Spooky fun with AI ? From pumpkin carving patterns to Halloween coloring book pages

Photo of a spooky pumpkin carving pattern featuring a haunted mansion with eerie trees around and bats flying overhead.

More fun with AI-powered image generation! I started out trying to generate some patterns for pumpkin carving. The AI (Dall-E 3 in this case) was happy to provide me with images, but clearly it has never carved a pumpkin before! The level of detail was way beyond my ability to carve.

Unrealistic for carving purposes? Yes. But they sure are incredible to look at!

Illustration of a creepy pumpkin carving pattern showcasing a ghostly apparition floating with chains and surrounded by swirling mists.

For my next attempt, I introduced the keyword phrase “print-friendly”. However, it did not make them any more feasible for printing as carving patterns. (too complex and wayyyy too much black ink coverage!)

However, they are still REALLY NEAT! I may be using AI to generate my next Halloween T-Shirt.

Illustration of a print-friendly pumpkin carving pattern displaying a spooky graveyard scene with tombstones and a ghost rising.

Illustration of a print-friendly pumpkin carving pattern featuring a sinister cat with arched back and a crescent moon.

At this point, I decided to have some fun with the overly detailed nature of the images, and asked for “the most detailed patterns in the universe!”

Illustration of the most intricately detailed spooky pumpkin carving pattern in the universe, displaying an eerie haunted village, ghosts, witches, werewolves, and multiple layers of frightening elements intertwined.

Illustration of an ultra-detailed spooky pumpkin carving pattern showcasing a massive haunted castle, surrounded by a dense forest of twisted trees, goblins, zombies, and mythical creatures with intricate patterns and designs.

Hmmm… Next, I wondered if these images could be made printable by introducing the phrase “line art”

Line art illustration of an ultra-detailed spooky pumpkin carving pattern showcasing a massive haunted castle, surrounded by a dense forest of twisted trees, goblins, zombies, and mythical creatures with intricate patterns and designs.

Line art illustration of the most intricately detailed spooky pumpkin carving pattern in the universe, displaying an eerie haunted village, ghosts, witches, werewolves, and multiple layers of frightening elements intertwined.

In terms of excruciatingly high levels of detail, it seemed we had reached critical mass by now. So, I decided to try and dial back that level of detail and generate something my kids could actually print and color 😉

“Show me simple yet creepy Halloween coloring pages”

Line art illustration of a simple yet creepy Halloween coloring page featuring a haunted house on a hill, with a crescent moon and clouds in the background.

Line art illustration of a straightforward yet eerie Halloween coloring page showcasing a scarecrow in a pumpkin patch, with bats flying overhead and twisted trees surrounding.

I think these are actually pretty darn cool. There’s an impressive level of detail, but not to the point that it makes them a bad fit for printing and coloring.

Next, I tried to conjure up a disturbing baby/spider hybrid with this prompt:
“Show a hybrid baby spider mutant creepy coloring pages”

But my request was denied: “I apologize, but I encountered issues while trying to generate the hybrid baby-spider mutant coloring pages. Please let me know if there’s any other way I can assist you.”

OK, fine… how about this: “Mutant baby doll spider hybrid”

Well, it’s certainly the stuff of nightmares, but not exactly what I had in mind. It’s more like a zombie baby riding a giant spider.

After another failure involving this prompt: “Tarantula crossed with a parrot mutant abomination coloring page”

I tried this one out: “A monster pirate with hooks for feet and chainsaw hands with a cannon in chest”

Line art illustration of a coloring page showcasing a monstrous pirate. The creature has hooks for feet, chainsaw blades for hands, and a menacing cannon embedded in its chest. He stands on a ghostly ship deck, with tattered sails and a stormy sea backdrop.

While, it missed the mark in terms of the chest cannon, my son and I agreed that this one is pretty darn awesome! I’m thinking he may take crayon or colored pencil to paper today.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! ?