So, I did go to the Steampunk Soirree; and as much as I would love to tell you that my hiatus was caused by some ruffians who invaded the concert and took captives, and that I am back only by the grace of god and the aid of a lockpick I keep tucked in my goggles at all times, I would be lying. The truth is I simply forgot about updating. Which is perfectly reasonable, as I am a time-traveler, and am quite unused to using a computer. (Note: this is also a lie, and my typing speed is insanely fast for most I shall have you know.)
So some news: We have cut cable and home phone lines here. We use cell phones in this day and age (yes, this Victorian vigilante is equipped with a smartphone, as I have always loved modern technology. I try to stay ahead of the curve) and the cable was nigh on useless for anything but the news, which was far too depressing anyway. Turns out, we don't particularly miss either commodity.
I am working with Kylee Lane of LuxuryLaneSoap.com, and will be doing one of their Artist Series soap sets. The blog will (hopefully) be alerted as soon as the soap sets are up. I will be drawing some very familiar superheroes for the set. I gain no profit from the soaps (and for this set, neither does Kylee) and the money made will be put toward a charity. Personally, I might buy a few just for the sake of having something I drew on a bar of soap. It'd be neat!
Back to news of Abney Park, the Steampunk Soiree was amazing! I drew some cards with each of the band members on them and had them sign copies of the cards. They got to keep the originals, while I have autographed copies of the drawings. The band members seemed to love them, as well. We had the Brass Section and an extra guitarist this time, and the song "Airship Pirate" has never been so awesome (up until something else started playing mid-song and the crowd was baffled, if highly amused). I also brought along a dear friend of mine, who had never been to a concert before. (I didn't want to go alone, and she needed to see the crew play live). She wondered why it took me so long to bring her with, afterwards. Which just goes to show that everybody truly needs to see Abney Park. Really. It's amazing. One of the members of the Brass Section is making his own CD soon, which I would love to hear more about, but my memory of that evening is a little foggy after the fact that it was awesome and people loved my drawings. All in all it was amazing.
Soon I will be going into the dark and scary world of education once more, using the Internet as my only shield against its trying ways and attempts to distort sanity. Not to say it is all bad, mind. I love education and learning. I merely hate the efforts and lengths I am often pressed to. I still believe I may succeed (despite having two classes on opposite sides of the campus within ten minutes of each-other) and will attempt to keep the world posted.
I will make an effort to post here more often. But I do wonder how -during my absence from the blog- I managed to get so many extra readers. I shant question it, however, and only welcome you all. And I promise, it won't always be this bloody boring.
Unrelated, I hear that Doctor Steel is no longer in
Showing posts with label steampunk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label steampunk. Show all posts
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sub-culture madness!
So with all this talk of Steampunk and other subcultures I do, how is one to choose which Subculture is right for them? There are so many!
...What, don't you know much about any subcultures? Just getting into Steampunk? Not sure if you want to expand to new subcultures? Experienced in a subculture, but looking to expand? Well here's the post for you! Subculture 101!
1. Steampunk
Steampunk is a culture of the handmade. Things that are handmade with a Victorian-era style, while not necessarily vintage. It's old look with new gadgetry. There's clocks, there's airships, goggles, Aether, difference engines, all that cool stuff! I post on it fairly regularly, so I'll keep this information short and let you read on about it yourself.
2. Clockpunk
Wait, not sure how this is different from Steampunk? Well, it's like Steampunk, but with more clocks instead of Steam. Clockpunk tends to be an earlier era to Steampunk, and can work through either said clockwork, or occasionally magic.
3. Dieselpunk
Set in the time of diesel trains and engines, it seems to be more often set in the wild west rather than London, though isn't exclusive. Clockpunk, Dieselpunk, and Steampunk are all easily confused and not necessarily exclusive.
