10/3/13 Carving the Death Star

Carving the Death Star...

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What is the Death Star?

The Death Star, from the movie Star Wars, can be considered a hybrid "pumpkin carve/pumpkin sculpt". Pumpkin carving involves using the pumpkin almost as a surface for
an image that is carved into the pumpkin. This is pretty much a 2D image. A pumpkin sculpt uses the pumpkin itself as a 3D object. Because the pumpkin itself is the
object and not a pattern on a pumpkin, we can probably call it a sculpture. But unlike most sculptures, the way you carve it is exactly how you might do a pattern. So lets
get started. If you have questions, please post them in the carvingpumpkins.com forum thread where the tutorial is posted. If its during pumpkin carving season, I will be
looking at this regularly (but I might be carving, so wait a few hours for a response!).

How Long Does it Take, and Is it Worth It? In all, if you start with a large pumpkin, you can expect to spend anywhere from 4 - 10 hours in making your Death Star. If
you've never spent this long on a pumpkin, I can only tell you that if you're hoping for an awesome reaction, you will have a very hard time beating the Death Star. This thing
is a HUGE hit with everyone. Even jaded teenagers are blown away. Even online, check out last year's Wired.com's contest for the geekiest pumpkin carves, and you'll
see the Death Star sitting HIGH atop some absolutely terrific competition.

What Skills Do I Need?: This tutorial assumes you have done pumpkin carving before. Specifically, I am not going through the details of how to do a skinned pumpkin
carve, where you can either cut all the way through, cut just the skin off or leave the pumpkin skin on to have a 3-color pumpkin. If you're even mildly fluent with this type of
pumpkin carving, you should find that Carving the Death Star is quite easy, if time consuming. If you need to learn the basics, I highly recommend going to the
CarvingPumpkins.com Instructions section, and then to visit the Q&A board for questions.

Selecting a Pumpkin
Personally, I like to get large sized pumpkins for the death star -
somewhere between 70 and 120 pounds, but this is not required.
What IS necessary is that you find as round a pumpkin as
possible. For large pumpkins, this is very different from your
normal "pattern friendly" pumpkin, where you are looking for a nice
flat side with which to do a pattern.

Larger pumpkins will often be flat on one side, which is absolutely

fine - this is the side you put to the back wall. Round pumpkins
will usually have If you're doing a smaller pumpkin, you can
probably carve the death star "pattern" all the way around.

This is truly a messy chore if you do a large sized pumpkin. You

need to clean out the ENTIRE inside for the parts you plan to
carve (which is the entire front and sides). Chances are, the larger
pumpkins will have rounded ridges, which means in cleaning it out,
you'll need to be careful to not scrap everything evenly - you need
to scrape out the areas between the veins deeper than the veins
themselves.

You may want to leave a large chunk where you intend to make
your laser hole. This will allow you to have some depth to the hole
instead of leaving it only on the outside.

In taking off the top, try to cut out as little of the front as possible.
Generally, you can cut out large hunks from the back, but try to
stay just on the other side of the top vine area when cutting the
front side.

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Cleaning the Pumpkin

This is truly a messy chore if you do a large sized pumpkin. On
the larger pumpkins, the pumpkin goop will be around 5 inches
deep. You'll eventually want to get this to around 1/2 inch thick.
You need to clean out the ENTIRE inside for the parts you plan to
carve (which is the entire front and sides).

Chances are, the larger pumpkins will have rounded or bowed

humps coming out of the pumpkin. This means when cleaning it
out, you'll need to be careful to not scrap everything evenly - you
need to scrape out the areas between the veins deeper than the
veins themselves. If you get a large pumpkin, you'll find that you
need to put pretty much your entire arm inside the pumpkin to
scrape it out. Also, the goop is far more acidic and stinky on
larger pumpkins.

You may want to leave a large chunk in the back where you intend
to make your laser hole to shoot through the front of the pumpkin
laser area (see later down for details). This will allow you to have
some depth to the hole instead of leaving it only on the outside.

Important Tip: In cutting off the top, try to cut out as little of the
front as possible. You will be using the top area as part of your
Death Star. Generally, you can cut out large hunks from the
back, but try to stay just on the other side of the top vine area
when cutting the front side.

