© 2004 B. H. Giza

Pumpkin Faces With The GIMP

In this tutorial we are using GIMP for Windows version 2.0. The level of expertise required is (3 on a scale of 10: Some familiarity with the GIMP, its tools, and navigation). Because carving pumpkins require knives and other sharp tools, young children MUST NOT do the carving without adult supervision.

MATERIALS LIST:

  • Previously prepared pumpkin (top removed, and hollowed out)

  • Pumpkin carving tools

  • Safety pin or needle (for poking holes to create pattern)

  • Computer with the GIMP installed, and a printer, printer paper

  • An appropriate face (a scanned image or from a digital photograph). The simpler the image, the better. Images with strong light from one side work best. The more shadowy the image, the better.

  • A bit of tape (masking tape works well).

PROCEDURE

  1. Open the GIMP and Open a close up digital image of a person’s face - it is easier to work with if you have just the face (lasso tool ("Select Hand-Drawn Regions"): select around the face, near, but outside the edge.

  2. From the SELECT Menu, choose INVERT (This reverses, or inverts the portion of the image selected. Instead of selecting what was inside of our closed loop, we are now selecting everyting OUTSIDE our closed loop

  3. From the EDIT Menu, choose CLEAR (This removes the extraneous background). Next, we shall work on increasing our contrast, and turning the image into one that will be easy to trace onto our pumpkin.

  4. After removing the background we should turn off our selection by using the SELECT MENU SELECT: NONE
    This makes it possible for us to apply changes in contrast, etc. To the entire image.

  5. Using the TOOLS Menu, go to COLOR TOOLS and choose BRIGHTNESS-CONTRAST
    Then bring down the BRIGHTNESS about 20% and Increase the CONTRAST by about 80%

  6. Now is a great time to save your image (in this case, as head01a.jpg)
    Since we are saving this as a jpg, and shall continue work on it, we shall save it at 100% quality.

  7. Next, we shall reduce our image to sixteen colors. Choose the IMAGE: MODE menu and INDEXED (indexed colors)
    Set the palette number to 16 and the Dithering options to "No color Dithering"

  8. Our image has now been reduced to simple, flat areas of color. Try different numbers of colors to see if you get a better (simpler) face -- remember, we want to simplify it as much as possible for carving. Use EDIT: UNDO if you aren’t happy with a result, and try with a slightly different setting (number of colors).

  9. for example, this is what the sample face looks like when reduced to four colors
    IMAGE: MODE: INDEXED (four colors)

  10. Next, we shall return our image to RGB mode
    (this keeps our flattened colors, but returns us to the ability to use more tools, such as the image brightness and contrast tool).
    Our next steps are designed to simplify the image even further, down to black and white, and then we shall use the paint brush to connect any "floating" areas, so that we may carve the face, but keep the features connected to the edge.

  11. Now, using the TOOLS: COLOR TOOLS: BRIGHTNESS-CONTRAST dialogue, adjust the contrast to 100% and lower the contrast somewhat until you have a simplified face, but one that is still recognizable.
    We shall turn it into a black and white image next (turning the red areas into white), and paint links to floating areas.

  12. Once again using the IMAGE: MODE: INDEXED command sequence, we shall adjust our image to simple black and white.

    The tricky part comes next: painting with black, and connecting the floating regions (such as the eyes in this image).

  13. Here we are painting in the eyes and some bits of the cheek and beard to ensure some nice areas for cutting (we shall cut away the black portions).
    The black will become holes in the pumpkin, and the white is pumpkin crust.

  14. Now we shall return our image to RGB mode. This enables us to use a greater variety of tools
    it is also a good time to save our image (in this case as head01b.jpg, once again at 100% quality).

    For our next set of transformations, we shall simplify our image down to a line drawing and prepare it for printing.

  15. Using FILTERS: EDGE-DETECT: EDGE we can convert the image to a line drawing (you may want to play with variations in parameter settings until you get a good tracing).

    Try different settings and use EDIT UNDO if necessary

  16. In our near-final step, we shall turn our white-on-black image into a black-on-white one using the LAYER: COLORS: INVERT command sequence

  17. Finally, Print your image and tape it firmly onto your pumpkin.

    Using the needle or safety pin, poke tiny holes a millimeter or so apart along your lines, piercing through the paper (and your pumpkin).

    Now, connect the dots with a thin sharp knife (or pumpkin carving tool).

    If you put a candle (or other light source) in your pumpkin, you will thrill the neighborhood with your macabre gourd!

  18. A view of the FILE: PRINT Dialogue

This Tutorial is available as a print-friendly PDF-format file

This page and the images linked to it are copyright Brian H. Giza 2004. Please do not sell the content, and if you distribute it, just give me credit and a link back to this site, OK?

Back to Dr. Giza's UTEP Home Page.

Back to Dr. Giza's EducationTechnologies Home Page.