And the winner of the Pumpkin Carving Contest is ...
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Oct 31st 2009 at 3:50PM }
It was a hard fought battle with 120 contenders, but the grand prize winner of Joystiq's Annual-ish Pumpkin Carving Contest 2009 is ... Antonio F.! His conceptualization of the Worgen starting zone from the upcoming WoW: Cataclysm expansion is one of the most impressive gourd-based works of art we've ever seen. We imagine you guys feel the same way -- this pumpkin placed first in the poll by a huge margin, garnering 3,303 votes!
The first prize winner, with 2,309 votes, is Dennis C.'s equally well-rendered rendition of the Borderlands box art, which we've posted after the jump. Congratulations, you two -- and a heartfelt thanks to everyone who took the time to send in their lovingly crafted Jack O' Masterpieces! We'll be emailing the winners shortly to inform them about receiving their bounty; for the rest of you, have an unbelievably happy Halloween!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kadamon @ Oct 31st 2009 3:55PM
I abstained from voting personally because the rules were not as precise for the inking of the pumpkins, though both of those are still truel wicked. (They were my bets for first and second too)
Where did DSG come in? Joystiq readers want to know.
Richard 2.6 @ Oct 31st 2009 4:01PM
She was at a solid third when I voted yesterday evening.
Brysonial the Bison @ Nov 1st 2009 2:29PM
WOW! To me the winner should have forsure been the borderlands pumkin. The fact that it was completely carved and looked amazing is what got me to vote for it. This pumpkin was good but it was way to inked up!
BIGGEN (LIVE-PSN: BIGGEN1103) @ Nov 1st 2009 7:17PM
i, too, thought the inking was BS. cheaters always win. BOO!
Brendan H @ Nov 1st 2009 9:41PM
The Borderlands pumpkin, while nice, has some issues with the anatomy of the character, notably with the arms. His left forearm is disproportionately puny and his right arm is too short and is folded strangely (since the box cover cuts off at the wrist, the pumpkin carver tried to fill in the rest of the arm, but lacks the artistic ability to properly recreate the arm realistically).
Also, the grand prize winner was (to my knowledge) a completely original design. The Borderlands pumpkin was just a copy of someone else's artwork. While it does require skill to effectively translate/copy a design into a pumpkin carving, originality and artistic ability should, and did, get the edge.
Not trying to piss all over the Borderlands pumpkin, but I thought it was worth pointing out why it was rightfully not given the grand prize.
Brendan H @ Nov 1st 2009 9:46PM
Also, I originally thought the inking was a bit too much, but when you look closely (at the lighted image on the left), you'll see there still is a lot of carving done. The ink just adds more depth to the composition.
BIGGEN (LIVE-PSN: BIGGEN1103) @ Nov 1st 2009 11:05PM
@Brendan
nope, not an original design:
http://www.gamingangels.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/worgen_sm_art.jpg
THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Nov 2nd 2009 5:21PM
Both were nice. Preferred the Borderlands due to carving. Great job everyone! The pumpkins were awesome!
UhMilhouse @ Oct 31st 2009 3:55PM
Dead Space girl should've won.
WiiFTW @ Oct 31st 2009 3:57PM
DSG! DSG! DSG!
Marius @ Oct 31st 2009 4:10PM
damn right
smcn @ Oct 31st 2009 4:13PM
This is bad news... for Dead Space Girl.
bongoes Sector 2814 @ Oct 31st 2009 5:14PM
WHY DID SHE NOT WIN?!?!?
Sly @ Oct 31st 2009 5:25PM
i bet she's screaming right now.
Markez @ Oct 31st 2009 5:27PM
Maybe she just settled down with a good book instead, eh Sly? Ever think of that? Get a good little read in, ehhmmmm?
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 31st 2009 5:34PM
Reading? Does reading the walls of text in Left 4 Dead count?
Sly @ Oct 31st 2009 5:59PM
if by "settled down", you mean "screamed at" and if by "with a good book", you meant "everyone who didn't vote for her", then i agree 100%.
Zoot Suit Jedi @ Oct 31st 2009 8:45PM
Though my love for DSG is well known, I believe that those whom should have won were chosen.
That said, any chance I can get that DSG pumkin? I have some...*ahem*...plans for her.
DamonTheMoney @ Oct 31st 2009 4:03PM
Though I was looking forward to see how Dead Space Girl would do, these guys are the winners hands down. Just look at how much time, effort and talent has gone into these carvings
Congratulations Antonio F and Dennis C! You guys definitely deserve it.
CH3BURASHKA @ Oct 31st 2009 4:04PM
You're all off your fucking rockers. Pumpkeena was the true winner in my heart due to the beautifully done SotC-esque art and texture, with a tiny Wander for good measure.
Markez @ Oct 31st 2009 4:04PM
Can I get an official pronouncement that I came in last? I really wanted that guaranteed lifelong blindness / Virtual Boy 'appeasement' prize I'd heard about...
