Painting Pumpkins
Supplies & Sketches
First things first, you'll need a pumpkin (real or plastic, either works fine), a couple of decent paint brushes, and some acrylic paints. I like to mix my paints on small plastic trays saved from the recycling bin but a white paper plate works fine too.
Before diving in, I suggest sketching out a few ideas and settling on a basic plan and color palette. If you're new to painting, limiting your palette to three or four colors keeps the process simple and helps to create a unified pumpkin design.
I used Golden Acrylic Paints (do not use the slow drying paints unless you want a longer drying time).
Getting Started
I used a plastic pumpkin from Target and gave it a good cleaning to get rid of any dust or debris. Using my largest paintbrush, I coated my pumpkin in a creamy off-white paint. It complemented the orange of the pumpkin and created a warm base color.
Apply a base coat to your pumpkin.
The first coat might look a bit patchy. After the paint dries, I went over it with a second coat to even out the color.
Once the base is dry, it's time to let your creativity shine. I started off by painting my largest shapes— spiders and leaves. Add your chosen designs with a small paint brush. Remember to give each layer of paint ample time to dry before adding another color on top of it, this keeps your colors vibrant and prevents them from mixing unintentionally.
Start adding basic details to the pumpkin. Don’t worry about mistakes! You can always paint over them.
As the paint dries, add more layers of paint on top. Dots are always a nice, easy touch!
Once the paint was FULLY dry, I used a fine-tipped gold marker to add the finishing details, spider webs, to the pumpkin. You can find the markers at art supply and craft stores.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Reach out to me on Instagram at @meglinkdesign if you have any questions. Happy Pumpkin Painting!
This pumpkin is ready for Halloween!