Bring some Monsters Inc. into your Halloween with a Mike Wazowski pumpkin! follow these easy instructions and make the cutest Disney Pixar painted pumpkin around!

This weekend my kids and I had a blast painting pumpkins for the first time ever. I made a no-carve Monsters Inc pumpkin while my youngest tried his hand at painting his favorite, Lightning McQueen from Cars 3!

My Mike Wazowski Pumpkin

We love Monsters Inc. and Monsters University! We recently watched both movies and thought the characters would be perfect for some of our Halloween preparations.

I considered doing a carving with one of our many Disney pumpkin stencils, but in the end, I thought a Pixar or Disney painted pumpkin would be a new and different Halloween craft idea to try!

After all that thinking (and a family visit to the pumpkin patch), I settled on making a Mike Wazowski pumpkin to show my adoration for both of the movies.

While I think I like Monsters Inc. just a bit better than the prequel, I honestly love both of those Disney Pixar movies so much.

About Mike Wazowski

Mike Wazowski is one of the main characters in Disney･Pixar’s Monsters Inc. and the main character of the prequel, Monsters University. he’s a round, green monster with one large green eye and a big, toothy smile.

Best friend to Sully, Mike is known to be funny, smart, sarcastic and brave. He’s known for the song Put That Thing Back Where it Came From, Or So Help Me!, which has also become a funny meme.

About painting pumpkins

This year I’ve decided to change things up by painting pumpkins instead of carving them. It’s just a new and different way of decorating our steps for Halloween, and I really like how the paint gives them a brand new, eye-catching look.

I still might carve one or two later this week, before the Halloween festivities get started. If I don’t get it done, though, our no-carve creations are more than enough.

If you need homemade decorations, take a look at these 15 DIY Halloween decor projects!

Pumpkin painting tips

I’ve learned a few things about the art of painting our favorite gourds, and I must share them with you so you can learn from my mistakes!

If you look closely at the photos, you’ll notice that these are things I didn’t do this time around. You can bet I’ll definitely do them next time!

1. Pass over the orange pumpkin and use a white one instead. It’s just so much easier to cover and the paint colors will be more predictable.

2. Use primer. You can find clear primer that you brush on like paint, but white spray paint primer is so much easier. Just take go outside and spray on a light coat.

3. Start by painting the darkest colors first. Apply the paint lightly and let it dry. Be patient, because it’s better to apply several thin coats than one or two thick, heavy applications.

4. Let your paint dry fully before the next coat. A fan will speed up the process.

5. Use a stencil: Make your own or print one to help you get your design out of your head onto your project.

How to make a Monsters Inc pumpkin

This fun DIY activity was supposed to be done entirely by me, but I lost confidence in my abilities after I got started. I ended up enlisting my husband to paint Mike’s huge eye, and I’m so glad I did!

As crafty as I am, I had started freehand painting the entire design. Then I realized I would have to paint a circle within a circle within another circle.

I know, I know, if I messed it up I could fix it by repainting it. But I also wanted to make sure I got the project done that day so I could write about it and share it today.

I also could have made a stencil to help guide me, but I didn’t even think about that until just now. Now I know for next time!

If you want to paint your own Monsters Inc pumpkins this year, here’s what you’ll need:

Materials for this project

1 pumpkin

Antibacterial wipes

Water-based primer (spray primer is super easy!)

Black Sharpie

Acrylic paints in green, black, white and blue

4 foam paint brushes

Mod Podge Matte sealer spray

Directions

Step 1: Prep and Prime

There aren’t pictures of this step because I didn’t do it and I absolutely should have. I skipped using paint primer and the green paint peeled a little, requiring several more coats, plus touch-ups. Do as I say, not as I do!

Wipe down every exposed surface of the pumpkin with an antibacterial wipe or two. Let it dry, then spray the entire surface with a light coat of white spray primer.

You can also brush a clear artist primer over all the skin of the pumpkin. Let it dry following the instructions on the label.

Step 2: Paint your green base coat

Apply a coat of green acrylic paint over the entire surface of the pumpkin, including the stem.

Step 3: Draw Mike’s face with the marker to guide where you’ll paint. Use your sharpie and draw:

• The outline of the eye: One large circle in the center.
• The iris and pupil: Two smaller circles inside the large center circle.
• The light reflection in the pupil: One a smaller circle in the upper right side of the smallest circle.
• Eyebrow: Draw a large arc over the outline of the eye.
• Mouth: Draw a large smile with perpendicular lines at both ends under the eye.
• Horns: Add two curved triangle s for horns above and extending just beyond the eyebrow.

Step 4: Paint

Go over the marker with black acrylic paint and a thin brush. Then fill in the rest of the outlines with blue and white acrylic paint as shown in the picture below. Let it dry, then apply more paint as needed.

Step 5: Seal

When all the paint is dry and every coat is applied, Spray the entire pumpkin with Mod Podge matte sealer. This will protect it from moisture and help make your pumpkin last through Halloween night.

Here are pictures to illustrate each step (except for priming).

I am proud to say I painted all the green, all by myself. All 3 coats of it! I’m not proud to say that I should have primed it first. I would have saved myself a coat of green paint AND time spend touching up.

However, as I said before, I am not the artist in this family, my husband freehand painted the giant eyeball. He did such a great job!

My little guy also painted a creative pumpkin. Although he loves little Boo, Mike, Sully and the other monsters, he also shies away from (even remotely) scary faces or anything with a scare factor.

After much thought, he decided to go with another Disney character, Lighting McQueen. He had the matching costume last year, and I adore that we’re both so into the same movies!

Didn’t he do a great job? I think, between the two of us, he made the cutest pumpkin.

Our painted pumpkins sit proudly outside on our front porch bistro table.

Are you pumpkin carving this year? Or will you be painting any? Will any of your Halloween creations be inspired by your favorite character?

Happy Halloween, happy painting, and happy scaring!