January 2009

31 January 2009 | ASHLEY WOOD | Comment

Mr Ashley Wood is a commercial illustrator, concept designer and comic book artist from Australia. Although certainly not all of his work is particularly steampunk or dieselpunk, some depictions, as the one on display here, may be of interest to us still. Be sure to pay his Blog a visit to browse the things on display there. (Not all is perfectly safe-for-work, mind you!)

Thanks to a Mr “Anjin” for bringing this artist to our attention over at The Steampunk Forum.

30 January 2009 | WUPPERTAL SCHWEBEBAHN | Comment

The Schwebebahn of Wuppertal, Germany, is the oldest suspended monorail in the world, opened in 1901, it remains in service up to this very day.

Construction on the monorail began in 1898 and was completed two years thereafter. Since 1997, the supporting frame has been largely modernised and a large number of stops have been reconstructed. It still looks best in old photographs though, and “Lord K” posted a lovely collection of them recently at his Journal.

29 January 2008 | THE FALL OF HYPERION | Comment

Hyperion was one of the Titans of Greek mythology, however he played virtually no role in Greek culture and little role in legend. Later authors have elaborted on the character; John Keats wrote the two poems “Hyperion” and “The Fall of Hyperion” which in turn inspired Dan Simmons to write three science fiction novels.

In The Computer Graphics Society’s “Steampunk Myths and Legends” challenge, Mr Marcin Jakubowski submitted this reimagination. Visit his Website for more!

28 January 2008 | THE CLONE LAB | Comment

One of the Return to Castle Wolfenstein conceptual artworks featured on the Nazi page of our WAR ROOM so inspired Mr Erasmus, member of our community, the SMOKING LOUNGE, that he decided to produce and share this wonderful depiction of his own!

Behold a full-fledged human factory where some mad scientist works to fulfill the fantasy dream of Nazi philosophy: the creation of a superhuman Aryan race. A frightening vision of what could have been?

27 January 2009 | ALEX BROECKEL | Comment

Mr Alex Broeckel is a conceptual artist and illustrator who lately released some wonderful steampunk-themed artworks. This depiction of Captain Nemo’s office—a perfect combination of elegance, engineering and brass; exactly what the Nautilus should look like from the inside—is but one of the paintings we definitely recommend you behold; especially the image of a gunner battling a gargantuan octopus-shaped contraption is most impressive!

Head over to Mr Broeckel’s Website now!

26 January 2009 | NOAH’S ARK | Comment

Behold brass giraffes, steampowered elephants, a flock of clockwork birds and an enormous vessel built to carry them all to safety amid the gathering storm in this steampunk reimagination of the story of Noah’s Ark. This illustration was created by a gentleman from France who goes by the handle of “loboto” and maintains a portfolio of his work available in a Profile.

Thanks to “Lord K” for posting this over at the Behold the Power of Steam! community.

25 January 2009 | SLEEPING BEAUTY | Comment

In The Computer Graphics Society’s “Steampunk Myths and Legends” challenge, Mr Antonio Caparo submitted this reimagination of the fairy tale classic Sleeping Beauty. Visit Mr Caparo’s Blog to see more of his work!

Originally published in 1697 as La Belle au Bois dormant by Charles Perrault, the most familiar Sleeping Beauty in the English speaking world has become the 1959 Walt Disney animated film, which draws as much from Perrault as from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1890 ballet version.

24 January 2009 | MOUNTAIN CASTLE | Comment

One of the latest competitions at Conceptart.org challenged the participants to device a “Mountain castle in the snow.” Many excellent artworks were submitted—all available for viewing in this Thread—yet our favorite is not exactly in the snow at all!

The artwork on display here was created by a Mr Adam Anderson from New Zealand who gives us a fascinating mix of what look like Mongol warriors and cyberpunkesque scenery. Visit Mr Anderson’s Profile for more!

23 January 2009 | CRICKEY, SECRET NAZI STUFF | Comment

In the world of dieselpunk, where the Depression never arrived, World War II may still be fought as a prolonged cold war, with the German Reich in control of all of Europe. Under the pressure of the ongoing war effort, German science is typically depicted as having continued its experimenting with biotechnologies, sparking off a genetic revolution of bio-mods, clones and organ harvesting.