Tools Required
For the most part, you need basic pumpkin carving tools, including
a speedball set (you can get this at most craft stores, or can get it
online here) and clay loop tools (also at craft stores or at the
previous link) for shaving and smoothing the surface. There are a
few extras though:

Sewing Tape Measure

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You'll need a Sewing tape measure to get the initial pattern down.

Lite Brites for Pumpkins

If you want to make clear, visible circle holes similar to the lights
eminating from the Deathstar in the Star Wars movie, also
consider getting a cheap Fright Light kit. These things are
basically lite brites for pumpkins, that work directly off the emitted
candle light. They have both clear lights (I used these last year)
and colored lights (I tried them this year).

STEP 1: Setting the Middle

The first, most important step in carving the Death Star is creating
a realistic looking "middle" line that goes across the entire

pumpkin front. Because the pumpkin will not be even, you need to
spend a little time figuring out exactly where the best, most
"sellable" place to cut will be.

To do this, lie the pumpkin down on its backside, and use the
sewing measuring tape to figure out the place that looks
"right". In other words, you use the sewing tape similar to a belt
that goes around "what looks like" the middle of the pumpkin. I do
stress that it might not be the exact middle, because if the
pumpkin isn't completely round, one side of your pumpkin might
be a bit higher than the other. It is more important to make the
center line "look like" its in the middle - meaning the perspective
looks right.

While attempting to find the right place, I will tape the measuring
tape down where I think it looks right, and then step back to look
at it. I will then slowly adjust it as I look at it from all levels. Again,
it should be somewhere in the middle, but you'll need to make
sure you leave enough space on the upper-end for a decent sized
laser hole.

For large pumpkins I cut the groove about the width of the
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For large pumpkins I cut the groove about the width of the
measuring tape - this is perhaps slightly less than a half-inch. In
practice, once I have the sewing tape measure in the place that
looks best, I then take a pen and trace both sides of the tape, and
then "skin out" the groove.

STEP 2: Create the Horizontal Lines

Here's where the tape measure is dynamite. To make the Death
Star "work" you need to have proportional horizontal lines going
across the entire Death Star. Because the pumpkin isn't always
even, this case pose a problem. The solution? Make specific
measurements up and down from the center grove along the veins.

Here's how I did this: For my 77 pound pumpkin (shown above), I

first did a 2 1/2 inch mark above and below the groove, followed by
2 inches after that. For a 120 pound pumpkin I did last year, I
made the first measurement 3 inches above and below the edge of
the groove, and then 2 inches, and then 3 inches, and then 2
inches for every line after that.

Its important to do these marks along the pumpkin veins, as the

veins will help you work around the uneven aspects of your
pumpkin. So make these measurements in all the veins above and
below the middle groove.

Ideally, you will want 5 lines above and below the center line. If
your pumpkin is either larger or smaller, adjust accordingly. For
small pumpkins (under 30 pounds), you may only want three lines
in total. You'll always want the closest line to the groove to be a
bit larger than the subsequent line though. For the fourth line
above and below, you will eventually be making slightly deeper and
wider than the rest.

STEP 3: Positioning the Laser Circle

Now you need to find a space between the veins on the upper part
of the pumpkin that is most suitable for your laser hole. Ideally you
want something around 5" wide. But again, my rule of thumb is
basically to take up the bulk of the space between one area
of the veins - this seems to work. Adjust this if your pumpkin is
smaller or larger.

Get a sense of about where you want to put your circle. It should
be at least an inch above your horizontal line, but not too much
higher.

A good way to do this is to use a tea cup base, or perhaps even a

large mug. Basically, find a nice circle object that is about the
size of the thing you want.
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size of the thing you want.

STEP 4: Carving Out the Circle

Find some round object that seems to be about the size of the
circle you are envisioning. In my case, I used a small bowl. Trace
out the circle and then carve the outline with your speedball set.

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4a: Find the Center of Your Circle

Then put a hole in the center of the circle. Ultimately, this is where
your laser hole will be. You can start carving out the laser area
now, but I tend to want to draw the horizontal lines before going
further.

