The leaves are shining in the most beautiful colors and pumpkins are taking over the front porches. Time to welcome the spookiest of all months: October! To get your desktop ready for fall and the upcoming Halloween season, artists and designers from across the globe once again challenged their creative skills and designed inspiring desktop wallpapers for you to indulge in.

As usual, the wallpapers come in versions with and without a calendar for October 2018 and can be downloaded for free. And since so many inspiring, beautiful, and unique artworks evolve around our little wallpapers challenge every month, we once again dived into our archives to find some timeless October classics from past years to add to this collection. Because, well, some things are just too good to be forgotten, right? Enjoy!

Please note that:

• All images can be clicked on and lead to the preview of the wallpaper,
• You can feature your work in our magazine by taking part in our Desktop Wallpaper Calendar series. We are regularly looking for creative designers and artists to be featured on Smashing Magazine. Are you one of them?

Further Reading on SmashingMag:

• Best Of Halloween: All Things Spooky
• How To Create Dramatic Vector Illustrations
• Illustrating Animals With 13 Circles: A Drawing Challenge And Tutorial
• Calligraphy Art: Getting Started And Lessons Learned

Shades Of Gold

“We are about to experience the magical imagery of nature, with all the yellows, ochers, oranges, and reds coming our way this fall. With all the subtle sunrises and the burning sunsets before us, we feel so joyful that we are going to shout it out to the world from the top of the mountains.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Flying Home For Halloween

“You can only fully master the sky wearing an aviator hat and goggles. Like this little bat, flying home to celebrate Halloween with his family and friends.” — Designed by Franke Margrete from the Netherlands.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 360×480, 376×668, 768×1024, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1366×1050, 1440×900, 1536×864, 1600×900, 1920×1080, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 2560×1600, 3840×2160
• without calendar: 320×480, 360×480, 376×668, 768×1024, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1366×1050, 1440×900, 1536×864, 1600×900, 1920×1080, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 2560×1600, 3840×2160

Strange October Journey

“October makes the leaves fall to cover the land with lovely auburn colors and brings out all types of weird with them.” — Designed by Mi Ni Studio from Serbia.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Ghostbusters

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Trick Or Treat

Designed by Mad Fish Digital from the USA.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1680×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1680×1200, 2560×1440

Hello Fall

“Leaves are falling from the trees in all kinds of beautiful colors.” — Designed by Melissa Bogemans from Belgium.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Halloween Candy

Designed by Ilse van den Boogaart from the Netherlands.

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• with calendar: 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

The Pleasure In Travelling

“Travel makes you humble by letting you see the tiny place you occupy in the world. An individual with ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he or she travels or not; but a person with superior talent will go to pieces if they remain forever in the same place.” — Designed by Mindster from India.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Love And Life

“Mahatma Gandhi is remembered for all his great deeds and words of wisdom. Though he never lived his life peacefully, he always remained proactive in removing the social evils of our society. So let’s devote this month in the memory of this great man and recall all his good deeds as well as learning which he left behind for the world to follow.” — Designed by Aufait Technologies from India.

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• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Exclusively Fall

“When I think of October the real beginning of the fall season comes to mind. It was difficult to narrow down what symbols I wanted to use to represent the season and how to sort out which ones would work into a collective theme. I decided using textures and objects found in nature itself would make the most sense for my theme. By ‘carving’ symbols into the natural texture of wood and showing the change of season with the coloured leaves I hope I was able to capture the essence of fall.” — Designed by Sarah Stevens from Canada.

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• with calendar: 640×480, 1280×960, 1680×1220, 1920×1440
• without calendar: 640×480, 1280×960, 1680×1220, 1920×1440

Oldies But Goodies

Creepy Halloween fellows, a nice cup of tea on a rainy day, and the magic of the fall forest — October has its very own charm. And, well, the treasures we rediscovered in our Wallpapers archives pay tribute to all those big and small October moments. Please note that these wallpapers don’t come with a calendar.

Haunted House

“Love all the Halloween costumes and decorations!” — Designed by Tazi from Australia.

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• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

A Very Pug-o-ween

“The best part of October is undoubtedly Halloween. And the best part of Halloween is dog owners who never pass up an o-paw-tunity to dress up their pups as something a-dog-able. Why design pugs specifically in costumes? Because no matter how you look at it, pugs are cute in whatever costume you put them in for trick or treating. There’s something about their wrinkly snorting snoots that makes us giggle, and we hope our backgrounds make you smile all month. Happy Pug-o-ween from the punsters at Trillion!” — Designed by Trillion from Summit, NJ.