Now available in our WAR ROOM: a whole new Nazi page with occult, jet aircraft, supersoldiers and more!

22 January 2009 | FORGETTING KANSAS | Comment

The most famous adaption of The Wizard of Oz was of course the 1939 film starring Judy Garland. This film seems to have become Hollywood’s favorite way of showing we are in the 1930s; Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) and Australia (2008) both featured it.

But not only dieselpunks can lay claim upon the 1939 film. Miss Daniele Rios Boleeiro from Brazil amply demonstrates with this depiction that Oz can be perfectly steampunk’d too! Be sure to visit her Profile for more!

21 January 2009 | VICTORIANTALISM | Comment

In the real world, orientalism has been criticized for being biased and even racist. However, in the realm of steampunk we can safely recreate the Orient as it was described and depicted by authors and artists who had actually never seen it. In steampunk all the myths and miracles of the East that enchanted the Victorians can come true.

Thus behold the newest page in our STEAMPUNK section: Victorientalism, about the East in steampunk fiction and the prevalence of the genre in the Land of the Rising Sun.

20 January 2009 | TALES FROM THE MARS WAR | Comment

Olympus Mons is the tallest known mountain in the Solar System, situated on Mars. Apparently at some point in an alternate nineteenth century, the forces of the British Empire fought some battle in the shadow of this enormous volcano, and Admiral Sir John Napier was part of it.

This lovely cover of a steampunk story that has sadly not yet been written was created by a Mr Pete Amachree from the United Kingdom who maintains more of his work on display in a Profile. Also be sure to visit his Website!

19 December 2009 | DECODENCE | Comment

Dieselpunk embraces the styles and technologies of the interwar era; it rejoices in a prolonged Jazz Age ambience characterized by great enthusiasm and hopes about the future. This is what we like to call, decodence.

The latest page available in our DIESELPUNK section seeks to define this aspect of the genre by exploring period and modernday travel ephemera and the characteristics and appearance of “Heroes of Pulp.” Visit the Decodence page to see all that is new!

18 January 2009 | THE AERIAL CORSAIRS | Comment

Mr “Erasmus” is a new member of our message board community the SMOKING LOUNGE but already established a name for himself as a talented artist!

Depicted here is one in a series of amazing digital paintings of “aerial corsairs”. Whether this is a reference to the swashbuckling French privateers or the U.S. Navy attack aircraft, these are majestic airships in service of the Empire, with panoramic ballrooms and wings large enough for biplanes to land upon! See all pictures in this Thread.

17 January 2009 | BETTY PAGE TRIBUTE | Comment

Just a little over a month ago, the world learned that Betty Page, 1950s pin-up girl and one of Playboy Magazine’s very first “Playmates,” had passed away on 11 December 2008. Thus the artists of Conceptart.org geared up to devise the finest tribute to this icon of times past and “remarkable lady,” as Hugh Hefner called her.

The painting on display here was created by an artist who goes by the name of “Sentinel13”. Visit this Thread to see all the artworks that were submitted.

16 January 2009 | STEAMPUNK ZEPPELINS | Comment

Airships were for many years the true masters of the skies and iconized what people thought the future would look like. Until the emergence of the aeroplane, the airship was the preferred mode of travel amid the clouds and even considered to be a possible weapon of war.

Read all about the history of the airship and its role in steampunk on the STEAMPUNK Zeppelins page! Images include historical depictions of zeppelins as displayed here as well as contemporary artworks by steampunk artists.

15 January 2009 | EDWARDIAN LAMP | Comment

For those dark winter nights, there is now an elegant portable lamp available in Edwardian style. Its brass handle is inserted into a hole in the wheel and cranked to produce light. The case is made from ash wood and veneered with mahogany crotch wood while amost all the other parts are brass.

The maker of this fine contraption is one “Tobesane” from the United States who maintains photographs of more creations on display in a Profile.

14 January 2009 | VINTAGE BATMAN | Comment

We enjoy to see superheroes in Victorian dress and this depiction of Batman as a turn-of-the-century gentleman is no exception—although the outfit does not seem particularly superheroesque.