4. Cyberpunk
While not exclusively so, Cyberpunk tends to be either post-apocalyptic or dystopian. It involves futuristic fashions that tend to involve gothicic or lolita-stylized basic outfits with neon and studs on top, dreadfalls, or other such things. Alternatively, it can be normal clothing with electronics or electronic parts/looks to them. (Example: A normal teenager wearing a gas mask and night-vision goggles with gloves that have wires on them.)A good deal of science-fiction could be classified as Cyberpunk if people paid it any mind. Blade Runner, Ghost in the shell, and the Matrix are good examples, just to mention a few.
5. Gothic-lolita/lolita
Don't get Gothic Lolita and Lolita confused. actually, there are quite a few kinds of Lolita. They emphasize the innocence and childlike wonder in a person. Unfortunately it is also easily fetishized (but I will NOT go into that). The common points of Gothic-lolita and lolita are that they all tend to start with lacy dresses (for the girls) or Victorian suits (for the gents). Depending on what kind of lolita they are, they will pick different styles and accessories. Sweet lolita tends toward white and pastel colors with candy or sweet-related acessories. Gothic lolita prefers black and metal studs, sometimes with a teddybear that has a button eye missing or some such.
6. Atomicpunk (not the Van Halen song.)
Atomic punk is in a very different time from its cousins, Atomicpunk is set around the 1940's, back when they thought hiding under your desk would protect you from a nuclear attack.
I heard this term at Steamcon II and a google image search doesn't tell me much about it, so I'll have to tell you how I perceive it. It's kind of like what the Jetsons was like, back when we had that sort of style on everything, we thought aliens and nuclear wars were our biggest problems, and people still used the term "keen" unironically. It's not exactly a common genre, but it's one that Dr. Steel fits into quite well, and that's enough to make me happy. (Check out Dr. Steel's music on Youtube. You'll like what you hear, I think.)
So that's some short input on Subcultures. If you want to hear more about any one of them, leave a comment in the comments section. I don't bite! (unless you deserve it, anyways.)
...What, don't you know much about any subcultures? Just getting into Steampunk? Not sure if you want to expand to new subcultures? Experienced in a subculture, but looking to expand? Well here's the post for you! Subculture 101!
1. Steampunk
Steampunk is a culture of the handmade. Things that are handmade with a Victorian-era style, while not necessarily vintage. It's old look with new gadgetry. There's clocks, there's airships, goggles, Aether, difference engines, all that cool stuff! I post on it fairly regularly, so I'll keep this information short and let you read on about it yourself.
2. Clockpunk
Wait, not sure how this is different from Steampunk? Well, it's like Steampunk, but with more clocks instead of Steam. Clockpunk tends to be an earlier era to Steampunk, and can work through either said clockwork, or occasionally magic.
3. Dieselpunk
Set in the time of diesel trains and engines, it seems to be more often set in the wild west rather than London, though isn't exclusive. Clockpunk, Dieselpunk, and Steampunk are all easily confused and not necessarily exclusive.
4. Cyberpunk
While not exclusively so, Cyberpunk tends to be either post-apocalyptic or dystopian. It involves futuristic fashions that tend to involve gothicic or lolita-stylized basic outfits with neon and studs on top, dreadfalls, or other such things. Alternatively, it can be normal clothing with electronics or electronic parts/looks to them. (Example: A normal teenager wearing a gas mask and night-vision goggles with gloves that have wires on them.)A good deal of science-fiction could be classified as Cyberpunk if people paid it any mind. Blade Runner, Ghost in the shell, and the Matrix are good examples, just to mention a few.
5. Gothic-lolita/lolita
Don't get Gothic Lolita and Lolita confused. actually, there are quite a few kinds of Lolita. They emphasize the innocence and childlike wonder in a person. Unfortunately it is also easily fetishized (but I will NOT go into that). The common points of Gothic-lolita and lolita are that they all tend to start with lacy dresses (for the girls) or Victorian suits (for the gents). Depending on what kind of lolita they are, they will pick different styles and accessories. Sweet lolita tends toward white and pastel colors with candy or sweet-related acessories. Gothic lolita prefers black and metal studs, sometimes with a teddybear that has a button eye missing or some such.
