Begin by painting your pumpkin white, using acrylic paint or primer. Allow this base coat to dry.
Paint a second coat of white paint on the pumpkin, and allow to dry.Add a third coat of paint, if necessary.
Step 3: Divide the pumpkin into sections
Use a pencil to divide the top of the pumpkin into equal parts.Start by making pencil marks at the top, right, bottom, and left of the pumpkin. Then make a mark halfway in-between these marks.
Turn the pumpkin over and find the bottom center. Draw a pie shape, using lines to divide the bottom equally.
Use a flexible tape measure to line up a top mark with the matching line on the bottom.Draw with pencil to connect them, continuing until you've created 8 vertical sections.
Hold the tape measure against one of the vertical lines and make a mark every 1-1/2 inches down.
Use the pencil and tape measure to connect the marks, drawing horizontal lines across the pumpkin.
Step 4: Paint a red pattern
Use a medium sized paintbrush to paint down every other section with the brighter red paint.It's okay to be messy and not go to the edge of the section - we'll fix that later.
Use the same red colour to paint horizontal sections. Skip the top section, closest to the pumpkin stem, and then paint the next one down.Repeat, skipping the next section and painting the next.
Use a smaller paintbrush to create clean edges on each of the sections.Allow to dry.
Add a second coat of red paint, and allow to dry. Paint a third layer, if necessary.
Step 5: Add the dark red paint
Use the dark red paint to cover the squares where the horizontal and vertical red sections meet.In other words, start one down on a vertical red row and paint every other red square the darker shade.
Continue using the smaller paintbrush to neatly fill in these sections, keeping the edges as straight as possible.Allow to dry.
Use a larger brush to add a second coat onto the darker red areas.Add a third coat, if necessary, and allow to dry.