October Wallpapers: Autumn, Halloween, and a Touch of Whimsy

As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, it's time to refresh your desktop for the new season. Our latest community-driven wallpaper collection for October is here, and it's packed with designs that capture the spirit of autumn and the playful anticipation of Halloween.

This month, artists and designers from around the world have contributed wallpapers that explore a wide range of themes, from the cozy and familiar to the imaginative and slightly spooky. You'll find squirrels enjoying seasonal treats, birds embarking on their southern journeys, and other creative interpretations of what October means.

Every wallpaper in this roundup is available in two versions: one with a calendar for tracking the month's dates, and one without for those who prefer a clean, distraction-free design. As a special treat, we've also included a selection of past favorites at the end of the post.

All images can be clicked to open a full preview. Artists were given complete creative freedom, meaning the themes you see here are entirely of their own making, uninfluenced by our editorial direction.

Submit Your Wallpaper

Are you an artist or designer with a visual idea for November? We're always searching for creative talent to feature. If you'd like to see your work in an upcoming post, we'd love to hear from you. Submit your design here →

Hello Autumn

"Did you know that squirrels don't just eat nuts? They really like to eat fruit, too. Since apples are the seasonal fruit of October, I decided to combine both things into a beautiful image." — Designed by Erin Troch from Belgium.

Hello Autumn

Download this wallpaper in various resolutions, with or without a calendar:

Bird Migration Portal

"October is a significant month for me because it is when my favorite type of bird travels south. For that reason I have chosen to write about the swallow. When I was young I had a bird's nest not so far from my room window. I watched the birds almost every day; because those swallows always left their nests in October. As a child I dreamt that they all flew together to a nicer place, where they were not so cold." — Designed by Eline Claeys from Belgium.

Bird Migration Portal

Grab this design in the following sizes:

When Seasons Flip

October, for Cesar De Greve, is a fast pivot between summer and winter — between brightness and shadow. His wallpaper captures that liminal feeling as an hourglass that can be twisted in either direction. Flip it one way and snowflakes point toward alpine winter; turn it the other and solar glow hints at the warmth of April. In a year when everything feels renewable, the design argues, you can simply spin the hourglass around and reuse the wallpaper to start dreaming of summertime.

Twisted Seasons

Autumn’s Second Spring

Capermint’s design leans into the season’s poetic side, describing bright autumn days as “the richest season of the soul.” The piece treats every falling leaf like a flower, echoing the idea that fall can feel like another spring — only this time in amber and rust rather than green.

Beautiful Autumn Is Calling

Cozy Evenings & Falling Leaves

Belgian designer Lieselot Geirnaert captures the spirit of October as a time for comfort: hot chocolate, freshly baked cookies, and game nights shared with friends or family.

Game Night And Hot Chocolate

One Magical Month

Hungarian designer Lívi Lénárt draws on a classic quote from L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables — “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” — for a wallpaper that leans into the season’s enchantment.

Magical October

Pumpkin Season

Belgian artist Merel Vanoutryve shares a personal story for this piece: October’s shift from summer to autumn, the warm feeling that comes with the first pumpkins of the year, and a cherished memory of a cat that decided a carved pumpkin was the perfect sleeping spot. That memory, she says, is merged with the seasonal warmth into a single illustration.

Pumpkin Cat

Ghosts With A Sense Of Humor

Ricardo Gimenes, a designer from Sweden, brings a friendly phantom to your screen with “Casper The Unfriend Ghost.” The wallpaper is available with and without a calendar overlay, and fits everything from mobile screens up to 4K displays.

Casper The Unfriend Ghost

Halloween In The Age Of Masks

Zennode Technologies, based in Kerala, turns the season’s spookiness toward a very 2020 concern. Their “Happy Halloween!” design carries the message, “The world turned upside down to a new normal, and wearing a mask is no scarier. Wear a mask and scare COVID off from the world. Happy, spooky Halloween!”

Happy Halloween!

Hunter’s Moon

Wannes Pappijn’s design draws its name from the Hunter’s Moon, sometimes called the “Blood” Moon. As the designer explains, the term originated with the first nations of North America, who observed that deer fattened through summer and were best hunted by moonlight in autumn. The artwork places the deer and moon together as a nod to that tradition.

Hunter’s Moon

Autumn Moods

Melissa Bogemans’ contribution leans on the shift in seasons bringing cooler weather and longer nights. The warm palette is meant to make desktops feel cozy rather than dreary.

Fall Is Here!

The Minmal Pumpkin

Ciel Brys draws from a fondness for pumpkin carving, seeing it as an unusual canvas. But this wallpaper takes the opposite approach from the ornate pumpkins in carved displays: the simplicity follows the designer’s belief that “less is more.”

The Pumpkin

A Colorful Homage

Johannes Hermans’ work begins with a hunt through history for influential figures born in October, turning up names such as John Lennon, Picasso and Niels Bohr. Gandhi ultimately proved the most compelling subject. The piece mixes a spectrum of hues that carry a dual meaning: a stand against racism and inequality, and an echo of Picasso’s palette.

