Sketchbook Journey: Pumpkins in a Bottle

Sometimes a sketch starts with a clear idea, and sometimes I just start drawing and see what decides to show up.

This time, apparently, it was a whole collection of strange little pumpkins trapped inside a bottle.

Halloween isn’t too far away now, so those darker, weirder seasonal ideas have naturally started creeping back into my sketchbook. I’ve already begun working on artwork specifically for the Halloween season, including some new website banners, but I’ll save those for another day.

For this sketch, I wanted to keep things loose and let the shapes develop without worrying too much about where the final design was going. One pumpkin turned into another, then another, until the bottle became this crowded little collection of goofy, creepy creatures all fighting for space.

I especially like the different personalities that started appearing throughout the drawing. Some look confused, some mischievous, and a few look like they probably shouldn’t be allowed out of that jar.

That unpredictability is one of my favorite parts of sketching. There doesn’t always need to be a finished T-shirt or product waiting at the end. Sometimes an idea is worth exploring simply because it’s fun to draw.

Of course, this one definitely has potential.

Maybe it becomes a T-shirt. Maybe it evolves into something completely different. Or maybe these little monsters stay trapped inside their bottle for a while longer.

Either way, Halloween is slowly approaching, more seasonal artwork is already underway, and there are plenty of ideas left to explore.

The journey continues one sketch at a time.

And as always…

Let’s keep going.