WiredKnight: Keeper of Threads @ Oct 31st 2009 5:37PM
I thought yours was like ninth. Even if you were tenth, it's still tenth out of 140, which is pretty good yeah?
NitroMikeo @ Oct 31st 2009 4:04PM
2 first prize winners?
NinjaJesus @ Oct 31st 2009 4:09PM
No. 1 Grand prize and 1 first prize.
AvA (ice~) @ Oct 31st 2009 4:04PM
wow my friend made that one lmfao.
i still think DSG should have won. oh well
Spartan [Planeteer | Power of Sunshine & Lollipops] @ Oct 31st 2009 4:06PM
That's pretty damned good work.
Artist be proud!
James @ Oct 31st 2009 4:12PM
Inking is cheating.
Snap Count @ Oct 31st 2009 4:49PM
Yeah it's kinda Like blood doping in the olympics...
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 31st 2009 4:58PM
no it's nothing like that, because that shit is illegal, it's not cheating if it's allowed.
ChuckBartowski @ Oct 31st 2009 5:10PM
THANK YOU!
Enosoma @ Nov 1st 2009 12:28PM
I agree. I thought this was a carving contest. I could just as easily carve a square into a pumpkin, and draw an awesome picture on it. Granted, that's not what the winner did... but inking was the reason the pumpkin didn't get my vote.
MRLN (The Comment God) @ Oct 31st 2009 4:22PM
I kinda liked the Borderlands one better, it had more carving and less drawing.
But meh, they're all infinitely better than I can do.
MyLittlePwny @ Oct 31st 2009 4:43PM
Thats not carving, thats drawing.
WiredKnight: Keeper of Threads @ Oct 31st 2009 5:38PM
...you mean it's both, right? I'm pretty sure it's more than just a drawing on a pumpkin.
Freedom Town @ Nov 2nd 2009 10:14AM
wait wait...he carved a hole for the sun!!
Dustin @ Oct 31st 2009 4:43PM
Thought it was a carving contest, not drawing. oh well. Congrats! Pretty much all the entries were great!
philmcphail @ Oct 31st 2009 4:45PM
Damn, I had such skill...
Beagles @ Oct 31st 2009 4:49PM
Jeez, I voted for this one, but I wouldnt have if I knew it was inked.
Inking is pretty lame.
Ark Angel @ Oct 31st 2009 5:15PM
So basically what your saying is that you didn't bother to look at what you were voting for?
Beagles @ Oct 31st 2009 8:05PM
Pretty much. I took a quick glance through the finalists and voted for the one that I liked the most without realizing it was a drawing. The "background" is also the same colour Id expect a candle to emit from the inside.
I dont think it's unreasonable to assume that a "pumpkin carving" contest would only involve pumpkin carvings.
sonicspike41 @ Oct 31st 2009 9:09PM
It was carved... the entire background is carved, while the foreground is uncarved, and "inked" for shadows. The only parts with ink are the darker shadow areas, all the rest is pure pumpkin carving (or in the case of some areas, pure non-carving).
Reuben @ Oct 31st 2009 4:52PM
I voted for the Katamari pumpkin. Honestly, they were all fantastic, but I felt that The King of All Cosmos had gone above and beyond the call of duty.
Bitsy @ Oct 31st 2009 5:18PM
Just wanted to say thanks. I really appreciate it!
Reuben @ Oct 31st 2009 7:01PM
No, no, thank you!
Ark Angel @ Oct 31st 2009 4:53PM
All the people complaining that it was inking and not carving. I challenge you do something better than or equal to that. Yes there's some ink on the pumpkin, but there's also subtle carving to make it stand out. I doubt any of the people that are complaining could do anything remotely resembling the winners. Art is art.
ChuckBartowski @ Oct 31st 2009 5:12PM
were not saying we could do better, were saying other people who entered did better without it.
Ark Angel @ Oct 31st 2009 5:14PM
I disagree... Obviously the votes showed for themselves.
Markez @ Oct 31st 2009 5:16PM
Simply for the sake of argument, I'll point out that it wasn't a pumpkin art contest, it was a pumpkin carving contest. Personal preference, I'll also point out that I think WoW is remarkably lame so I'm amazed it won by such a margin or if the ballot box was spammed. Also, my opinions are lame so who cares anyway.
The grand prize winner did a remarkably awesome job, regardless. It does have plenty of carving as well, so I suppose it's more of a combo platter. At this point I'm more curious as to what 10 games that powers that be will choose to bestow upon the winners.
WiredKnight: Keeper of Threads @ Oct 31st 2009 5:42PM
@markez
lol at your second reason.
I'm guessing they'll get 10 copies of Battletoads.
Ark Angel @ Oct 31st 2009 5:51PM
Hey Battletoads was an awesome game.