The Process

A little run through of the process I use to carve my pumpkins. It's pretty simple really;
Start with an idea and sketch it out. It doesn't need to be fully detailed or even complete in the sketch, just get the basics.
Get your tools ready, I use quite a few. To start, you need a Sharpie or any kind of marker really. Any kind of scooping tool for the innards of the pumpkin. A large knife for cutting the top. A precision blade. A Dremel, or similar tool. Make sure you have a few different types of tips for the Dremel, one tip doesn't do all the work. A scrapping tool for the skin of the pumpkin; these can be bought in most Halloween stores now. And finally some tweezers to get those little pieces you just cant grab.
Redraw your design on your pumpkin, again the details aren't really needed unless you feel like it. I add most of mine on a second pass of the transfer.
If you want the lines to appear like this pumpkin's, use the precision knife to trace both sides of each line. Make them as thick as you want.
Use the scrapper to remove major areas of the skin and the precision knife to get the more delicate areas like eyelashes and such.
The Dremel is used to get deeper into the pumpkin to add different tones in small areas like the eyes and teeth. The deeper you go the brighter it gets. A good way to get the proper tones is to turn off surrounding lights and light up only the inside of your pumpkin. Use this trick to find flaws or details you might have missed, and trim up any areas you see fit while your at it. What you see at this point is what everyone sees.

=BE CAREFUL OF MISTAKES=
Remember, once you've made a mistake it's there to stay. Sometimes they can be fixed or can't be noticed so don't stress yourself out if you make one. Accident's do happen.

Well I hope my little tutorial can help some of you out. Now go out there and impress yourself with an awesome carving! And while you're at it, send me a picture of it. I love seeing all sorts of different ideas put on pumpkins.

Have fun. Be safe. And Happy Halloween.