This post is about easy pumpkin painting ideas.
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Painting pumpkins instead of carving pumpkins will save you time, stress, and a mess! There are tons of easy pumpkin painting ideas on this list.
Whether you are looking for pumpkin painting ideas for kids or adults, this list covers both of them! There are also several creative ideas that will impress everyone!
This post is about easy pumpkin painting ideas.
Pumpkin Painting Ideas For Kids

Under the Sea Pumpkin
Paint the entire pumpkin a deep blue. You could add some light blue for contrast. Add fish and seaweed to set the mood. You could even add a mermaid tail to complete the whole look!
Thumbprint Pumpkin
You can get creative with this one! Dip your thumb in paint and press on the pumpkin. You can do as many or as little as you would like. Turn the thumbprints into mini bugs, ghosts, or even leaves!
Superhero Pumpkin
If your child has a favorite superhero, this one is for them! You could paint it using one of the superhero's accent colors. Add in the hero's mask or use symbols that reflect Batman or Spiderman!
Ice Cream Cone Pumpkin
Paint the base of the pumpkin pink & the top white. You can add sprinkles to stay on theme for the dessert. If you want to go above and beyond add a brown top to make it look like an ice cream cone!
Bubblegum Machine Pumpkin
Paint the base of the pumpkin red to mimic the bottom of a gum ball machine. The top and middle of the pumpkin should be painted white. Let the white paint dry before you start on the gum balls. Paint tons of circles in a variety of colors to complete the look!
Tie-Dye Pumpkin
Blend bright paints in a spiral to mimic tie-dye. You'll want to stick with a color palette that blends well together to keep it seamless.
Animal Print Pumpkin
If your child is obsessed with one animal in particular, this is perfect! Think of animals like zebras, cheetahs, or giraffes! You could even trace these patterns out before painting to help avoid mistakes.
Outer Space Galaxy Pumpkin
Blend a dark purple, blue, and black for the base of the pumpkin. Adding some white specks are perfect to imitate stars. You could even add in some planets to really set the mood of space!
Pumpkin Painting Ideas For Adults

Retro Checkerboard Pumpkin
Paint a pumpkin in altering checkerboard squares. You can keep this one black and white, or you could incorporate some fun colors! This is a super trendy pattern that everyone will love!
Floral Pumpkin
You can keep the base of your pumpkin orange, or you could paint the bottom green to imitate grass. Add in florals all over the pumpkin. You can include a ton of colors on this one.
Champagne & Bubbles Pumpkin
Paint your pumpkin a white or creamy color to start off. Add in some metallic gold dots in varying sizes to mimic bubbles. You could add in a bottle of champagne or glasses of champagne. This is one of my favorite pumpkin painting ideas for adults.
Looking for something else?
Collage Pumpkin
Cut out some of your favorite quotes or pictures from magazines or photos. You can use mod podge to get these to stick onto your pumpkin. You can paint all around them, or make them a frame around each picture with the paint.
Letter Pumpkin
Paint a white envelope on the pumpkin to start. Add a real wax seal to complete the look. You could even add a mailbox if you want to go above and beyond!
X-Ray Pumpkin
Start off with painting your pumpkin completely black. Let it dry before you work on adding the white bones! You could add a skeleton face or whatever bones you want. This is a fun idea to stick with the Halloween theme.
Carnival Pumpkin
I love this idea! You'll want to paint the entire pumpkin with red and white stripes. Let the paint dry, and then you can start working on everything else! Add anything you want that sticks with the carnival theme!
Pumpkin Painting Ideas: Creative
Rubik's Cube Pumpkin
Section your pumpkin into squares and paint it to look like a jumbled rubik's cube. You could even make some of them the same color to show it's partially solved!
Disco Ball Pumpkin
Paint the pumpkin silver as the base. Glue on mirrored tiles or cut up silver paper for the sparkly part. This is such a creative pumpkin painting idea that everyone will be impressed by!
Puzzle Pumpkin
Paint puzzle pieces all over. Leave some "missing" revealing different patterns or messages beneath. This is a super fun design especially if you love puzzles!
Van Gogh Starry Night Pumpkin
Recreate the famous painting across your pumpkin! You could print out a picture of the painting to trace around your pumpkin before painting. It won't be perfect, but everyone will recognize this!
Shattered Glass Pumpkin
Paint your entire pumpkin black or deep purple. You could use small metallic foil or iridescent paper pieces to mimic the cracked glass. I haven't seen a lot of people paint a pumpkin this way, so you will absolutely have everyone intrigued.
Weather System Pumpkin
Divide the pumpkin into atmospheric layers. Make one section a rainy/stormy scene. The next one could be all sunshine and clear skies. Make the last two a fall scene and a winter scene.
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