Face pumpkin stencil

What makes a face read

Cut the pupils, the opening of the mouth, and the darkest part of the nostrils. Shave under the cheekbones, along the nose, and in the hair if the hair is mid-toned. Keep the forehead, the bridge of the nose, and a rim around the whole head so the portrait is still a pumpkin and not a mask with no support.

Front light or soft window light is easier than a dramatic half-shadow. A face split into a black half and a white half carves as a silhouette, which can be handsome, but it will not look like a photograph. If that is what you want, push the threshold until the shadow side is one clean shape.

Glasses, beards, and hair

Glasses work when the frames are thick. Thin wire frames disappear in the speck filter, which is a mercy. Shade the lenses as shave only if they are visibly darker than the skin. Otherwise leave them out and carve the eyes.

Beards should be a gray mass with a cut mouth inside, not a thousand curls. Hair that touches the shoulders needs a clear outer edge. Long hair can form a frame of kept or shaved skin around the face. That frame is doing structural work. Do not saw it into strips.

Children's faces have soft contrast. Lower detail and accept a simpler stencil. A toddler's smile and eyes are enough.

Transfer without stretching the likeness

Print at 100%. A face that is squashed by Fit to page will not look like the person even if every line is perfect. Tape the stencil flat. Pumpkins curve, so the cheeks of the photo will sit on a curve. That is normal. Keep the eyes on the flattest part of the face of the pumpkin, not around the side.