Also if you look closely, you can see the dot markings along the
pumpkin veins. This is where I'll be carving next.

STEP 5: Carving the Horizontal Lines

Here's where your Death Star starts to take shape. Following the
dots you made along the veins, carve our horizontal lines with a
medium sized speedball V line cutter.

Again, because your pumpkin will not really be round, do your

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Again, because your pumpkin will not really be round, do your
best to make the lines work as you go between the veins. This
becomes especially important as you go closer to the top and
bottom of the pumpkin. As long as you follow your inch markers
along the veins, even if its not straight, it WILL be proportional,
which is the best you can get with an uneven pumpkin. If its
proportional, it will end up "looking" right.

5a: Don't Cut Into the Laser Circle!!!

Make sure you don't cut into the laser circle. You'll want that to be
a clean circle without lines going into it.

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STEP 6: Smooth the Center Groove

Now is a good time to go back and smooth out the center grove
with a flat clay loop tool. As much as possible, you want it deep
and smooth. The walls should be as straight down as you can
make them.

Important Tip: As you begin to cut out the detailed skinned

areas, its a really good practice to smooth the areas out as you
go along. If you wait till the end, you might find yourself missing a

bunch of these, or worse, not caring as much because you

already spent so much time on it. Do it as you go, and you'll end
up with a far better pumpkin at the end.

STEP 7: Increase the Width of the Fourth

Lines
Again, assuming you have a large pumpkin, you'll want to increase
the size of the fourth horizontal lines above and below the middle
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the size of the fourth horizontal lines above and below the middle
groove. This is assuming you have 5 lines above and below the
middle groove. Depending on your pumpkin, you may only have 4
lines either above or below (or 6). Generally you want the larger
line to be at the apex of the curve on the top and bottom of
the pumpkin - hopefully with at least one more line past it.

While most lines on your pumpkin are one "V" line wide, make the
larger ones 3 or 4 "V" lines wide, depending on the size of your
pumpkin.

STEP 8: Carving Out the First Row of Boxes

Now the fun part comes in. Starting with the area above and below
the center groove, make verticle cuts between the lines
approximately every 2 inches. Do this all the way around the
pumpkin till you get to the end.

RULE OF THUMB: When in doubt, always follow the pumpkin

veins. Part of the concern you'll have in carving up and down is
what exactly does "up" constitute? Answer: Whatever way the
vein is going. Make your vertical lines parallel to the vein
lines and you'll be fine.The pumpkin is round so going up is akin
to going up on a world globe.

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STEP 9: Carving Out the Rest of the Death

Star
Once you've carved the boxes in the first row (again, avoiding the
laser circle), you can do the subsequent rows. You really don't
need to measure these - just make sure that you make lines in
between the ones below (or above if you are working on the bottom
half) the ones you just made. You might not want them all to be
exactly in the center, either. Making some of them "close" the
lines below allow you to do cool rectangles spanning three
horizontal lines, for instance.

9a: Go All the Way, Baby!

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9a: Go All the Way, Baby!
Once you've done the first row (again, avoiding the laser circle),
you can do the subsequent rows. You really don't need to
measure these - just make sure that you make lines in between
the ones below (or above if you are working on the bottom half) the
ones you just made. You might not want them all to be exactly in
the center, either. Making some of them "close" the lines below
allow you to do cool rectangles spanning three horizontal lines, for
instance.

9b: All the Way to the Top As Well

Carve all the way to the top most cut-out, and pretty much most of
the bottom as well. Again, the size of your "pattern"
encompasses the entire front of your pumpkin.

If you do decide to do a small, but perfectly round pumpkin, you

would of course do this all the way around the pumpkin.

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STEP 10: Customizing Your Death Star

Now the fun begins! Start customizing your Death Star by working
with each of your block areas (or rectangle areas, if you left a
couple of them really long). There are numerous ways to do this.
The only rule of thumbs are those posted earlier - use straight
lines, and smooth out all skinned areas. There are really no other
rules, but here's a number of shots to get you started.

