Rise Final

This was my entry for the 2018 Epic Pumpkin Contest: "In a forgotten village in the southeast of Scotland, a strange tradition is held. When the deceased were prepared to be buried, a pumpkin was placed within their coffin. It was believed among the superstitious to safeguard the soul as it journeyed to heaven, protecting it from hellish demons and conniving spirits with its hardened skin. Little did the skeptics know however, they were right. But the question remains: what happens to the souls who don't deserve a peaceful afterlife? The wrathful, the greedy and the despicable? The residents of the strange village soon found out. With the pumpkin acting as a vessel, fueled by little more than hatred and determination, the corrupted souls were destined to rise from their slumber, and indulge in their sin once again..." HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOY this has been something. Pretty much started this when the contest got announced and have worked on it pretty much every day since. Whilst it's far from perfect if you told me at the beginning of October that within a month's time I'd have created something even remotely like this there is no way in hell I'd have believed you. It's been an absolute blast working on this and I only hope my skills improve as the days go by. I got a few notifications and I'll be sure to answer them, I just need my sleep so good luck all and I'll see you at the results! Rendered in 2.79 Cycles. Aside from the brick and ground textures, all other materials are procedural or otherwise made in Blender. Used Krita to touch up the clouds a little bit as they were looking very odd in the render (but look fine in the 3D viewport). Rendered at 1,000 samples with denoising, at 80% resolution.