Steampunk Guide
What this guide is:
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A Quick history of steampunk
A list of some places you can get
inspiration from
Advice for choosing outfits and character
creation
Advice for where to get things!
Q&A
What this guide isn’t:
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Me telling you how to be steampunk.
This is a guide- I’m here to show you the
options available and inspire you, not tell
you how to do it.
What Steampunk is
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A fashion trend
A music genre
A novel genre
A cool thing you see at cons
A WAY OF LIFE
Fun!
What Steampunk isn’t:
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Only for cool people. That you aren’t.
Only for skinny white folk.
Expensive
Serious Business.
Where did Steampunk begin?
VICTORIAN ENGLAND.
Well, not really…
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The term “Steampunk” was coined in the 1980’s
as a part of Cyberpunk
Steampunk genre novels already existed before
then, but they were grouped under Sci-fi
Steampunk has taken over since then as it
appeals to many subcultures including goths,
punks, industrials, geeks and gamers
More and more movies are being made as it’s
such a popular thing which is bringing it to
mainstream attention.
Inspiration!
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The easiest way to start with steampunk is
to find out what other people have done
And there’s lots of inspiration out there!
Inspiration in Books
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The Difference Engine by William Gibson
and Bruce Sterling.
His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate, #1) by
Gail Carriger
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Inspiration in Movies
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Steamboy
Wild Wild West
Repo the Genetic Opera
The Prestige
Sweeney Todd
Treasure Planet
Anything Victorian- Sherlock Holmes, My Fair
Lady, Oliver, Chitty chitty bang bang
I’ve also used Cabaret and Chicago
Inspiration in Comics
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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Girl Genius (an online comic)
Full Metal Alchemist
Inspiration in Fashion
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Livejournal group Steamfashion is
absolutely great for images and inspiration
http://community.livejournal.com/steamfashion/
 Look at actual Victorian fashion!
 Steampunk is pretty in with high fashion at the
moment too
Inspiration in Music
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Dr Steel!
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Abney Park
Making an outfit
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Pick your favourite colour as a starting
point! Colours that suit you or make you
feel great when you wear them.
Choose clothing that suits you and you feel
comfortable in
Accessorise!
Clothing that suits you- Women
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If you have a small chest things with high collars
look good
If you have a larger chest you’re better with Vnecked shirts/coats
Corsets are awesome for everyone!
If you have a curvy shape fitted skirts look great
If you have small hips adding belts will give you
more shape
Puffy sleeves make large arms look bigger
If you’re short pointed toes make you look taller
Clothing that suits you- Men
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Full length coats look best on tall men
If you’re shorter go for ¾ length or jacket
length
Rolling up your sleeves will make your
arms look bigger
Very tall hats look better on tall men, go for
a smaller hat if you’re short.
Waistcoats are great for everyone
Then Accessorise!
Just find things that you like and keep adding. Some
ideas are:
 Pocket watch
 Goggles
 Necklaces/Chokers
 Cuff links
 Wrist cuffs
 Belts and chains
But what if I want to make a
Character?
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Personally I start with a colour again!
You may already have an idea and you just want
to expand it
If you want to draw the character but you’re not
confident with drawing print out a picture of a
person then draw the clothing over the top
Remember a steampunk character is like cosplayyou can change your hair colour/eye colour/
nationality too!
Remember steampunk is not like cosplay- you
can base the character off parts of yourself!
Things to think about when making a
Character
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Where do they come
from?
What job do they have?
How did they get that job?
What’s the best thing
about them?
What’s the worst thing
about them?
Is there anything special
about them?
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What’s their favourite
colour?
How would they talk?
Would you have fun being
that character?
Would the costume be
comfortable?
Can you make that
costume?
Now give them a name!
For example, this is Cogsworth:
Where do they come from?
Russia!
What job do they have?
Captain of the ship
How did they get that job?
He stole the ship
What’s the best thing about them?
They’re fun!
What’s the worst thing about them?
They’re stupid. So, so stupid.
Is there anything special about them?
They’re a clock work cyborg with a human soul
What’s their favourite colour?
Red for Russia!
How would they talk?
With a high voice and a Russian accent
Comfort is a must in costumes! These
look cool, but they’re not fun to wear!
Where to get things from!
Clothing, Shoes and Accessories
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Charity shops
Carboot sales
Buy online
Ebay!
Regular fashion stores (if you’re lucky!)
Make them yourself!
Commission them
Where to get things from!
Hats
Types of hats: Top hats, Bowler hats (aka
Derby), Mini top hats, Large sun hats,
Military hats
 Online (best place,
but also most expensive)
 Car boot sales
 Charity shops
 Military surplus stores
Where to get things from!
Cogs and Gears
These are actually really hard to find! Here are
some places you can get them:
 Mixed bags from Ebay and Etsy
 Break apart old things which have gears (clocks,
watches)
 Maplins sell plastic cogs you can paint
Also remember you can accessorise with buttons,
keys, springs and anything in your character!
Where to get things from!
Weapons and Guns
You can buy bases you can alter and paint here:
 Toy shops!
 Ebay
 Poundland
 The nerf website
 Charity shops
 Car boot sales
Wood
painted
Magpie from
Props Supplier
Welders
goggles
painted
Buttons and
Pendants
from Ebay
Clock from charity shop
Maplins
cogs
painted
Gun from
toy store
Medical Tubing
Painting plastic things
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Remove things like “made in china” using
sand paper
Gently sand the entire surface
Prime with black primer paint
Dry brush with metal acrylic or use rub and
buff
Age with acrylic or shoe polish
Seal with clear acrylic spray
And one last bit of advice…
Have fun!
Now it’s Q&A time!
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If you want a copy of this slide I’ll post it up
on the Alcon Forums
If you email me at
Tab@khaoskostumes.com I can also send
it to you