The Art Of History

A Birthday Tribute To Picasso

October 25th would have marked the 139th birthday of Pablo Picasso, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. The Spanish painter, illustrator, printmaker, and sculptor spent most of his adult life in France, where he co-founded Cubism and co-invented collage. His output was staggering: more than 150,000 works, with over 1,000 of them stolen. He was also known for his famously long name—23 words in total.

Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia, this wallpaper pays homage to Picasso’s legacy. Available with or without a calendar, it comes in a wide range of resolutions from 320x480 to 2560x1440.

El Padre Del Cubismo

Honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a cause that holds personal significance for many. Belgian designer Bo Vandaele created this wallpaper in memory of his mother’s best friends and his second cousin, all of whom passed away from the disease. The design serves as a reminder to support and remember those affected.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

A Field Guide to October's Moon

Morgane Van Achter turns the sky into a field guide for October's rare blue moon. A deep indigo background makes the moon's cool glow feel atmospheric, with simple, crisp marks that keep the celestial scene clean and modern.

Blue Moon

Download Options

Each desktop wallpaper includes a version with and without a calendar. Both versions come in a wide range of display resolutions, from small laptop screens up to large widescreen monitors.

With calendar:
640x480 · 800x480 · 800x600 · 1024x768 · 1024x1024 · 1152x864 · 1280x720 · 1280x800 · 1280x960 · 1280x1024 · 1366x768 · 1400x1050 · 1440x900 · 1600x1200 · 1680x1050 · 1680x1200 · 1920x1080 · 1920x1200 · 1920x1440 · 2560x1440

Without calendar:
640x480 · 800x480 · 800x600 · 1024x768 · 1024x1024 · 1152x864 · 1280x720 · 1280x800 · 1280x960 · 1280x1024 · 1366x768 · 1400x1050 · 1440x900 · 1600x1200 · 1680x1050 · 1680x1200 · 1920x1080 · 1920x1200 · 1920x1440 · 2560x1440

From the Archives: October Classics

While digging through our wallpaper archives, we came across a handful of nearly forgotten gems from previous October editions. These older designs are offered without a calendar for your convenience.

Beach Days and Cold Dew

Gwen Bogaert from Belgium remembers childhood walks on the beach in Nieuwpoort as summer turned to gray skies — scarf-wrapped mornings playing in the sand while parents strolled behind. For her, October is the perfect month for "uitwaaien," the Dutch art of walking into the wind to clear one's head.

First Scarf And The Beach

From Taiwan, Hong, ZI-Qing takes inspiration from the solar term "Hanlu," which translates literally to "Cold Dew." The term marks the season of brisk mornings and evenings, a precursor to winter, and features the chrysanthemum, the iconic flower of the period.

Hanlu

Seasonal Transitions

Jelle Denturck from Belgium treats October as a transitional month, sliding gradually from summer to autumn. His design leans on abundant gradients and simple shapes to reflect a "back to nature, back to basics" mood.

Transitions

During a rebrand, Engage Interactive from the United Kingdom gave each team member a custom-illustrated icon, personally drawn by a designer named Paul. The set mixes individual representation with the typical suspects one expects from an icon library.

All the things

Tazi from Australia channels the festive side of the season with a simple nod to Halloween costumes and decorations.

Haunted House

Woods, Weather, and Warm Drinks

Delphine Wylin from Belgium celebrates autumn's sensory shifts — fall leaves, changing weather, and the magical sound of wind through the woods. The palette of yellow, orange, and brown defines the season, with friendly squirrels often appearing at the base of a tree.

Autumn Is In The Air

Rachel Ladew from the United States found inspiration in the fiery natural art that surrounds her New England hometown for roughly two and a half months each year.

Desktop Wallpaper - October 2012

Robert Brodziak from Poland notes that October's colder, rainier weather makes it the ideal time to brew hot coffee and focus on your next web project.

Dope Code

Franke Margrete from the Netherlands imagines that mastering the sky requires an aviator hat and goggles — even for a little bat flying home to celebrate Halloween with family and friends.

Flying Home For Halloween

Hitesh Puri from India found his spark in the colors of the sun.

Create More

Casey Dulst from Belgium draws a parallel between waiting at a rainy bus stop and the plight of acorns — standing in the rain, hoping the squirrels will come to pick them up.

Rain And Acorns

Agnes Sobon from Poland bids farewell to summer heat and high season, suggesting it's time to pack backpacks and head to the mountains, where treasures await discovery.

Desktop Wallpaper - October 2012

Miruna Sfia from Romania voices a familiar seasonal desire: as temperatures drop, staying inside with tea, cookies, a good book or movie, and a blanket becomes the ideal pastime.

Tea And Cookies

Several designs speak without words. Amy Hamilton from Canada contributes a minimalist piece, while Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden takes a lighter approach with a seasonal nod.

Desktop Wallpaper - October 2012
Ghostbusters

Thuy Truong from the United States keeps it simple: "Fall is my favorite season!"

Happy Fall!

Further Reading

Smashing Editorial