Jack-o-Lanterns of the Archive
It doesn't matter whether the pumpkins are carved, painted, or both, they are a staple of Halloween.
I can't believe I finished this one on time. I knew for weeks that I wanted to do something for Halloween, but I've been incredibly busy. I started this around late September/early October, but I didn't finish it until today. Work held me up, but I'm not here to rant. I'm here to share my thoughts on the piece.
When I took my free time into account, I knew that I couldn't be too extravagant, so I thought "How can I include my characters in a Halloween theme that fits the aesthetic and makes sense?" and then it hit me: Jack-o-Lanterns. Growing up, Jack-o-Lanterns were a major part of Halloween for me; going to farms, picking a pumpkin and carving it, I loved it despite how time-consuming it was. Additionally, I remember my Mom entering pumpkin decorating contests and how she chose to decorate them with spray paint, googly eyes, and taped-on decorations instead of carving them. For this piece, I wanted to show my characters in pumpkin form; carved, painted, or a combination of the two.
The result of this was two larger pumpkins: one with the star, one with Kumo (both carved) and five other pumpkins for Lacertae, Leo, Cithera, Lylatt, and Gizmo all being decorated to match. Most of them are carved, but Lylatt is the only one to be fully painted, with a gem glued to her forehead and ears taped onto her head, without carving marks near the stem. It's a small detail, but I wonder if anyone noticed.
The last thing I have to say about this image was that I had to strike a balance between fall colors and recreating the feeling of Jack-o-lanterns glowing in a dark room. It was a hard balance to strike, especially since Lylatt and Lacertae are the darkest pumpkins of the group, but using Clip Studio's layer and gradient effects made it a lot easier. I had a brown layer that I lowered the opacity for and made an overlay to give off the effect I wanted.
With all that said, regardless of if gourds are part of your falltime merriment, I hope you enjoyed this piece, and I hope you have a happy Halloween!