6. Atomicpunk (not the Van Halen song.)
Atomic punk is in a very different time from its cousins, Atomicpunk is set around the 1940's, back when they thought hiding under your desk would protect you from a nuclear attack.
I heard this term at Steamcon II and a google image search doesn't tell me much about it, so I'll have to tell you how I perceive it. It's kind of like what the Jetsons was like, back when we had that sort of style on everything, we thought aliens and nuclear wars were our biggest problems, and people still used the term "keen" unironically. It's not exactly a common genre, but it's one that Dr. Steel fits into quite well, and that's enough to make me happy. (Check out Dr. Steel's music on Youtube. You'll like what you hear, I think.)
So that's some short input on Subcultures. If you want to hear more about any one of them, leave a comment in the comments section. I don't bite! (unless you deserve it, anyways.)
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Steampunk Portal Gun.
So after reading a few comments from @Wheatley_Core I got to thinking: What if there was a Steampunk portal?
IT WOULD BE AWESOME, THAT'S WHAT.
Think about this one, then:
There she was, running down the streets of London. Tap-tap-tap went high-heeled shoes on pavement. 'For science' they said. 'Cake' they said. To hell with the cake, and to hell with the Ripper who made it.
Blue portal through an open window, orange portal to the wall. Just hope nobody's in the house!
Lights off, and an orange portal projected into the kitchen. Looking in that direction, there was a little red glow...
"The/the/THERE you are." something ticked loudly as little magnetic spheres jolted through the air at the test subject in heels. A turret had been hiding to Chell's left. Made from clockwork, magnets, and some bizarre amalgamation of science that allowed them to speak, they fired without care at Chell, who dived behind a loveseat. Chell fired a portal outside, and one under the turret as one of the metal spheres left a welt in her shoulder.
"Owowowowowww!" The Turret whined as several windows broke outside. Chell put both portals outside until after the firing stopped, and walked through what she thought was a home, trying to get out.
It turned out she had only gone further into the scientific trap. All this time she thought she had escaped, but here it was. GlaDos. Ticking with clockwork and with chemicals flowing through veins of copper tubes. Her eyes swiveled to meet Chell's.
"Hello. We meet again. This is the last time. I bet you don't even remember the first because I killed you. Even after you killed me. We both got better, don't you know? I created this place to keep you occupied. I created the Ripper to bring you some excitement. I even. created. cake. The companion Cube misses you in the incinerator. Yes, even after all this time, the Cube still loves you. I don't know why, you're just a murderer. Heartless. So, come to kill me again? You monster. Fine. Go ahead. Don't expect me to fight back."
A door slid open and the Ripper was there. A beast of buzz-saws jutting out of its back and chest which could roll in any direction or walk to get anywhere it needed to go. It could even master portals.
"Just kidding. Hah. you should have seen your face when you thought I wasn't going to fight. Haha. Next time I won't let you come back. Goodbye, test subject. Forever."
The portal gun was retired the next day, split in half with bloodspatters on it.
The remnants were never found, but all that remains of the London Aperture Science Facility is a non-functioning turret. It was remodeled to dispense gumballs.
I hope that makes up for my lack of posts as of late!
IT WOULD BE AWESOME, THAT'S WHAT.
Think about this one, then:
There she was, running down the streets of London. Tap-tap-tap went high-heeled shoes on pavement. 'For science' they said. 'Cake' they said. To hell with the cake, and to hell with the Ripper who made it.
Blue portal through an open window, orange portal to the wall. Just hope nobody's in the house!
Lights off, and an orange portal projected into the kitchen. Looking in that direction, there was a little red glow...
"The/the/THERE you are." something ticked loudly as little magnetic spheres jolted through the air at the test subject in heels. A turret had been hiding to Chell's left. Made from clockwork, magnets, and some bizarre amalgamation of science that allowed them to speak, they fired without care at Chell, who dived behind a loveseat. Chell fired a portal outside, and one under the turret as one of the metal spheres left a welt in her shoulder.
