Telsa for Inspiration

I'm fascinated with Nikola Telsa. The more I read about him or learn about him the more amazing he becomes. This week while book trolling, I found a book called Tesla The Life and Times of an Electric Messiah by Nigel Cawthorne. It's a picture biography, more coffee table book than true biography, but that isn't important. What is important are the huge numbers of photos and illustrations of his inventions.

I picked up the book mainly as a source of inspiration for my next steampunk project. And that is the reason I'm sharing this with you, as a potential source of inspiration. The book talks about his inventions, his theories, and those created by others. 19th Century Science is at your finger tips with this book! Well, at least the general idea of it, not the specifics of it.

IF you are into Steampunk, then you'll want to check out this book for the same reasons I did. I can't vouch for how good of a biography it is, because I've not yet read it. But I have glanced through the pages and enjoyed many of the photos and illustrations.  Click the link above and buy it from Amazon. I got mine through Books A Million and actually paid a little more than Amazon. But it's worth it!

Steampunk for the Newbie

If you're interested in learning about Steampunk and are not sure where to start, I'm going to give you a few places to look. First, up are some books. These books initially guided my way into steampunk and also helped to inspire me in some cases. Though I don't buy into everything written, they serve as a solid guide to the world of steampunk.

The Steampunk Bible & The Steampunk User's Manual by Jeff Vandermeer. These books contain all the basics to point you in the right direction. They're filled with incredible photos as well of everything from costumes, gadgets, to ray guns and music and performance. Good stuff.

Steampunk-An Illustrated History of Fantastical Fiction, Fanciful Film and Other Victorian Visions by Brian Robb. This book will also give you a solid foundation into steampunk. The author spends a fair amount of time discussing the origins of steampunk in literature. Tons of information in this book and a great deal to inspire you.

Steampunk-The Art of Victorian Futurism by Jay Strongman. This book has a little bit of information on steampunk, however that is not the focus of the book. The true purpose is to showcase examples of steampunk creations by various artists. THIS is a must have if you want to build props. It will help you to see what others have done and also show you by example that steampunk is far more than gears. If you're not a good do it yourself-er, this book may also scare you away, lol.

Steampunk really has it's roots in literature. Jules Verne and H.G. Wells being the fathers of the genre. But there are many others that can be included in the mix, like Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And then there are the modern day Steampunk authors like Michael Moorcock, K.W. Jeter, James Blaylock, Stephen Hunt and many others. There is a great list of modern Steampunk authors and their books here.

There are of course a myriad of Steampunk Movies starting with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Disney) The Time Machine, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Time After Time, Journey To The Center of the Earth(1959), Five Weeks In A Balloon, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Prestige, Johah Hex, Hugo and many others. Check out this list for more.

And if you're really anxious to get your feet wet, why not attend a Steampunk Convention? Here is a partial list of events going on in the near future.

Of course, if you are interested in Steampunk Magic, stay here or go to SteampunkIllusionist.com

I hope that helps.