DINOSAUR PUMPKINS
Dinosaur pumpkin carving ideas and free stencils
Dinosaurs are easy to recognize from their outline alone, which makes them good pumpkin silhouettes. A big-headed T. rex, a long-necked plant eater, or a stegosaurus with plates on its back all read clearly when the whole shape is cut out to glow. Pick one species with a distinct shape and leave out the small details.
Free stencils to print
Each one prints at actual size on Letter or A4 and passed our carving checks, so every piece stays attached. Black areas are cut away and glow.
Ideas
Roaring T. rex head
Draw a T. rex head facing sideways with its jaw open wide. Cut the open mouth so it glows, and leave the teeth as triangles of pumpkin hanging down from the top jaw and up from the bottom one. Cut a small eye under a heavy brow.
Long-neck silhouette
Draw a long-necked dinosaur walking across the pumpkin, with its neck curving up toward the stem. Cut the whole body out so it glows. Keep the neck at least two fingers wide so it still reads as a neck when lit.
Stegosaurus plates
Cut the body of a stegosaurus as one shape and its back plates as separate openings above it, with a strip of pumpkin between each plate and the body. The plates glow as a row of separate shapes, which is what makes it readable.
Triceratops face
Carve a front view: a wide frill around the top, two long horns above the eyes, and a short horn on the nose. Cut the eyes and the gaps around the horns so the horns stay as pumpkin.
Dinosaur eating the pumpkin
Cut a large mouth opening that wraps around one side, with teeth along both edges, so the pumpkin itself looks like it is being bitten. Kids tend to like this one, and it uses just one big cut.
Hatching egg
Draw a zigzag crack across the middle of the pumpkin and a small dinosaur head poking out of it. Cut the crack and the eyes to glow. The rest of the pumpkin plays the egg.
Fossil skeleton
Etch a dinosaur skeleton across the side, then cut only the eye socket and the gaps between the largest ribs. It glows like a museum fossil lit from behind.
Footprint trail
Drill or cut three-toed footprints walking around the pumpkin from the bottom to the top. It is simple enough for a small pumpkin and a young carver's design.
Carving tips
- Pick the angle that shows the species best: side view for long necks and back plates, front view for horns and frills.
- Short T. rex arms are thin by nature. Draw them thicker than life, or leave them off. The head and tail carry the shape.
- Teeth that you keep as pumpkin need wide bases. Draw fewer, bigger teeth than a real skull would have.
- Separate plates, spikes and horns from the body with a strip of pumpkin at least a finger wide, or they merge into one hole.
- Let kids pick the dinosaur and draw the footprints, and leave the cutting to an adult.
More help: Pumpkin carving with kids.
Carve something that's yours
CarveKin also makes a pattern from your own photo: your dog, your cat, your kid. We draw a few designs, repair them so every piece stays attached, and you print the one you like at the size you choose. One pattern is $4.99.
Make a pattern from your photo
More pumpkin carving ideas
Stencils were drawn from AI-made sample images and illustrations. Glowing views are digital previews, not photos of carved pumpkins.