"Owowowowowww!" The Turret whined as several windows broke outside. Chell put both portals outside until after the firing stopped, and walked through what she thought was a home, trying to get out.
It turned out she had only gone further into the scientific trap. All this time she thought she had escaped, but here it was. GlaDos. Ticking with clockwork and with chemicals flowing through veins of copper tubes. Her eyes swiveled to meet Chell's.
"Hello. We meet again. This is the last time. I bet you don't even remember the first because I killed you. Even after you killed me. We both got better, don't you know? I created this place to keep you occupied. I created the Ripper to bring you some excitement. I even. created. cake. The companion Cube misses you in the incinerator. Yes, even after all this time, the Cube still loves you. I don't know why, you're just a murderer. Heartless. So, come to kill me again? You monster. Fine. Go ahead. Don't expect me to fight back."
A door slid open and the Ripper was there. A beast of buzz-saws jutting out of its back and chest which could roll in any direction or walk to get anywhere it needed to go. It could even master portals.
"Just kidding. Hah. you should have seen your face when you thought I wasn't going to fight. Haha. Next time I won't let you come back. Goodbye, test subject. Forever."
The portal gun was retired the next day, split in half with bloodspatters on it.
The remnants were never found, but all that remains of the London Aperture Science Facility is a non-functioning turret. It was remodeled to dispense gumballs.
I hope that makes up for my lack of posts as of late!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Good gads, steampunk fads!
It is officially a late post (despite me having no official release date for posts aside from 'whenever I can set aside my other stuff and type') so I thought I would get back to the original point of the blog. (Ok, the original point is Steampunk /and/ superheros, but that's besides the point). Let's talk about Steampunk Fads!
Goggles:
Less a fad than a staple of the genre, Goggles are very important to aviators, engineers, and anyone else who can be trusted to move very fast or be in something that could obscure vision/hurt eyes. (The viewers of Jersey Shore are included in that section). Some choose to wear them regardless of what job they supposedly carry. I know I do! (I wear goggles to school each day. I'll probably stop next year, unfortunately.)
Phaser (Or however you spell it):
A lot of people love to mod Nerf Mavericks by painting them, or buying and painting dollar store guns. This may very well be the only society that supports cleverly painting a Nerf gun, considering how people have spazzed about them. And unlike those Anime conventions, I have yet to see peacebonding need to be enacted at Steamcon Seattle. (Then again, I don't carry phasers.)
Moustache:
I'll never understand this one. Old-timey victorian moustaches drawn on fingers or as necklaces. Some how said it's a hipster thing, but I've seen it happen at Steamcon too, so if someone would kindly inform me WTF all of that is about, that'd be great.
Mechanical arms/legs:
One of my favorite fads, the making of mechanical arms for the sheer sake of badassery will always be appreciated. Some look like Hellboy, some look like Nathan Fillion's arm from that one episode of Castle (If you can stop staring at his awesomeness for two seconds, difficult I know) all of them look pretty fricking awesome. I have also seen mechanical legs, and though they are less popular they are just as awesome.
Dragons:
I made a dragon backpack once (I have been asked numerous times what it is, it's just a really /really/ derpy looking dragon. I had scraps, so sue me.) and people seem to love it. I have seen awesome shoulder-perching dragons ranging from Beanie-Babies to slender badass dragons with LEDs inside to light it up. (I wish I had pictures of that one from Steamcon 2, it was awesome). There are some pretty sweet ones out there if you can find them.
Engineering masterpieces:
I saw a woman with a mechanical bird in a cage on her hat that moved and chirped. Need I saw more? Anyone who can make awesome mechanical stuff of that caliber is in this category. And I salute thee.
