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JustJimAZ

Steampunk it!

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JustJimAZ
, 10-20-2011 at 01:36 PM (578 Views)
What if we lived in the world envisioned by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells rather than George Orwell? Airships, submarines, computers, prosthetics - everything would be powered by steam. A Victorian aesthetic would be the norm.

This is the idea behind the world of steampunk. Copper is the metal of choice. Steel is not stainless. in this world, nothing is immune from "industrialization". I have seen steampunk walking sticks, which of course makes no sense since a stick requires no power. Nevertheless, it is a cool looking aesthetic - and one that reminds me very much of Mary Shelley's most famous mad doctor.

When I made my mad scientist's jars, many people commented on their "steampunk" looks - which were really unintentional:

Some also compared them to "Saw", which I have never seen but I understand has crazy homemade traps and devices reminiscent of steampunk. A hand built or heavily customized look it important to steampunk, and certainly mantraps or torture devices are not readily available at Wal-mart and would have to be home made.

Even without changing a haunt's theme, I think applying a steampunk aesthetic to characters can yield an even more bizarre, surreal atmosphere. For example, this "steampunk clown":

Goggles and respirators are de rigueur for steampunk. There are some pretty creepy possibilities there! How about an industrial age witch? Steam powered broom, night vision goggles and a corset? Heck, why not a robot werewolf? A time traveling psychopath? There are no rules.

What about props? What if the electric chair was steam powered? Just add a bunch of pipes and a pressure gauge and it's steampunk! Add a pipe that goes to a fogger for actual steam (maybe coming from the helmet?) and that would be crazy steampunk.

Any industrial type theme is readily steampunked. Just replace anything electronic looking with steam pipes and boilers. Of course, it's no secret even the most mundane props can be made to look like they belong in a Jules Verne steampunk world - like Jack O'Lanters - AKA Steampunkins!
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Need more inspiration?

http://youtu.be/sOAsjYgTK-8
http://<a href="http://youtu.be/sOAs...OAsjYgTK-8</a>

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Comments

  1. Dead cat's Avatar
    I have a manaqiun that i would like to steampunk out, but im afraid she would look too much like a borg. Any thoughts?
  2. JustJimAZ's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Dead cat
    I have a manaqiun that i would like to steampunk out, but im afraid she would look too much like a borg. Any thoughts?
    If you dress the mannequin up like a 19th century Englishman, add goggles and a steampunk weapon he would not look like a Borg. If you try to make him a steampunk android, I think your best bet is to use lots of copper, maybe make the skin a metallic color or a lifelike flesh color, and remember to include a boiler. I think things like pressure gauges, wheels for controlling steam, and maybe a smokestack will get the point across. The fact is, there will always be a percentage of people who won't understand steampunk, and others who will think Borg no matter what. No matter. You and your kind know what it's about!