Tomorrow is the 1st of October and with it comes the official countdown to Halloween, yaayyy! It's also the start of art challenges like #drawlloween and other prompts to get creative.

If one of the reasons why you haven't started doodling is because you don't know what to draw, here's another chance to get you going and maybe even indulge your dark side! This might just be the nudge you needed; and it is so much fun!

October Drawing Prompts

I'm talking about #drawlloween - an art challenge that lasts all of October to celebrate the countdown to Halloween. The challenge is to draw one drawing, painting or doodle every day. And you get a prompt for each day on the official Drawlloween calendar. The whole thing was started around 2012 by a guy named Brian Soria, an artist (of course) out of Austin, Texas. It got so popular that he's pretty much made it his full time thing.

Another artist with her own following and prompt calendar is Mab Graves. If you google 'drawlloween', you'll find that several artists have since come up with their own versions and offshoots.

The point is to create and have fun with it. Once you've finished your drawing, post it on social media of your choice and be sure to use the hashtag #drawlloween. This way, you get many more eyes on your art and maybe even gain a few new fans! Personally, I love looking up the hashtag and see all your and other artists creations!

It doesn't matter, which calendar you'll use, just go with your gut and figure out what prompts feel more appealing to you. Also, there are no limits on how you create - digitally or traditionally, inks, watercolor, pencil - whatever you prefer! You can keep it creepy cute and silly, or really go to the dark side and make it bloody horrific - your choice. Or do both, depending on your mood! Some artists keep a certain style throughout, like Chad Wehrle (who has his own drawlloween calendar and following) which looks really cool and consistent. I, on the other hand, do wildly different styles from day to day.

Just get creative, be weird, go out on a limb and try something new! Plus it's free, duh! If you can't commit to it every day just yet, don't let that stop you. At least try.

Speaking from my own experience...I've participated a few times over the years and yes, there were times I had to skip a day, and one time I even abandoned it halfway through. What I'm saying...you get no judgement stare from me. It does feel good though, when you look back at a complete set at the end of the month! Some of it inspired me later to revisit a certain drawing and make it a more involved/serious painting. Also, you don't have to share your art every day. Sometimes things don't come out like you had envisioned and that's ok! I've had a few "stinkers" I chose not to share, ha!

Make sure to follow these links too: Twitter: @drawlloween, Instagram: @Drawlloween, Facebook: @drawlloween

You can see other people's art by checking hashtags: #Drawlloween #Drawlloween2022

Then there's the Inktober challenge, which was started by Jake Parker back in 2009 as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. This one also became wildly popular and is still going strong with a growing following. It does have a rule - you can only work with ink. It also has two ways to participate: Either draw daily for 31 days in October, or make one ink drawing once a week, all year long.

I like their version of a prompt calendar because it leaves things open to many creative interpretations:

See more of Inktober's previous posts on their Instagram and Twitter. They often feature and re-post other artists's work. Some artists have grown from amateurs to professionals over the years, all because they started out with a challenge!

You can also find other people's art by searching hashtags: #inktober #inktober2022

So, which challenge speaks to you the most? Will you give it a try? Let's do it together and egg each other on! Or get another drawing buddy and drag them into it as well!

I'll post my favorites on my instagram with the hashtags #drawloween and/or #inktober. I would love to see what you come up with! (Drat...I wasn't going to commit to it again, but just talked myself into it, lol). It really is a fun way to keep your creativity going! Trust me on this!

October Writing Prompts

If you're more interested in writing instead of drawing, there's the same kind of October fun for you with Halloween-themed creative writing prompts.

For example, I found three easy prompts from this teacher website that were probably meant for kids or young adults, but it gives you an idea:

1. If you could create your very own monster, what would it look like? What would it be called? What types of things would it do to scare people? Where does the monster live? Tell me everything there is to know about your monster. If you want, draw a picture of the monster.

2. Write a spooky story to tell around the campfire. Remember, you want to build suspense using onomatopoeia and alliteration. Don’t forget to have a big finale to frighten everyone who is listening.

3. If you could design a haunted house, what would you name it? What types of rooms would you have? Describe, in detail, three of the best rooms in your haunted house.

The following websites have some more serious and potentially creepy prompts:

https://thewritepractice.com/halloween-writing-prompts

and: https://icebreakerideas.com/halloween-writing-prompts/

This website https://authority.pub/horror-writing-prompts/ has some intriguing prompts, including this one:

"On Halloween night, you find a box at your door that contains a strange note and a little something from each of the people who have hurt you in the past year."

And this page: https://screencraft.org/blog/101-terrifying-horror-story-prompts/ has some straight up terrifying horror prompts! For example:

"A cult that worships history's deadliest serial killers begins to kill by copying their methods."

or:

"A jetliner flies high in the sky as Nuclear War breaks out below."

Yikes! Almost too realistic and kinda timely, ugh..

See? There's something for every 'dark' mind - from whimsical to creepy to simply deranged and horrific!

Some audio to get you in the mood...

In closing, I'd like to recommend some playlists that are perfect to listen to in the background while you're working on your next story or painting!

Let's start with some classics:

...or something a bit more mellow:

Here's a 'hit it and play' list that goes on for three hours:

That's it for today! I just realized this is my 13th newsletter edition, woot! Since that is my lucky number, maybe this is the edition that will get me a gazillion subscribers!

One can dream, right?

Every year, I just love browsing the Halloween sections at Michaels, Ross and even Dollar Tree. And that's before the annual Halloween stores even open up! I could spend so much money during the spooky season, but my hubby lovingly reminds me that we already live Halloween all year long. I have to admit, he's right and I shouldn't forget to tout my own spooky creations that you might appreciate this time of year!

I would love it if you browsed around my store for a little bit and see if anything whispers to you to buy it!

HerDarkHalf - Etsy — www.etsy.com

Shop Her Dark Half by HerDarkHalf located in San Diego, California. Top shop for gifts. A buyer bought a gift from this shop and gave it a 5-star review!

As always, have a creative weekend!

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Thank you from the bottom of my black little heart!

Dark Greetings…. ‘see’ you in two weeks and stay frosty!

Pia

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