hear Me Now?

Most people think of carving just one pumpkin into something when they think of this art, but if you want to do really impressive things with pumpkin carving, you’ll often have to care for several pumpkins and attach them together.

That’s how this elephant got such impressive ears. Of course, the face itself is also very impressive. This may be more of a cartoon elephant, but either way, it’s one impressive-looking pumpkin creature.

The Dark Knight

So, we harped on DC heroes and how often they are depicted earlier, but in reality, they get their time to shine too — and with just as impressive of pumpkin carvings as the Marvel heroes. Batman is, of course, one of their most famous representatives.

This carving did him justice as far as we are concerned. It really does almost look like a panel straight out of a comic book, which is undoubtedly difficult to do!

Owl House

Despite how weird they are, owls continue to be a favorite among people who really like birds. So, it’s really no surprise that someone would end up making an interesting carving of a pumpkin involving owls. This one manages to do it extremely well.

Just imagine how long it must have taken to carve out all of those tiny little feathers! It must have been a true labor of patience and passion, though that remains true for the vast majority of pumpkin carvings, doesn’t it?

Fight Night

Most pumpkin carvings don’t actually make use of the stems and vines that grow out of them, which is a big shame. There’s actually a lot you can do if you decide to incorporate those things into your carving. For instance, you can create a scene like this!

Next year, consider keeping the stems and vines with your pumpkins and coming up with some way to incorporate them into your design. You’d be surprised how much of a difference can be made!

Pumpkin Carousel

When you think about it, a pumpkin kind of already looks like a carousel. It only takes a bit of modification to really make the transformation. Of course, it’s a technical type of job, and you have to be careful not to weaken the integrity of the pumpkin.

Whoever carved this one clearly knew that, and managed to handle the situation just fine. With a delicate touch and some technical know-how, you can really make a big difference in the final result.

Pumpkins From NASA

Even astrophysicists and rocket scientists like to get into the Halloween spirit when the holiday rolls around. And, of course, what would you expect them to make out of a pumpkin besides a planetary body of some sort?

That only makes sense. We’re not sure which one this pumpkin is supposed to be, but it’s pretty obviously a planet of some sort. Or maybe an asteroid? Either way, it looks quite impressive.

Peek-a-Boo

Many people feel that they can only use the pumpkin itself when it comes to pumpkin carving, but there’s nothing wrong with including other materials if it helps complete what you are trying to do. In fact, adding other elements can sometimes make the whole thing better.

Look around your home or department stores next year and you might come up with some interesting ideas based on what other materials you could add to your pumpkins.

Tiny Colors

Sure, you can make some really impressive things out of large pumpkins, but why ignore the tinier variety? They too can add a lot of flair to Halloween if you do something neat with them. Carving might be out of the question for them, but painting isn’t.

Of course, maybe these pumpkins in particular didn’t require much skill to create, but you could get pretty fancy even with tiny pumpkins. It really just has to do with how creative you can be!

Haunted House

Haunted houses are a staple of the Halloween season, so it stands to reason that a few of them should be depicted on pumpkins around this time of year. Houses came in all varieties, so there’s a lot you can do even with such a simple idea.

That said, you could carve an actual house sculpture into a pumpkin as well, but that would probably be much more difficult and require a lot more time and effort!

Pumpkin Sunflowers

The more pumpkins you can put together, the more interesting pumpkin constructions you can make! Why settle for just one when you can create something as interesting as sunflowers with pumpkins? What a neat idea that is rarely touched on!

Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to sunflowers. You could build all sorts of things out of several pumpkins, and as long as you carve each of them to meet your needs, you’ll have something amazing!

Symbol of Fictional Awesome

We’ve had a few Star Wars pumpkins on the list so far, but we would be remiss to not show a good one of Darth Vader, likely the most iconic character from the franchise bar none. He deserves a great carving every year.

We have no doubt that there are some even more impressive sculptures of this character out there, but this one is still impressive and shows that someone had a whole lot of skill to share with the world.

The Tetris Pumpkin

The sculpting is an important part of a jack-o-lantern, but equally important is the lighting. The lighting really affects how you call attention to all of that carving and can make all the difference in how good it looks.

And of course, using lighting properly is what allows this jack-o-lantern to invoke the Tetris aesthetic. Without doing that right, it would all fall apart! So, the skill in lighting should be appreciated just as much as the carving.

Canine Carving

Lots of people love dogs, so why not make a carving of one? It’s a lot of work — but with skill, time, and patience, you can create a masterpiece like this one! Of course, it’s probably easier to carve a pumpkin to look like a dog with a short snout than a long one.

But hey, there’s no reason you couldn’t make an attempt. If you get a big enough pumpkin, you should be able to carve any sort of dog face that you want into it. Still, some are likely easier than others.

Spider’s Nest

OK, so maybe this pumpkin is just a hollowed-out on, which doesn’t really require that much skill — we can’t deny that. Still, there’s a fair deal of creativity here, using various materials and paint to change how the pumpkin is presented overall.

A lot of people ignore the potential of painting a pumpkin, which can totally change how it looks and what kind of design you can make with it. Spray painting is especially effective!

Practically Home Décor

If pumpkins could last forever, people would have made some awesome home decor and furniture out of them. This straight-up looks like an accent piece for a room, and it’s a wonder that none of the many narrow sections are broken.

Maybe we just have heavy hands, but we feel that every time we carve that narrow, something breaks. It just goes to show, you need skill, but also a delicate touch.

Scratching the Surface

When pumpkin carving comes to mind, a lot of people think about how they have to scoop out the insides and all that. But, you could also just carve slightly into the surface, creating a different type of aesthetic that you may not get otherwise.

Sure, you can’t use that kind of pumpkin as a jack-o-lantern, but it’s not like that’s the only way to turn pumpkins into art, as we can see with this skilled creation.

Be There or Be Square

Pumpkins are usually carved into round shapes fitting their natural state, but that’s what makes it even more noticeable when you carve something straight out of it. It’s eye-catching because you don’t expect it.

In this case, SpongeBob may be a simplistic character, but it still takes skill and time to reproduce his likeness so accurately. We’re not sure if a solid geometric shape is actually easier or harder to carve out of a pumpkin, honestly.

Swashbuckling Pumpkins

The pirate is a classic Halloween costume worn by people everywhere, so it only makes sense to carve a pirate pumpkin, right? Someone around here had the same idea, and this is the result of their labor — a truly inspiring work of art.

Some people are truly talented when it comes to the level of character they can put into a pumpkin of all things. It’s a shame that pumpkins eventually rot, or else these works of art could stick around forever!