So there are just a few awesome fashion trends to mention. Maybe in the future I'll add pictures to show what I mean. For now, just think on the idea, and maybe google a few of the things mentioned. The Steampunk world is pretty frickin' awesome. :3
Goggles:
Less a fad than a staple of the genre, Goggles are very important to aviators, engineers, and anyone else who can be trusted to move very fast or be in something that could obscure vision/hurt eyes. (The viewers of Jersey Shore are included in that section). Some choose to wear them regardless of what job they supposedly carry. I know I do! (I wear goggles to school each day. I'll probably stop next year, unfortunately.)
Phaser (Or however you spell it):
A lot of people love to mod Nerf Mavericks by painting them, or buying and painting dollar store guns. This may very well be the only society that supports cleverly painting a Nerf gun, considering how people have spazzed about them. And unlike those Anime conventions, I have yet to see peacebonding need to be enacted at Steamcon Seattle. (Then again, I don't carry phasers.)
Moustache:
I'll never understand this one. Old-timey victorian moustaches drawn on fingers or as necklaces. Some how said it's a hipster thing, but I've seen it happen at Steamcon too, so if someone would kindly inform me WTF all of that is about, that'd be great.
Mechanical arms/legs:
One of my favorite fads, the making of mechanical arms for the sheer sake of badassery will always be appreciated. Some look like Hellboy, some look like Nathan Fillion's arm from that one episode of Castle (If you can stop staring at his awesomeness for two seconds, difficult I know) all of them look pretty fricking awesome. I have also seen mechanical legs, and though they are less popular they are just as awesome.
Dragons:
I made a dragon backpack once (I have been asked numerous times what it is, it's just a really /really/ derpy looking dragon. I had scraps, so sue me.) and people seem to love it. I have seen awesome shoulder-perching dragons ranging from Beanie-Babies to slender badass dragons with LEDs inside to light it up. (I wish I had pictures of that one from Steamcon 2, it was awesome). There are some pretty sweet ones out there if you can find them.
Engineering masterpieces:
I saw a woman with a mechanical bird in a cage on her hat that moved and chirped. Need I saw more? Anyone who can make awesome mechanical stuff of that caliber is in this category. And I salute thee.
So there are just a few awesome fashion trends to mention. Maybe in the future I'll add pictures to show what I mean. For now, just think on the idea, and maybe google a few of the things mentioned. The Steampunk world is pretty frickin' awesome. :3
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
A Painted Horse in London
Here's a little something I drew up last night, to make use of the wonderful markers my sister Jessie got me. I didn't use any black marker outlines! (I cheated a little and used some grey, though).
I think it's a sort of subtle form of Steampunk; like something made this carousel horse come alive and it's rather unhappy about it. Tell me what you think! Personally I like the contrast of the bright colors on the dull gray background.
(For my own critique, I think the man's legs are a little short and awkwardly placed, the horse is too small -though I guess that makes sense for the 'plot', and It might've looked better if I had done a bit more detail on the buildings, iunno.)
Steampunk writing
Some may wonder why I add Steampunk to the stuff I write about on my blog. The rest of it is reviewing and rants, and Steampunk doesn't really fit in.
Well, it's just another obsession. I have quite a few, but I think we have enough blogs on Batman, and I can only say so much about Alice in Wonderland, really. I like Steampunk because it's unique for every person who is into it, and there is nothing that needs to be uniform about it (Unless you're a Doctor Steel fan, in which case, more power to you. Call me when he has funding for those robots)!
So let's talk Steampunk!
Steampunk is almost always set in the Victorian era of time (around the world, not just England. What makes it unique is that it isn't historical, it's the past re-thought. What would happen if Steam power functioned better than they thought, and became the main source of power for everyone?
Better than that, What would happen if they had the inventions we have today, only steam-powered or powered by clockwork?
Now throw in some airships like Zeppelins and blimps; only they can go faster, maybe they had sails, and add a steam-powered auto-pilot or a pirate flag!
What about zombies? I mean, we're talking fiction and all, right? Why not?
Time travel! That's always fun, maybe someone brought some machines back from the future and showed everyone how to build them with their own technology in the 1800's!