This picture was crafted by a Miss Magdalena Dasko from Poland who maintains more, equally interesting photoshopped imagery on display in her Profile, including a photograph of Charlie Chaplin meeting Predator, and she has her own Website also!

13 January 2009 | IRON GRIP: WARLORD | Comment

“Grab your weapons and head to the battlefield to stop an army from taking control of your homeland in Iron Grip: Warlord, the debut commercial game from Isotx, Inc.” The game takes place in the fictional land of Atelia, recently invaded and rift with apathy, divided between city-states and nomadic tribes. Depicted here is one of the fine conceptual artworks available along with screenshots and further game information at the Official Website.

Thanks to Retrostacja for the link!

12 January 2009 | DIESELPUNK ARCHITECTURE | Comment

The first page to be updated is now available in its all-new form. Though much of the old content remains, the DIESELPUNK Architecture page now contains several new images and knows a whole new structure which hopefully makes for an even more pleasant reading experience!

New material includes sections about the architectures of New York, Chicago and Gotham City, specifically about the buildings of interest to the dieselpunk enthusiast. Check it out and stay tuned for more new pages!

11 January 2009 | LAYOUT UPDATE | Comment

The layout of The Gatehouse has underwent some changes, the familiar structure still largely intact but a title and new navigation menu added.

Several of the pages linked to in the menu are not yet available; we are currently working on these pages online, all to be filled with shiny new material. Minor errors with the new layout have been reported in Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. We continue to recommend Safari and Mozilla Firefox, which are both superior browser systems.

10 January 2009 | RIGHTFUL CAUSE | Comment

Time for propaganda! In our DIESELPUNK Galleries we currently feature the “Comrade Hero” of this artist who goes by the handle of “Domnx” and maintains both a Profile and a person Website.

This latest depiction of his screams, “A Cause Worth Fighing For” though it is not exactly clear what that cause might be. No matter, it is an attractive piece of propaganda, with little soldiers lined up sharp and tanks and large—large, guns, of course. Guns.

9 January 2009 | WINGS OF BRASS | Comment

Perhaps an even better steampunk’d Icarus today? Probably not inspired by the ancient Greek myth though, this fine depiction shows a angel-like woman with giant brass wings, goggles, and lovely steampunk guns!

The artist of this painting is a Mr Jeff Himmelman who maintains a selection of his exquisite work on display in a Profile. This particular artwork of his apparently won the GenCon 2008 Jurors’ Award. We hope to see many more award-winning paintings in steampunk style!

8 January 2008 | SMOKING LOUNGE ANNIVERSARY | Comment

Our message board community, the SMOKING LOUNGE, exists precisely one year today!

Founded as a forum “for all things Steam, Diesel, Retro and Pulp,” the SMOKING LOUNGE has become much more than that throughout the past year. It has become the focal point for the “darker” side of steampunk; the premier place for discussion about dieselpunk online; and above all, a pleasant club of intelligent, though sometimes silly people among whom no topic is banned beforehand. Join us!

7 January 2009 | VERNE IN THE THEATER | Comment

Yesterday at The Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach, California, a stage adaption of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days premiered.

Judging from the pictures, this classic extraordinary voyage has taken on a steampunk aesthetic in the theater. More photographs are available at this Page. If you are in the California vacinity, you can attend a performance until February 8. Thanks to Miss Laura Robinson for making us aware of this production!

6 January 2009 | STEAMPUNK’D ICARUS | Comment

It was only a matter of time before some artist tried his hand at steampunk’ing the son of Daedalus whose flight from Crete resulted in his fall to death. Overcome by the giddiness that flying lent him, Icarus soared through the sky curiously, but in the process came too close to the sun which melted his wings of wax and feathers.

The artist of this fine depiction is a Miss Christa from the United States who maintains a portfolio of her work on display in a Profile.

5 January 2009 | ORCA | Comment

Mr Jeff Simpson is a talented artist from Canada whose work we have proudly featured here before—one the 30th of last month to be precise. Lately, however, he seemed not to produce an awful lot of artwork, but fortunately there is now this new painting: “Orca,” depicting a strange woman underwater with an odd medieval mask and seemingly rather disturbing intentions.

Be sure to visit Mr Simpson’s Profile or Website to view more of his artwork!