It's Blender Halloween! October at CG Cookie

The spookiest month of the year is upon us... at CG Cookie, we're kicking off October in style with a terrifying smorgasbord of Blender goodies. 

See what's coming out of the CG Cookie cauldron this month! 

(Since most of these content pieces are currently in production, the dates may change.)

Halloween Course: Spider made in Blender

Every arachnophobe's nightmare is already creeping your way: on October 8th, expect a tingling sensation inside your sleeve...

Our guest author Luis du Mont is putting the finishing touches on a mini-course - so you can follow along and create a spooky spider, right on time for Halloween. Here is an early mock-up of what you'll be creating. 

Title: Blender Spider mini-course

Release date: October 8th

Halloween Challenge: Halloween Pumpkin 🎃

In these turbulent times, it's nice to have something familiar and constant: it's no secret that CG Cookie, we just love a good ol' pumpkin challenge! As soon as the first leaf of autumn hits the ground, we bleed orange.

So get your carving tools Blender-ready! To make things extra fun, we'll be rolling not one, but two pumpkin Blender challenges this month. 

Pumpkin contest winners from 2018

Title: CG Cookie Pumpkin Challenge

Date: October 1st - 8th, October 15th - 22nd

Spooky Halloween Tutorials

On a rainy October afternoon, who doesn't like to huddle under a warm blanket with a book a Blender tutorial? 

Carve a Low-Poly Pumpkin in Blender

In this beginner-level tutorial, we'll model a low-poly Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin, Blender 2.8 or a higher version is all you need, no external add-ons will be used. Release date: October 3rd

Blender Add-Ons to make your projects less Scary

In the gloomy light of Halloween, we'll serve a selection of top add-ons. Release date: October 17th

Terrifying YouTube Videos

Our YouTube channel won't be spared the horrors of Halloween...

Blender Sci-Fi Blitz: Death Start Trench Run Highlights

Blender Sci-Fi Blitz is our new YouTube show with Chris Bailey as your host. His challenge, every other Sunday, is to create a Blender scene under 60 minutes.

In September, he modeled against the clock and create a theme of your choosing: Death Star Trench Run!

The result is this image, terrifying enough to make it into this Halloween selection - at least, for Darth Vader - and we'll be sharing the highlights of the workflow on YouTube soon.

Title: Death Star Trench Run: Workflow Highlights

Release Date: October 4th

YouTube tutorial: How to create a superhero landing in Blender

OK, this isn't exactly Halloween-themed, but it's necessary! Because honestly - no self-respecting superhero can do without a proper landing, just like every VFX artist needs a superhero landing in their demo reel (it's the law of VFX). 

In an upcoming YouTube tutorial, we'll break down the tools to make it happen. 

The best part? The effect is so versatile and simple, you can apply it to a lot of different concepts. 

Title: Easy superhero landing in Blender

Release date: October 14th on CG Cookie's YouTube channel

Livestream

If the gloomy days of October start to get you down, grab a mug of your favorite warm beverage and join us live for a fun livestream!

Kent Trammell will be airing the 8th livestream in his series "Modeling Heavy Equipment in Blender".

Modeling Heavy Equipment in Blender (episode 8)

It's the rand finale! Even if you haven't watched the previous 7 episodes, you can join in. Airdate: October 20th

Also, keep in mind that the Blender Foundation, too, has a trick up its sleeve: on October 24h, they are planning the next release of Blender 2.91

What a great month lies ahead - we're excited to have you all on board and ride out these stormy times together. Onward!