January Contest - The Unholy Empire ~ The Black Death

(Simplified explanation: Think supernatural and paranormal have become reality in the past. The Holy Roman Empire period to be more precise. Now continue reading if you dare and ask questions if you need to.)

This month's contest brings us to a world of darkness where the most powerful of empires rules over much of Europe... The Unholy Roman Empire (aka The Unholy Empire). For those of you not well versed on history, this is obviously a play on words and what we are doing is taking you back in time to a period where the Holy Roman Empire existed as a successor state to the Western Roman Empire and was also known as the First Reich. It is a world dominated by vampires, zombies, werewolves, witches, and any other supernatural evils you might imagine as the Roman Empire isn't dead... not quite yet.

This is also a time when the Little Ice Age was occurring but where the early period was dominated by the Medieval Warm Period and it ended in the current warming period. That's just a bit more information about the settings. The Unholy Empire is obviously a play on words and on this world, the Unholy Empire begins when the world at around the same time as the collapse of the Roman Empire.

This is a world also beset by darkness and where mice carry plague-infested fleas bringing the Black Death... a supernatural disease that takes the weak and dying. However, the healthy survive as carriers until some other fate takes their lives, and staying healthy became a priority. Those who perish from the Black Death do not stay dead for long and are reborn as draugar (zombies) and while the living are immune to this (until death claims them), being bitten passes a more virulent form of the disease into them which can bring on death.
While history can at times be boring for you non-history nerds, many authors have revisited the past to ask "What If" and then everything just goes to Hell! It is the time of the Black Death and it is a time of the Inquisition where witches put up more of a fight where maybe it's the men of God who burn instead of those who were innocent of anything wrong.

Many movies and books you might be familiar with take us back in time when Dracula goes after the Queen of England and the Russian Tzar is a werewolf. We're basically doing the same thing but with a much older empire that provides a bridge between the past and the present.

And before anyone pisses their pants (Negan says), yes, when I said past to the present that means you can set your art in the present. Humanity has survived and even advanced, but it is still a world of darkness and evil. We are looking for art set primarily in the past but we want you to have fun with this contest and use your imagination. Maybe you want it to be humorous, have at it. Maybe they've evolved a bit quicker and you've got some 16th-century babes in bikinis drinking wine? Just remember, it's dark fantasy.

While primarily focusing on the wars between vampires and werewolves, it is a world where the supernatural takes many forms where what we consider myth and legend has become reality. Maybe there are faeries and extraterrestrials but remember the main focus is on dark fantasy.



***RULES***
1) No AI-generated art. This must be your art and not Artificial Intelligence generated art using images data mined from the internet. That art belongs to other artists and people just sharing photos of their family. AI is not intelligent and while it's not subject to copyrights, it may be determined that the end user is.

2) Please remember to include prizes in order that you might like them along with links to the items you want unless it's a gift card item, email address, and usernames and for software/shippable items please include real names and home address thank you in a PM

3) First and foremost, we want everyone to enter. If you do not wish for a prize but want to participate in the spirit of showcasing your talent, we will be creating a list of those members who will officially receive a DSA No Prize. We've had trouble in the past where members enter who actually do not want to win. These members don't want to take anything away from members who are participating to win prizes and we've had issues in the past where we tried to accommodate these members but not every judge understood or read comments by the artist not to choose their image. When the official contest topic is posted, we would like any member who only wants to participate in the spirit of competition to contact us and we will officially add them to the No Prize list.

4) Your images must follow the theme to the best of your ability. But how you do this is up to your individual creativity and imagination. So ask if you have questions about the theme.

5) There is a post limit of one image a day... no reworks as all images must be original for this contest. Try adding different races and different cultures... explore the variety that makes up who and what we are.

6) Images cannot be posted anywhere else for five days and must include links to this contest or statements that it is for this contest.

 A) Images posted late will be excluded from the judging

7) Artistic nudity is allowed but our rules on child nudity apply. No child nudity is allowed. This is defined as genitals and nip's so cover them up or risk violating our rules. A good alternative would be anime. 

8.) The contest is open to any medium that you wish to use. You can enter with Computer generated images, hand-drawn, painted, or any other type of medium you can think of. Make note of the prizes being offered as only rarely might they not be 3d oriented.

9) We consider it trolling if criticism about content is made when images are within the rules.

10) Unless otherwise specified, make sure to add an alternate prize selection should you want a bundle or partnered item. Some of our sponsors allow this, some do not and some may on certain items of which we have no way of knowing.

11) Consider adding some written text to explain your illustrations to help others better understand your image and leave comments on the entries of fellow contestants to show your appreciation.

12) Make sure to check and see if the prize you have won is a coupon or a gift certificate. If it clearly says it is a coupon, do not apply it as a gift certificate at the sponsors' site or vice versa.

13) The theme should focus on roman empire of zombies an werefuls an vampires

14) Include the following information ~

 A) Username (for DSA and sponsors site)
 B. Email Address
 C) Real Name & Physical Mailing Address (for software and physical prizes)

15) Winners will provide a list including each sponsor in order that they would like to have the prizes. We will then choose what prizes you win on a first come, first serve basis. Our First Place winner will receive the first item on their list which will be removed from all other winners lists. Our Second Place winner will be given the first item remaining on their list and so forth. When each winner has been awarded a prize, we will begin again with the First Place winner until all prizes are awarded. 

 A) Our normal monthly contests will have 5 winners. Our larger contests will have up to 31 winners. We will alert members should this change at any time or if the sponsors have alerted us to award items to runners up.

 B. You may provide a list to us at any time during the month. Providing the list does not guarantee a prize. Items given to runners up, if any, will come from these lists or be donated by prize winners. 

16) If you do not provide the items you would like where you have won a "choice" of items from the sponsor, on the list you provide to us, you will have 5 business days after notification to contact us. It is unfair that, in cases where a sponsor provides a prize to multiple winners, that winners who reply quickly must wait of winners who reply late.

17) Remember, if you have any questions, please ask them in the contest topic so that staff or fellow members can explain and help you to understand rules or themes in our competition.


**PRIZES*

Prizes: One $100 gift certificate When you win the Rosity contest, you cannot win it again for 6 months.

Prize: One item of choice from Alessandro_AM(no daz originals)

$25.00 Gift Certificate From Forender
$12.00 Gift Certificate From Forender
$12.00 Gift Certificate From Forender
$12.00 Gift Certificate From Forender
(New Rule ~ Forender Wants To Spread Things Around A Bit More. So If You Have Won From Them Recently, Please Choose A Participant That You Would Like To Donate This Prize Too)


Prize: One Item of Choice From AngellsGraphics

Prize: One copy of DSA Lycan DreamslayerVisions

Prize: One Item of Choice From Spookielilone(NO DAZ ORIGINALS)

Prize: One Item of Choice From Hongyu from Renderosity or DAZ3D (No partnered items or bundles)

Prize: One Item of Choice From Prae(no items partnered with Rpublishing)

Prize: One Item of Choice From Darwins Mishap (NO DAZ ORIGINALS NO PARTNERED ITEMS)

Prize: One Item of Choice From Sveva NO PARTNERED ITEMS

A few more videos I couldn't resist...