Here was the process of making this jack o' lantern:

1. Using a punch, I punched small dots to outline the pattern. Since this pattern was kind of complex, I used a thin micron pen instead of a pencil to redraw the lines; pencil would have worn off too easily, bigger markers would have left visible lines after cutting. My drawing shows a slightly different skull...after I thought on it for a while, I decided the direct profile would be more effective than a 3/4 view, so I just photoshopped a skull photo in on the printout I used for the pattern. Thanks, Google Images!

The first pic is about three hours in, using an Exacto knife to start carving the details out. Carving the surface details before carving the holes gives more support.

2. Now I outlined the line to cut for the lid, normal making of the lid and scooping goo. Starting from the smallest hole, I cut out each hole piece by piece. After cutting out a few holes, I'd go back in with the Exacto again and make the details more rounded and contoured.

Another three hours.

3. Everything's finally trimmed out and the edges are contoured. I also added some thin lines to the cape and hollowed out both the cat's eye and the smilodon skull's eye socket.

A little over three hours, probably this whole process totaled about ten hours.

4. Let there be FIRE.

P.S. A good tip on doing carved pumpkins is to coat all cut surfaces with a thick layer of petroleum jelly. This way it shuts out the microbes and mold better, and also keeps it from drying out. Hopefully this will actually last until Halloween. :D