Via My Modern Met
Halloween is just around the corner and things are about to get spooky! It’s time for scary costumes, grotesque makeup, and perhaps the most fun activity of all: pumpkin carving!
Alex Wer, also known as The Pumpkin Geek is the king of pumpkin art. He started his “orange empire” during the Halloween of 2009 when his wife asked him if he could carve her company logo into a pumpkin. He chose to use a craft pumpkin instead of a real one, so it would last forever. Wer soon started getting orders from other companies and even received commissions for children’s portraits.
Wer’s process—which is referred to as a “4 color” technique—involves carving at multiple depths: one completely cut out, two of differing levels, and another untouched layer for the darkest areas of the image. When illuminated from within, an incredibly detailed image is revealed. Lately, Wer has introduced a 5th layer of carving to achieve further levels of detail. Each amazing design is hand carved and takes between 4-6 hours, depending on the complexity.
Every Tuesday is Art Tuesday here at Adafruit! Today we celebrate artists and makers from around the world who are designing innovative and creative works using technology, science, electronics and more. You can start your own career as an artist today with Adafruit’s conductive paints, art-related electronics kits, LEDs, wearables, 3D printers and more! Make your most imaginative designs come to life with our helpful tutorials from the Adafruit Learning System. And don’t forget to check in every Art Tuesday for more artistic inspiration here on the Adafruit Blog!