Geeky Halloween Pumpkin Carving Templates with Printable PDFs

Geeky Halloween Pumpkin Carving Templates

Posted October 22, 2015

Another year of the Halloween tradition of carving up pumpkins. Another fun year of designing geek themed carving templates. This year I decided to carve up the Pokemon evolution of the blue starter Pokemon, Squirtle. For those who don’t know, Squirtle evolves into Wartortle, who evolves into Blastoise -a fearsome turtle with water canons. (printable pumpkin patterns below!)

Pumpkin Carving Process

1. Decide on a pattern and pick out a pumpkin based on your pattern. Some carving templates work better on fatter pumpkins, while others work best on a taller pumpkin. Always be sure to check that your pumpkin is free of soft and/or black spots (these represent decomposition).

2. Cut an inward angled hole (so your top can be replaced without falling in) and clean out the inside. I like to use a big metal spoon to scrape the inside walls. The cleaner the better to preserve the longevity of your pumpkin from mold.

Cleaning out a pumpkin for carving

3. Transfer your pumpkin pattern to your pumpkin. You can do this by cutting and tracing all the pieces, or by using a pushpin to create a “connect the dot” pattern by punching through your paper pattern along the lines.

Cutting out a pokemon pumpkin carving template

tracing the squirtle evolution template onto my pumpkin

4. Carve your pattern, trying out various knives and tools for best effect. I found that my small, curved kitchen parry knife was great for digging out the outer layers of pumpkin that I wasn’t cutting all the way through. I did have to repeat that step twice since my pumpkin’s rind was thick and the first time I didn’t go deep enough to let light glow through.

Carving a pumpkin

Carving warturtle into a pumpkin

5. Wash off any pumpkin mess and template marks still visible and light her up! An LED tea light is better than a candle to prevent your pumpkin from molding as quickly.

Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise pumpkin

Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise Halloween pumpkin

Ready to carve your own pumpkin? Here are a handful of great geeky options!

Geeky pumpkin carving templates for Halloween

The Pumpkin Carving Template Files-

Nicol Bolas -Magic the Gathering
Download File

Back to the Future -Great Scott, Marty!
Download File

Pokemon Evolution -Squirtle
Download File

Super Mario World
Download File

Bonus
Star Wars- Yoda, Jedi Master

Jedi Master Yoda pumpkin carving template

Yoda Jedi Master PDF
Download File

Looking for more awesome printable, nerdy pumpkin templates or additional carving tips & tricks? Be sure to check out my pumpkin carving post from last year for templates relating to Totoro, Legos, a Lord of the Rings Balrog, Settlers of Catan, and more!

What does your pumpkin look like this year? Share a photo of it on Facebook; I’d love to see your creativity.

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