James Lopez: Hullabaloo Steampunk Animation Project (2)

We first featured this great project back in October of 2012 and now you can head on over and support this crowd funding campaign to finish it.

Kickstarter: Vault of Adepts

Laudanum Studios: Penny Dreadful meets Arkham Horror in this pen and paper RPG of secret societies in 1900 London. Occult schemes in the age of absinthe.

©Aly Fell

A New Century. A New Age.

VAULT OF ADEPTS is a pen and paper Role Playing Game of secret societies set in 1900 London. These occult Lodges attracted the elite of London society – poets and politicians, actors and heiresses, alchemists and aristocrats scheming against a backdrop of cut glass, in the age of absinthe.

©Aly Fell

You play one of these eccentric characters, choose a faction and an agenda – do you want to proceed through the mystic Grades to achieve enlightenment? To take over? To destroy from within? – and speed from location to location to secure ancient knowledge, spread rumours, and foil your opponent’s efforts.

A séance gone horribly wrong. A gentleman approached after a Mason’s meeting with an inquiry if he’d be interested in something more… unconventional. A book dealer looking over an incoming tome, and knowing more than he lets on. Somewhere in London, between Scotland Yard and the Blind Beggar, is the key to someone’s lifelong obsession. Seek it out. But will you use it, sell it, or destroy it?

Throw the best parties, summon demons, and keep it out of the papers!

©Aly Fell

Watch the gorgeous Kickstarter Video below. The game will also feature many illustrations from Aly Fell  who did the artwork for the Steampunk Tarot and Mechanicals. Direct link to campaign.

Penny Dreadful

Penny Dreadful! Oh my such promise for a new show that has all of the things.

ABOUT THE SERIES (Excerpt from Showcase Website)

Some of literature's most terrifying characters, including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and iconic figures from the novel Dracula are lurking in the darkest corners of  Victorian London. PENNY DREADFUL is a frightening psychological thriller that weaves together these classic horror origin stories into a new adult drama.

Edwardian Ball 2014: The Curious Sofa

Edwardian Ball 2014 Poster

Another year, another Edwardian Ball come and gone.  While I still haven't been able to attend, I can happily look forward to the wonderful annual video that Mark Day produces of the event.

Here it is in all its glory, this year's dazzling eye candy for your enjoyment.

Professor Elemental: Welcome to a Brave New World

The always awesome Professor Elemental was recently featured on Phineas and Ferb.

Mr.Hublot

Mr. Hublot is a short animated film that looks pretty wonderful.

Here is the plot outline en français

Monsieur Hublot vit dans un monde absurde, où se côtoient des personnages rapiécés, recousus, en partie mécanique, véhicules démesurés, un monde où le gigantisme de la mécanique et l'acharnement à la récupération, règnent en maître.

Bourré de tocs, de manies, effrayé par le monde extérieur, reclus sur lui-même, Mr Hublot déteste le changement et les imprévus. Il a d’ailleurs trouvé une parade très efficace à cela : ne jamais sortir de chez lui ! L’arrivée du chien Robot Pet va chambouler ses habitudes, contraint et forcer de faire vie commune avec son nouveau compagnon très envahissant…

You can stay connected with the project through Facebook or follow them on Twitter. Shout out to Steampunk Canada for posting the movie poster this morning.

Historical Lingerie & Corset Dressing Sequence by Lace Embrace

The Lingerie Addict made this wonderful video of the lovely Melanie Talkington of Lace Embrace at her annual Antique Corset Fashion Show at Hycroft Mansion.

I've mentioned Melanie before, and am the proud owner of 2 corsets made by her. After watching this video I feel as though I made need to add another to my collection(?) just how many things does it take to be a collection anyway?

via The Treacle Tart at The Lingerie Addict.

BioShock Infinite

Been thinking for awhile that it was time to get another Xbox, this pretty much seals the deal.

Arthur Slade: Modo: Ember's End Graphic Novel Indiegogo

Modo: Ember's End. A stand-alone, steampunk-infused graphic novel set in the Wild West. Inspired by the bestselling series: The Hunchback Assignments.

Hurry, there is only 3 days left to support Arthur Slade's Indiegogo campaign. Via Countessa Lenora of Steampunk Canada.

Eye of the Storm: Sail (Awolnation)

So much better than their official Video. 

Nikola Tesla vs Thomas Edison. Epic Rap Battles of History.

via Steamy Link of the Day by @SteampunkBall

The Edwardian Ball 2013: The Doubtful Guest

Another year, another missed opportunity to attend The Edwardian Ball, sigh. San Francisco, why are you so hard to get to in January?

I'm blogging in my pajamas and feeling very much the slob watching this year's video –shot once again by the talented Mark Day. Enjoy!

