There's no one right way to draw a pumpkin. Here are 12 ways artists on Magma drew theirs, from garden pumpkins to glowing jack-o'-lanterns, and how you can learn from them.
In "Pumpkin!", a public Art Jam on Magma that 32 artists joined, everyone drew pumpkins on one shared canvas. Some are plain orange pumpkins, some are pencil outlines, some are glowing painted jack-o'-lanterns, one is an angry pumpkin wrapped in flames, and a few grew arms and became characters. The whole canvas was posted as one piece (#141).
Open the Art JamLook at a real pumpkin and paint what you see: the ribs, the light on them and the shadows in the grooves. No face needed.
The round pumpkin (#122) is painted rib by rib: each one is lighter orange down the middle and darker where it meets the next. That's what makes it look round, with no outline at all.
The small ribbed pumpkin (#97) sits next to a blue vase of white flowers on the same softly lit table. The blue makes the orange look even brighter.
Carve it and light it. The face or picture is the brightest part, and everything around it can stay dark.
Instead of eyes and a mouth, the pumpkin (#134) has a bird with spread wings carved into it, glowing pale yellow. Three candles around it light the pumpkin's sides.
The jack-o'-lantern head (#133) is almost all dark brown and red. Only the star eyes and the grin are bright orange, so they're the first thing you see.
Round shapes, a simple face, bright colors. A cute pumpkin is mostly about the eyes and the smile.
The cartoon pumpkin (#143) is a plain orange shape with a curly green stem. Two small yellow eyes, rosy cheeks and a gap-toothed smile are all it needs.
The four little pumpkins (#92) are the same drawing in green, pink, blue and orange, each with big round eyes and a tiny mouth.
Quick doodles, flat shapes and playful characters. These are the drawings people make in Art Jams, next to each other.
The geometric pumpkin (#139) is made of angled flat patches in a few oranges and yellows, with no curves at all. It was drawn in a color palette jam, using the jam's four oranges and yellows.
#139
#141The fastest way to get better at pumpkins is to draw them next to other people. 2 of the 12 drawings on this page were made in Art Jams: shared canvases where everyone draws at the same time.
Join a pumpkin or Halloween jam, watch how others handle ribs, stems and glowing faces, and ask them how they did it. Or host your own like "Pumpkin!": share the link, and see how many kinds of pumpkin end up on one canvas.
No pumpkin jam is live at the moment. Browse the open Art Jams, or start your own and share the link.
The basic shapes behind a pumpkin. Once they're down, pick a way from above and make it yours.
Counts from Magma's public Art Jams, September 2026.
Open a free canvas in your browser. Nothing to install, and it works on Chromebooks too. Post it when you're done, and it could end up on this page.
Draw a pumpkin nowThere's no single right way. Start with simple shapes (a wide oval, a narrow front rib with curved ribs on each side, a dip at the top and a short thick stem), then pick a style: painted, a jack-o'-lantern, cute or a quick doodle. The easiest way to improve is to draw alongside others in a pumpkin Art Jam and see how they do it.
Draw the eyes, nose and mouth on the front of the pumpkin: triangles and a zigzag grin are the classic look, but stars or a whole picture work too. Color the carved parts bright yellow and keep the rest darker so they glow.
Make it round and chubby with a small curly stem, then add big simple eyes, rosy cheeks and a small smile. You can even change the color, like the four little pumpkins on this page.
Draw it on Magma and post it to your public feed. We pick drawings for this page from public posts, and every one is credited to its artist.
Draw your pumpkin now
Draw a pumpkin now
