Sometimes I like to take a step back from UX design and do graphic illustration work. Lately I’ve been enjoying Gravity Falls, a TV show with A+ storytelling that engages the audience by hiding codes hidden in each episode. So with Halloween approaching, I’ve created free jack-o-lantern stencils for one of the show’s most iconic characters, Bill Cipher. I’ve got a few options for Bill, so get ready for a rundown after the break.
Bill’s detailed eyelashes and brick lines can make carving tricky. I wanted to design stencils all ages could carve, so there are 2 options. One is simple and will make it easier to maintain pumpkin stability while carving. The other is more involved and is best done with small, narrow cutting tools, patience and a steady hand.
Now, let’s talk about Bill’s wheel. It’s nearly impossible to cut out the detailed 10 symbols, wheel and Bill together on an average-sized pumpkin without it collapsing inward. So I created separate stencils for each of the 10 symbols. The more adventurous can shrink these down and try to squeeze them onto the same pumpkin with Bill…or the less carving-adept of you can carve them separately into smaller pumpkins and find a way to arrange them in a circular fashion around Bill’s pumpkin.
How to carve with the patterns:
- Print them out (you can resize in your own image editing app, if you’d like) and attach to your pumpkin with tape or pins.
- Use a pumpkin punch tool to punch tiny holes through the paper along the lines of the pattern, at small intervals. This creates a dotted outline of the pattern on your pumpkin. The gray areas are what will be cut out of the pumpkin.
- Once transferred, remove the pattern and use a regular carving tool to cut out along these dotted lines.
Click on each of the images below to print/download the full size pattern images.
And the obligatory legalese: All characters from Gravity Falls are copyright © Disney, All Rights Reserved – I’m just doing this for fun!