Nerdist: Steampunk Cosplay on a Budget with Clare Grant, Chloe Dykstra + Crabcat

Look! Cute girls helping you choose stuff from the thrift shop for your cosplay. Some good tips here and the teacups on wine stems are a fabulous idea.

Ripper Street

Six months after the Ripper's reign, the Whitechapel police fight to bring law to the lawless.

Have you been watching Ripper Street? It's release is somewhat timely to us as we prepare for the next Victoria Steam Exposition (previous years have been encased in palaces of cut-crystal and gleaming brass, this year it's the back-alleys of the 19th century colonial capital which are brought to the fore) so I'm loving the visual experience of the show to draw from.

If you're interested in the Victorian science of Ripper Street, read Vanessa Heggie's post on the Guardian.

VIDEO: Professor Elemental: I'm British

Professor Elemental's video I'm British from the new album Father of Invention. 

The World of Steam

-- The World of Steam is a set of Twilight Zone-like episodes set in a Steampunk universe. From swashbuckling heroes and corseted heroines to mad scientists and demons with identity crises, the World of Steam has it all! --

Shut up and take my money! This Kickstarter looks INCREDIBLE -- I don't think they'll have any trouble reaching their goal. Check out The World of Steam's website for behind the scenes footage and information about this promising project.

Hullabaloo: James Lopez

Hullabaloo Character Sketches ©James Lopez

Hullabaloo Character Sketches ©James Lopez

Hullabaloo Blueprints ©James Lopez

Hullabaloo Screen Cap ©James Lopez

Hullabaloo Screen Cap ©James Lopez

Hullabaloo Screen Cap ©James Lopez

I'm really liking the look of this project by Animator James Lopez. You can definitely see the big mouse influence that is also apparent in Brian Kesinger's work but I think it's wonderful, and am excited to watch this develop.

Here is a work in progress clip and you can keep up to date on the project over on Facebook.

Oz: The Great and Powerful

via YouTube: In Theaters March 8, 2013



Disney's fantastical adventure "Oz The Great and Powerful," directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Wollstonecraft: Kickstarter

Mary and Ada character sketch illustration © Claire Robertson of Loobylu

Clever husband and lovely friend are in cahoots... The potential of this idea is vast and awesome. Please have a look and if you like the idea, contribute what you can to support this project.


** Excerpt from Kickstarter **


Wollstonecraft
London 1826: The Advent of the Steam Age

11 year old Ada has a problem: her governess, Miss Coverlet, has quit her job to go get married (a dumb idea if ever there was one, if you ask Ada) and her new tutor Percy ("Peebs") is a total drip.  She'd rather be left to her own devices – literally – inventing things and solving math problems and ignoring people altogether.

She's also forced to study alongside the imaginative girlie-girl Mary, who's always going on about romance and exotic travels.  Fortunately, Mary's appetite for adventure leads her to propose the two girls open a detective agency, and when an heiress shows up with a case about a missing diamond, it's the perfect puzzle to coax Ada out of her shell.

This is the made up story about two very real girls – Ada, the world's first computer programmer, and Mary, the world's first science fiction author – caught up in a steampunk world of hot-air balloons and steam engines, jewel thieves and mechanical contraptions.  For readers 8-12.

This is a pro-math, pro-science, pro-history and pro-literature adventure novel for and about girls, who use their education to solve problems and catch a jewel thief.  Ada and Mary encounter real historical characters, such as Percy Shelley, Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday, and Charles Dickens – people whom the girls actually knew.  If Jane Austen wrote about zeppelins and brass goggles, this would be the book.



Why "Wollstonecraft"?  Mary names the detective agency after her mother, the famous feminist writer. If this is the kind of book you'd like to see, please support this project.

About the Author:

Jordan Stratford has been pronounced clinically dead, and was briefly mistakenly wanted by INTERPOL for international industrial espionage. He is an ordained priest, has won numerous sword fights, jaywalked across the streets of Paris, San Franciso, and Sao Paolo, and was once shot by a stray rubber bullet in a London riot. He lives on a tiny windswept Pacific island populated predominantly by realtors, and carnivorous gulls.

"Wollstonecraft" is his second novel.

"Stratford is the Archduke of Canadian Steampunk" – Cherie Priest

Dr. Grordbort Presents: The Deadliest Game

 

Dr Grordbort Presents: The Deadliest Game from Media Design School on Vimeo.

Excerpt from the Weta website.. Greg Broadmore has worked at Weta Workshop as a concept designer and creator of worlds for over 8 years.

In 2006, Weta revealed their Dr. Grordbort's Rayguns range, entirely designed and conceptualised by Greg. Dr Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators blew up across the Internet and was embraced by Wired magazine, Boing Boing, IO9 and others. He has since gone on to launch an internationally touring Dr Grordbort's Exceptional Exhibition, write two critically acclaimed books in this retro-science fiction universe, and is currently expanding the world into new creative frontiers.