The picture we ended up with in the last post could, in fact, be used as a template. With a little more simplification, however, we will make the task of transferring it to the pumpkin or T-shirt that much easier. To begin with, we could get rid of the white around the image as it is no longer needed.

To do this we take the lasso tool and click through the black surrounding the face until we have circled the entire face. Now, go to Selections in the menu and click on Invert. This changes the selection so that only the outer part of the image is selected. It is an easy matter now to take the fill tool and fill the selection with black - just a click will do it.

We now have a template of the original picture. But if we can change the colors around so that the black is white and vice versa, transferring the image to the final surface will be a lot easier. Go to Colors in the menu and choose Negative Image. Suddenly we are presented with a negative of our template and the holes to be cut are in black. It is harder to see the face, but easier to envisage the holes now that they are black.

All that remains to be done is to print out the file, attach it to the pumpkin and start pricking through around the edges of the shapes to give a guideline for the cutting out. I am assuming that you already know how to carve a pumpkin - it is hardly rocket science, after all. For a design as complex as the one we are attempting, it is best to buy a set of pumpkin carving tools; they are very cheap but so much better than a kitchen knife for cutting fine detail.

Once the carving is done, all that remains is to place a lantern inside the pumpkin, turn off the lights and marvel at your creation!

In the last post, we ended up with a simplified black and white photograph still too complex to form a template. Now the task becomes more difficult - we are going to select certain areas to cut out and paste into a blank new image file. And selecting them is the hardest task confronting us - it requires good mouse control (if you have a graphics tablet you may now laugh) and patience.

Amongst all the icons for tools there is one that looks like a lasso - click on it and then right-click. This will bring up a list of options with Toolbars near the bottom. Click on this and a little window will pop up with options applicable to the lasso tool. Under Selection type, choose Point to Point. When you move the cursor back over the photo, it will change to a crosshair and we’re ready to start selecting.

Choose a large area to begin outlining - about three or four main ones will do as we will join them together again later. For instance, I outlined the left side of Herman’s face and his hair to begin with. Outlining is done by clicking where you want to start to cut a piece out, following the edge of the area, clicking each time you change direction (this anchors the line in that spot and allows you to draw the next section). Simplify shapes as you go - there is no need to follow every hair and wrinkle. Outline the entire shape to be cut out and, when you reach your start point again, right-click. PSP will join the lines for you to complete the outline.

Copy the selection to the pasteboard (Ctrl + C) and paste it into a new file by choosing Edit in the menu, then Paste and Paste as New Selection. Move the pasted shape to the correct position, allowing plenty of room for later selections to be positioned. Looks a bit scruffy, doesn’t it? Bits of white have been selected as well as the black, that’s the problem. Fill the whole shape with black by using the fill tool (the bucket icon in the toolbar).

Then repeat the process with the remaining segments of the photograph. With Herman, I cut out the right side of his face next and then a weird shape around his eyes and nose, finally adding the eyes themselves and his mouth as separate small selections.

Now we need to make sure that pieces aren’t going to fall out when cut and that means connecting everything around the holes we are going to carve (the white pieces will be the holes). The mouth, for instance, is floating out there without visible means of support. Go to Layers in the menu and choose Merge, Merge All. This is so that we can draw on all areas of the picture. Now select the pencil tool and draw lines to connect those pieces that are unsupported, using the natural lines and shadows in the original photo as your guide to where they would most naturally be.

You should now have the makings of a very effective template. There are a few more steps yet but I will leave those until the next post.

I was going to make a few templates for carving pumpkins, painting on T-shirts and so on, when I thought: There are lots of sites out there with templates - why not show people how to make them? Carving pumpkins may be very crafty but surely doing everything from scratch has to be even better?

So that’s what I’m going to attempt. Understand, this isn’t for everyone; you’re going to need a good basic knowledge of computers and a good graphics application like PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro (PSP). But you have the computer already or you wouldn’t be reading this - why not use it as the marvellous craft tool that it is?

Let’s begin by choosing a photograph. I selected a photo of Herman Munster as being suitably seasonal but you can use any full face picture, even one of yourself or a friend. Herman is particularly suitable, however, as his face is composed of very strong lines and shapes.

Open the photo file in your graphics package. I use PSP and trial versions of it can be downloaded from the net, so I’ll explain the steps from its point of view. They will be similar to Photoshop’s, however, and any differences will give you an excuse to learn how it does things (Help files are wonderful things if you use the Index). If the photograph is in color, go to Colors in the menu and select Grey Scale. This changes it to a black and white picture.

Now we need to simplify the outlines and this is easily done by choosing Colors again in the menu. Now select Adjust, followed by Brightness/Contrast. Make sure the Brightness is set to zero (so it will not change) and move the Contrast scale to its maximum, 100%. Click on OK and the picture will change to pure black and white with no shading.

We now have a photograph cut down to its essentials but it’s going to need more simplification before it can be used as a template. This is where the real skill and craft come in and I’m going to leave it for the next post, while you and I take a breather. If you really can’t wait, I should tell you that there are a number of ways to proceed from here so you could have a go at finding one of them. Remember, most good graphics programs have unlimited Undo these days, so you can always click back through changes if you make a mess.