Gears are nice, let's add some of those in, whether you're in the party of people who thinks they can be decorative, or the party of people who thinks they need to do something.
Well now we're getting to the heart and soul of Steampunk. It's what you make it. Whether it's a poison gas turning people into Zombies or it's a set of rockin' airship pirates, your story is what you want it to be. The only real requirement is that you're having fun! Steampunks are really nice and really open-minded about their fun. If you want to know more, all you have to do is ask "Hey, What's Steampunk about, anyways?" and they'll gladly tell you all about the clothes, the awesome bands, and the great literature.
For the record, my favorite bands that involve Steampunk are:
Abney Park
Doctor Steel
Voltaire
The Clockwork Quartet
The Cog Is Dead
Some other bands to look at are the Gypsy Nomads, Midnight Sunday Driver, Vernian Process, or the Unextraordinary Gentlemen. There are many others, so google it!
Some interesting books to check out are Boneshaker, Boilerplate, and old classics like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. (You may be starting to notice that this sort of thing is what made BioShock look so unique.)
There's a Steampunk episode of Castle I highly recommend, and a Steampunk episode of NCIS LA that I really don't recommend. Seriously, don't pay attention to that episode. Castle is WAY better. (Also it has Nathan Fillion in it and he is always awesome.)
There's plenty of fun and interest to be had in Steampunk, so just take a look around, and support a local Steampunk artisan! (you can find them on Deviant Art, Etsy, and at any local steampunk event.)
Well, it's just another obsession. I have quite a few, but I think we have enough blogs on Batman, and I can only say so much about Alice in Wonderland, really. I like Steampunk because it's unique for every person who is into it, and there is nothing that needs to be uniform about it (Unless you're a Doctor Steel fan, in which case, more power to you. Call me when he has funding for those robots)!
So let's talk Steampunk!
Steampunk is almost always set in the Victorian era of time (around the world, not just England. What makes it unique is that it isn't historical, it's the past re-thought. What would happen if Steam power functioned better than they thought, and became the main source of power for everyone?
Better than that, What would happen if they had the inventions we have today, only steam-powered or powered by clockwork?
Now throw in some airships like Zeppelins and blimps; only they can go faster, maybe they had sails, and add a steam-powered auto-pilot or a pirate flag!
What about zombies? I mean, we're talking fiction and all, right? Why not?
Time travel! That's always fun, maybe someone brought some machines back from the future and showed everyone how to build them with their own technology in the 1800's!
Gears are nice, let's add some of those in, whether you're in the party of people who thinks they can be decorative, or the party of people who thinks they need to do something.
Well now we're getting to the heart and soul of Steampunk. It's what you make it. Whether it's a poison gas turning people into Zombies or it's a set of rockin' airship pirates, your story is what you want it to be. The only real requirement is that you're having fun! Steampunks are really nice and really open-minded about their fun. If you want to know more, all you have to do is ask "Hey, What's Steampunk about, anyways?" and they'll gladly tell you all about the clothes, the awesome bands, and the great literature.
For the record, my favorite bands that involve Steampunk are:
Abney Park
Doctor Steel
Voltaire
The Clockwork Quartet
The Cog Is Dead
Some other bands to look at are the Gypsy Nomads, Midnight Sunday Driver, Vernian Process, or the Unextraordinary Gentlemen. There are many others, so google it!
Some interesting books to check out are Boneshaker, Boilerplate, and old classics like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. (You may be starting to notice that this sort of thing is what made BioShock look so unique.)
There's a Steampunk episode of Castle I highly recommend, and a Steampunk episode of NCIS LA that I really don't recommend. Seriously, don't pay attention to that episode. Castle is WAY better. (Also it has Nathan Fillion in it and he is always awesome.)
There's plenty of fun and interest to be had in Steampunk, so just take a look around, and support a local Steampunk artisan! (you can find them on Deviant Art, Etsy, and at any local steampunk event.)
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