Painting pumpkins is not a difficult job, with some basic shades of acrylic paints you can make cool looking painted pumpkins. However, certain tips can help you do a better job at painting and preserving the pumpkin Halloween craft. And with Halloween coming near, painting pumpkins for Halloween to decorate the outdoors or indoors can be very fun. Here are steps on painting the pumpkins, and additional tips that will help you do a better paint job and preserve the pumpkins for longer. How to Paint a Pumpkin? Selecting Pumpkins First comes selection of the pumpkins. So, what size of pumpkins should you buy? Small-sized pumpkins are good, also they are cheap, easier to paint on, the painting takes little time and they keep in shape for longer. Also, they are cute to perch on a desk or a shelf. So, pick small, firm and sound pumpkins which have no gashes or blemishes on them. If you are going to pick pumpkins from a patch, then cut the vine of the pumpkin with two to three inches of vine remaining on the stem. This helps to keep them fresh for longer. Supplies Once you have the pumpkins get all the stuff you require. You will need alcohol, you will need cotton swab, acrylic paints, paintbrushes, a dish to pour colors, a bowl of clean water some rags or paper towels, sheets of paper, pencil and some patterns in case you don't want to draw freehand drawing. Preparing Pumpkins Once you have gathered all the supplies and acrylic painting shades, it is time to prepare the pumpkins for painting. Before, painting take a paper towel and wet it with rubbing alcohol, and then apply it to the pumpkin surface. However, make sure you don't let the alcohol touch the blossom-end, which is the very bottom of the pumpkin. Then use a dry cloth and wipe it again. Drawing Sample Drawings Now, decide what it is that you wish to paint on the pumpkin. If you are not good at painting, or drawing then don't worry, as you can use some simple and fun looking patterns. You can use bats, stars, skulls, cats, ghosts, skulls, leaves or some other interesting patterns. If you don't wish to use patterns but want to draw something interesting freehand on the pumpkin, then on a sheet of paper draw a sample drawing before replicating it onto the pumpkin. Scary faces are very popular as well. However, you can also draw smiling faces or other ideas like polka dots, evil skull drawings, cats, a night scene, or drawing trees in black and white can be done. Painting After you have decided on the ideas for painting pumpkin faces or patterns, it is time to start painting. If you want to use the original orangish shade of pumpkins as a base, then you can start directly painting the idea. However, if you need a base color, then first paint the base color on the pumpkin surface in two to three coats, and let it dry before painting the next layer. Then use stencils and place them on pumpkins to paint patterns. Take care not to use very watery paint, otherwise it will trickle down and make the pumpkin look non-appealing. This way repeat the patterns till you are satisfied with the results. If you wish to paint faces, then first draw the eyes, with two black rings, paint white in them and then draw the irises. Then use a simple oval or triangle for nose, and then paint the lips in a frown, scowl, smile, etc. Then draw eyebrows and your painted pumpkin face for Halloween is ready! Finally once you are done with painting the pumpkins, spray paint a sealer onto the pumpkin surface. This will ensure that the pumpkins last longer. If you are keeping your pumpkins outdoors then at nighttime get them indoors, to protect them from freezing.