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Veterinarian Carves Ordinary Pumpkin into a Lifelike “Dog O’ Lantern”

Dog Pumpkin Carving

With Halloween just around the corner, talented artists and crafters are again showing us that pumpkin carving is an art all its own. Many achieve incredible detail and transform these tough orange exteriors into unconventional sculptures—it's nothing short of impressive. Veterinarian Andy Manoloff has recently completed a “dog o’lantern” of his beloved Pomeranian, Sophie. Paired side-by-side, the pumpkin is a spitting image of the fuzzy pup.

Manoloff records his artistic process in a mesmerizing time lapse video. He started by drawing the portrait directly on the pumpkin from a reference photograph. Then, using an X-ACTO knife, he cut and extracted the largest shapes in his design. He didn’t slice all the way through the rind, however, and instead made some cuts that were deeper than others. When illuminated, the inner light permeates through the layers differently and gives the flattened image a three dimensional appearance.

Manoloff shared his finished dog pumpkin carving on Reddit, and it was received with flying colors. Impressed by the technique, one Redditor commented on just how alike the two look: “Somehow [the pumpkin] is more detailed and realistic than your actual dog.”

Andy Manoloff competed a realistic dog pumpkin carving of his Pomeranian, Sophie.

Dog Pumpkin Carving

After drawing Sophie on the pumpkin, Manoloff used an X-ACTO knife to extract the large shapes.

Dog Pumpkin Carving

He never cut through the rind, however, and varied the depth of his slicing. The result gives his work a three dimensional feel.

Dog Pumpkin Carving

Here's the finished result.

Dog Pumpkin Carving

Dog Pumpkin Carving

Watch the entire thing in this mesmerizing time lapse…

… and that's just what Manoloff has done this year. In the past, he's created pumpkin carvings of comic book characters.

Marvel Pumpkin Carving

Spiderman

Marvel Pumpkin Carving

Batman

Learn how through his Instructables page.

Marvel Pumpkin Carving

Captain America: Civil War

Marvel Pumpkin Carving

Rocket and Groot

Marvel Pumpkin Carving

Optimus Prime

Andy Manoloff: Reddit | Instructables | YouTube
h/t: [Reddit]

All images via Andy Manoloff.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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