What Is Steampunk?


What on earth is Steampunk? If the pictures on this site don't do enough talking for you, then here is a simple explanation:

Steampunk is a made-up, fantasy period of history (or the future). Steampunk imagines what it would be like if the Victorians had used steam power and clockwork to make gadgets like we have today work. Steampunk also imagines what those people would have dressed like, talked like and acted like. It is really a kind of Science Fiction (Sci-Fi).


If you want to know more about how to create a Steampunk character and costume then click on these links:
If you want to know more then have a read of these definitions purloined from the interweb:

"Steampunk is modern technology—iPads, computers, robotics, air travel—powered by steam and set in the 1800’s. This is as brief and as compact a description you can give people that have no clue what Steampunk is."



"Steampunk is an inspired movement of creativity and imagination. With a backdrop of either Victorian England or America’s Wild West at hand, modern technologies are re-imagined and realized as elaborate works of art, fashion, and mechanics. If Jules Verne or H.G. Wells were writing their science fiction today, it would be considered “Steampunk.”"



"The “punk” in “Steampunk” comes from going against convention that, through creativity and declaration of one’s individuality be it through style, gadgets, or attitude, sets one apart."



"Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery, especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century. Therefore, steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the 19th century's British Victorian era or American "Wild West", in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power has regained mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power. 



Steampunk perhaps most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retro-futuristic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era's perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. Such technology may include fictional machines like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or the modern authors Philip Pullman, Scott Westerfeld, and China Mieville. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of such technology as lighter-than-air airships, analog computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace's Analytical Engine. 



Steampunk may also, though not necessarily, incorporate additional elements from the genres of fantasy, horror, historical fiction, alternate history, or other branches of speculative fiction, making it often a hybrid genre. Steampunk also refers to any of the artistic styles, clothing fashions, or subcultures, that have developed from the aesthetics of Steampunk fiction, Victorian-era fiction, and films from the mid-20th century. Various modern utilitarian objects have been modified by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "Steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as Steampunk."




"Steampunk is often referred to as the “greatest era that never was.” Set in the late 19th century, it encompasses all of the romanticism of the Victorian Era— including the ugly bits— all the literature, all the scientific theories and political upheavals, then cranks up the technological level on the whole thing to eleven."

How To Create a Steampunk Character


When creating a Steampunk character don't forget that it is all made up, so you can almost do whatever you like!

Things to remember:

  • You character should be from the Victorian times (1837-1901) and preferably British.
  • They could be a Lady, a Gentleman, an Explorer, a Soldier, a Pilot, a Ship's Captain, a Submarine-man...
  • As well as looking like a real Victorian, you should add things to your costume such as Goggles, Belts, Gadgets, Weaponry, Cogs, Gears, Clocks, a Hat...
Use this site and the pictures on it to get some inspiration for your character but then do your own thing!

Steampunk For Kids Children

It's only right that Steampunk For Kids show you some actual Steampunk kids! Here they are, so be inspired:

Start them young:

















Steampunk Vehicles For Kids

At Steampunk For Kids we love a wacky design. In a Steampunk world there are many forms of transport, some more strange than others: