{"id":6560,"date":"2015-06-10T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-10T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/?p=6560"},"modified":"2015-06-08T14:46:22","modified_gmt":"2015-06-08T18:46:22","slug":"dark-challenge-blogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/?p=6560","title":{"rendered":"Dark Challenge Blogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

In May, I entered my first item on a challenge blog<\/a>. \u00a0It got me curious about the idea. Challenge blogs seem to have become a subculture all their own. Nearly all of them–at least the dark ones–are on Blogspot. The designs are generally fun, old-skool, almost Geocities-like. The only thing they lack are animated backgrounds. They are often sponsored by companies that make stamps or digital designs. Usually, there is a design team associated with the blog. The design team posts inspirational art, often made with materials from a sponsor. They may also choose winners. \u00a0Sometimes there are even prizes!<\/p>\n

One universal rule: no back-linking. This means no linking some old thing you made a couple years ago for the challenge. It isn’t fun if you aren’t creating something new.<\/p>\n

In participating, you get to touch base with like-minded artists, often getting to see their process along with their work. Most of the entries are papercraft, very often with colored stamping, nonetheless; there is a lot of variety included.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of them, and I think they’re a blast. Below is a list of dark challenge blogs I’ve found. They are a great way to kick your creativity in the pants when you’re having a slump. \u00a0If you know of another dark challenge blog, please mention it in the comments.<\/p>\n

DARK ART ONLY:<\/h2>\n
\"Haunted<\/a>

Haunted Design House<\/p><\/div>\n

Haunted Design House<\/a> is a no-cute zone. They insist your entry be “creepy, dark, or macabre.” They have monthly themed challenges, and attract a lot of non-paper, mixed-media work. \u00a0Their rules don’t mention the process, but I’m assuming a design team chooses winners. HDH welcomes all media, including digital.<\/p>\n

\"Forever<\/a>

Forever Dark<\/p><\/div>\n

Forever Dark<\/a> is another creepy-only blog. They are brand-spankin’ new, posting their first challenge this month. Winners are chosen by a design team. All media accepted.<\/p>\n

\"Dream<\/a>

Dream in Darkness<\/p><\/div>\n

Dream in Darkness<\/a> is only a few months old. I am in love with their background image. They are usually anything goes, just keep it dark. Winners are chosen randomly.<\/p>\n

\"Smudgy<\/a>

Smudgy Antics<\/p><\/div>\n

Smudgy Antics<\/a> is associated with Smeared Ink stamps, which, alas, is no more. But the challenges continue. You can enter on the blog, and\/or join their facebook group<\/a>. Entries must include a rubber or digital stamp image. Winners are chosen randomly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Quoth the Raven, Nevermore<\/p><\/div>\n

Quoth the Raven<\/a> gets even more specific–they are a Poe-themed challenge blog. “Bring ye not thy fluffy, smushy if it be not POE !!!” I can’t tell how they choose their winners, but they accept all media.<\/p>\n

DARK AND MAINSTREAM:<\/h2>\n
\"Create<\/a>

Create and Inspire<\/p><\/div>\n

Create and Inspire<\/a> doesn’t look particularly dark, despite their url of\u00a0a-step-in-the-darkness.blogspot.com. \u00a0For each challenge, both mainstream and dark art is accepted, and there is a winner chosen by the design team for each.<\/p>\n

\"Left<\/a>

Left of Center<\/p><\/div>\n

Left of Center accepts both dark and mainstream, but if you submit a mainstream project, you must follow the theme. Dark projects can choose to follow or not. \u00a0All media are accepted, and winners are chosen by a design team.<\/p>\n

It’s tempting to pitch a creepy hat in the ring for all the challenges. In many cases, you can enter an item in several challenges, so that helps. I like them because there’s no deadline pressure. If I don’t make the challenge, well, I didn’t commit to it anyway. \u00a0I had a lot of fun making that first cuff, and hope to do more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In May, I entered my first item on a challenge blog. \u00a0It got me curious about the idea. Challenge blogs seem to have become a subculture all their own. Nearly all of them–at least the dark ones–are on Blogspot. The designs are generally fun, old-skool, almost Geocities-like. The only thing they lack are animated backgrounds. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,26,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-craft","category-spooky"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6560"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6571,"href":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560\/revisions\/6571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spookymoon.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}