HELP!!! I CUT THE MIDDLE LINE TOO DEEP!!! If you look

closely at this picture, you'll notice that in the middle line, I
actually tried to cut a deeper groove for Luck Skywalker's ship to
go down. This was a baaaaad idea. The entire pumpkin actually
split in half! The solution to this? Easy - Super Glue!

Every veteran pumpkin carver has Super Glue on hand, preferably

the one with the brush. When you use Super Glue on a pumpkin,
it literally sizzles as it fuses the two pieces together. In the
picture to the right, you can see some white crud in the middle
line - that's the super glue where the pumpkin split in half!

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You can cut out small squares from your block areas, or even
shave off the sides of some, leaving thin rectangles.

You can cut out rectangles that span multiple horizontal lines.

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There's all sorts of shapes you can do. You can make "Z" lines to
break up a square, do two parallel lines in between a square, do
skins that leave to maller squares showing that end up looking like
windows...the possibilities are endless!

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STEP 11: Finalizing the Circle

FDepending on whether you completely cleaned out the inside
area or left a big chunk underneath the circle, you will sculpt your
circle differently.

In my case, both times I've carved the Death Star, I ended up

scraping the inside out to a half-inch, so I didn't have the
opportunity to do a "deep" cut. This wasn't by choice though -
believe it or not, for both death stars, I was under INTENSE

pressure to get them done, as I stupidly waited till the last day to
carve them. My 2006 Death Star took 8-9 hours. I fully intended to
take this long on the second one, but since I had done this before,
I thought I could really get into some of the customization
aspects. Unfortunately, I had between 5-6 hours from beginning till
Halloween "showtime" when everyone showed up. In both years, I
literally got done with the Death Star 10-15 minutes before the
Trick or Treaters showed up.

A FAR better approach, far more believable was done

last year by Feja and DH. This is close to what I
intended this year, but simply didn't have the time.

In scraping the pumpkin, they left a good chunk of meat

around the laser, which allowed them to cut deep into
the Death Star. This is a FAR more believable laser
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the Death Star. This is a FAR more believable laser
circle. I will definitely be doing something similar next
year.

Use of the Laser Pointer: But if you don't do this, a flat

circle still works. In 2006, I also took out a chunk from
the back (this is necessary anyways for the candle to
get enough air) and had my son shoot a green laser
pointer though the opening. This went over wonderfully.

STEP 12: The Finishing Touches

Finish Your Inside Scraping: As an obvious aside, if you haven't
stuck a light or candle in it by this point to check your inside
scrape job, now's the time (obviously you want to do this in a
darkened area to see the problems). The goal is to get an even
color shining throughout the pumpkin. I generally use 3 candles in
the Death Star while displaying it - one large and two smaller
candle pods (all pumpkin spice, of course!). Be careful if your
pumpkin has deep ridges - don't cut too far into the veins. You
need to dig deeper between the veins. If you use smaller candles,
you can do the finishing scraping with the candles on in a dark
room.

Lite Brites Now you can stick in your lite brights. Generally, I
stick them in places where there are relatively mute square areas,
but sometimes I do more fancy things with them. I also put one in
the middle groove. This is where Luke Skywalker shoots the
bombs that blow the Death Star up. This year, I made the groove
one red - this went over well.

Cut a Hole in the Back Because there are virtually no cut-

throughs, you need to cut a hole in the back to give the pumpkin
enough air.

From there, take your pumpkin out and display it somewhere

relatively high up (not on the ground, in other words). And thats it
folks! Your good to go!

Make sure you take pictures though - I wanna see'em!

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Displaying Your Pumpkin

For me, the display is critical. You want the Death Star to be at
least 2-3 feet off the ground, preferably sitting on a hill, or up on a
porch. This, along with a large sized pumpkin will give those
approaching it an absolute sense of awe. My house sits at the
top of a long hill, so in the picture below, the Death Star is
positioned such that those coming up the street will see this from
far away. For positioning, I have it up on a chair, sitting small
stone ledge.

I've done the Death Star two years in a row, and at this point
cannot imagine not doing it. This is a HUGE hit. Pretty much
everyone is blow away by it.

If you do carve this, I would very much like to get a picture from
you, so please email me if you could. I love to see others carve
my patterns, but seeing Death Star carves would be even better!

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