Pastel Gore is a visual art style that emerged from the internet art community around the late-2010s and is defined by the juxtaposition of graphic, horror-themed imagery with a soft, pastel color palette and cute motifs. The aesthetic depicts subjects such as blood, organs, and dismemberment in a stylized, cartoonish manner, using bright and desaturated colors to create a contrast between the disturbing subject matter and its innocent presentation. It draws influence from Japanese art styles like Gurokawa and and aesthetics such as Pastel Goth .

Pastel Gore gained significant popularity in the late 2010s, primarily within online art communities on platforms like Tumblr, DeviantArt, Amino, and the now-defunct Sony Sketch application. The aesthetic became particularly prevalent among young artists in various fandoms and the "animation meme" community, where it served as a popular theme for original characters and fan art. While it shares a visual timeline with the broader 2014 Tumblr era, its peak occurred slightly later. The web series Happy Tree Friends , known for its combination of cute cartoon animals and extreme graphic violence, is often cited as an early precursor that shares a similar thematic contrast.

The core of the Pastel Gore aesthetic is the artistic rendering of gore in a non-threatening and visually appealing way. This is achieved through several key techniques and recurring motifs.

The most common characteristic is the use of a pastel color scheme. Blood is often depicted in shades of pink, lavender, or bright blue, and internal organs are rendered in a rainbow of soft colors. This approach de-realizes the violence, shifting the focus from horror to a stylized, artistic expression.

Another defining feature is the replacement of bodily fluids and parts with sweet or playful elements, a variant sometimes referred to as Candy Gore . In these works, blood may be substituted with melting candy, colorful slime, or goo. Organs and bones might be depicted as sliced fruit, candy canes, or other desserts, and wounds may spill out sprinkles or stars. This theme often incorporates elements of body horror, but presents them in a saccharine, surreal manner. Other common visual elements include disembodied eyeballs, often with heart or star-shaped pupils, and the inclusion of both cute and sharp objects, such as bows and knives.

Bright Gore is a niche art genre that emerged on Tumblr, DeviantArt and Twitter as a brighter take on Pastel Gore, with the art often causing eyesore with extremely saturated colours. The aesthetic is often applied to fanart.

Candy Gore , despite being an aesthetic very similiar to Pastel Gore, may use any colour palette and a broad range of colours. The main motifs used in Candy Gore include organs or blood replaced with candy (including melting candy), sugar or other sweet foods. Sometimes it also includes references to hearts or stars. A close variant invovles using fruit flesh (e.g. oranges, watermelon, kiwi, etc.) instead of candy.

Neon Gore is an aesthetic really similiar to Pastel Gore, but distinguishes itself through its use of neon, eye-catching colours in an extravagant way.

Pop Gore is a niche art style that takes influence from both Pastel Gore and Pop Art . A prominent pioneerer of this genre is Alex García Lagarda, an artist and graphic designer from Mexico. It tends to be pretty distinct from the other subgenres of Pastel Gore, and the artworks often feature violent situations, gore and bizarre elements, with Pop techniques.