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• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Tea And Cookies

“As it gets colder outside, all I want to do is stay inside with a big pot of tea, eat cookies and read or watch a movie, wrapped in a blanket. Is it just me?” — Designed by Miruna Sfia from Romania.

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• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1440×1050, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Hello, Autumn, I’m Glad to See You Again

Designed by Lívi from Hungary.

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• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1536×2048, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Omnomnomtober

“I’m just a sucker for Halloween, candy, tiny witches and giant kittens. And you can’t tell me that October is not Halloween, because I’ve waited the whole year for this. I thought that I would make illustration central to this calendar so I started with the idea of a tiny witch who’s stolen a ton of candy along with her cat — who’s gotten herself in trouble and can’t unstick the bubble gum from her giant teeth. A typical Halloween scene, right?” — Designed by Kalashniköv from Spain.

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• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×600, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Dope Code

“October is the month, when the weather in Poland starts to get colder, and it gets very rainy, too. You can’t always spend your free time outside, so it’s the perfect opportunity to get some hot coffee and work on your next cool web project!” — Designed by Robert Brodziak from Poland.

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• without calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Summer, Don’t Go!

“It would be nice if we could bring summer back, wouldn’t it?” — Designed by Terezija Katona from Serbia.

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• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2650×1440

Boodoni

“This wallpaper was inspired by the creepy crawlies of Halloween, animation concept art, and hand-drawn type.” — Designed by Todd Marcinkiewicz from the United States.

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• without calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1440×900, 1680×1200, 1920×1200, 2560×1440, 2880×1800, 1600×900

My Spooky Love

“Halloween can be a season of love too. This undead bunny is a combination of different inspiration from sugar skulls, cute characters and patterns that I have been drawing in my “Year of Creative Habit” project.” — Designed by Morningmobi from Brunei.

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• without calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 1366×768

A Positive Fall

“October is the month when fall truly begins, and many people feel tired and depressed in this season. The jumping fox wants you to be happy! Also, foxes always have reminded me of fall because of their beautiful fur colors.” — Designed by Elena Sanchez from Spain.

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• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Autumn In The Forest

“Autumn is a wonderful time to go for walks in the forest!” — Designed by Hilda Rytteke from Sweden.

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• without calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

October Gifts

“I was inspired by autumn and those gifts it presents to us in the form of beautiful colors, unusual shapes and mysterious weather. So enjoy October!” — Designed by Juliagav from Ukraine.

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• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1366×768

Autumn Is The New Spring

“Who says Autumn isn’t fun? It’s the new Spring, after all!” Designed by Marina Zhukov from the USA.

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• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080

Watercolor Autumn

“There is nothing like being surrounded by beautiful, fiery, natural art for 2.5 months every year. This piece was inspired by the Falls I remember back in my New England hometown.” Designed by Rachel Ladew from the USA.

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• without calendar: 640×1136, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1920×1200, 2048×2048, 2560×1440

Autumn Deer

Designed by Amy Hamilton from Canada.

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• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2048×1536, 2560×1440, 2880×1800

Roger That Rogue Rover

“The story is a mash-up of retro science fiction and zombie infection. What would happen if a Mars rover came into contact with an unknown Martian material and got infected with a virus? What if it reversed its intended purpose of research and exploration? Instead choosing a life of chaos and evil. What if they all ran rogue on Mars? Would humans ever dare to voyage to the red planet?” Designed by Frank Candamil from the USA.

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• without calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Limbostyle

“This is my tribute to the awesome and beautifully designed videogame ‘Limbo’. Enjoy and share if you like this drawing.” Designed by Jonas Duri.

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• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080

Spooky Town

Designed by Xenia Latii from Germany.

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Halloween Cat

Designed by Mohamad Khatib from Lebanon.

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Crow

Designed by Rumake Web Agency from Russia.

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• 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440

Ghostober

Designed by Ricardo Delgado from México City.

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• 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 2560×1440

Join In Next Month!

Please note that we respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience throughout their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us, but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.

Thank you to all designers for their participation. Join in next month!