Jason Green, a freelance graphic designer in Boston, found that his technology know-how lends itself nicely to pumpkin pattern-making. What started as an experimental self-portrait carving became Karvd.com, where Green showcases his work and offers custom carving services.

This pattern was “inspired by the old Mr. Moons you used to see on Halloween cards, and it was carved using Speedball linoleum cutters and small pumpkin carving saws,” Miller explains.Using a small, serrated knife or pumpkin carving tool, carefully carve along the lines of your design. Take your time and be careful not to cut yourself. Then comes the gross bit – scoop out the insides of your pumpkin, making sure you get all of the seeds and stringy fibrous strands. Your ice scream scoop will work great for this – and if you have a spoon with good, flat edges, it’s also really helpful for making sure you’ve got all of the gunk off the interior ‘walls’ of the pumpkin. Once you’ve got your design chosen and you’re ready to carve a pumpkin, you need to have the right tools for the job. Forget blunt kitchen knives, or those fiddly, cheap little carving kits. The best way to carve a pumpkin is to have everything prepared ahead of time, and an area laid out at your kitchen table with all of your equipment. Think of carving a pumpkin like preparing food – having a blunt knife or unsuitable tools will make the job a lot harder, and potentially more dangerous! If you’re ready to start, here are 30 of the most creative pumpkin carving designs for you to try this Halloween. 1. Ghostface – Pumpkin Design Cats, cats, cats, everybody loves them, and Halloween is incidentally a great opportunity to show your affection for these little (sometimes evil) bundles of joy. Although it’s not the first example of carving a cat into your pumpkin (and trust us, it’s not the last, either), it’s different. This creeping cat design looks like it’s been pulled from a Tim Burton movie, as it’s incredibly frail, with thin members, and some over-exaggerated features, but we absolutely love it!

Hurry! Anthropologie's holiday hosting essentials sale is coming to a close — snag these 6 items before it doesIncidentally, that’s what we recommend you do, as well, if you want to keep things simple and still yield a more-than-satisfying result after your carving attempt. The first few times, you’ll probably end up getting bored and freehanding the whole thing, which, again, isn’t wrong, but you’re here for a specific reason, right? You want to learn how to turn your plain pumpkins into true works of art, so that’s precisely what we’re going to teach you. Another great thing about this pumpkin carving design is the fact that you won’t need to be a Michelangelo to pull it off. You can even draw the design on the pumpkin before you start carving it so that your cuts will be more accurate and the end result will look better. Furthermore, seeing as you need to make full cuts to the core of the pumpkin, you can use a knife or a handheld CNC machine, whichever tool you see fit for the occasion. Regardless of which tool you’re gonna go with, make sure to practice caution and use protective gear. 4. Pinhead (Hellraiser) – Cool Pumpkin Carving Ideas Now that you have all your materials and tools, it’s time to start carving! Follow these steps to create your own scream pumpkin carving: