Let’s just start with this disclaimer: I’m sorry, but 95% of you are going to have absolutely no clue what this is even supposed to be.

That being said, it’s a Hurogok, colloquially known as an Engineer, from the Halo universe. Think of them basically as floating snake-turtles. With tentacles.

Anyway, I’ve entered my creation in an annual Halo pumpkin carving contest, and would much appreciate any votes you just happen to have lying around. (You can actually vote for up to five of your favorites, so you don’t even have to ignore the ones that are better than this!)

The Process

Also, for those of you who care, here’s a quick tour of the creation process.

1. I started with a specially-drawn, inverted, two-tone illustration for the pattern. (The black areas will actually be the lightest, as they represent complete cut-throughs.)
2. For the “darker, but still lit” areas, I just cut the skin off. The light will make it through just fine, and it doesn’t compromise the structural integrity of the pumpkin.
3. Then on the second pass, I can cut all the way through to create the highlights.
4. And finally the magic of a Maglite allows for a glowification test run.

Anyway, go vote!