About Steampunk Art

Steampunk art comes in all shapes and sizes, from pocket watches, to redesigned laptops, to entire vehicles or houses. Because the art is an expression of the individual, the scale of the art depends only on one’s passion and imagination. It may be realized in the casual tinkering of gadgets or in the designing and painting of vast and complex Victorian utopias. Be it in the eyes of an artist, a collector, or an appreciator, steampunk art can be found anywhere from the miniscule to the magnificent.

When it comes to determining whether an item is steampunk or if it is simply Victorian the difference can generally be found in the technology or inventiveness of a piece. Steampunk usually has very Victorian influences but it’s the modernization and reimagining of the work that sets the two styles apart. Steampunk art could often resemble what Victorian era dreamers would visualize when imagining what future technology might look like.


For those looking to create steampunk art a good starting point is to determine what materials to work with. Typically brass, copper, leather, glass, and wood are all authentic mediums for Victorian era constructions. Other materials, of course, can be used since steampunk is a reinvention of that period, but sticking to types of materials that could be created with steam powered technology will usually give your work a more typical steampunk look. Plastics and other such materials are generally avoided in many steampunk types of work since they are manufactured by more modern practices. Standard additions and accessories may includes items like rivets, gears, cogs, chains or other industrial type things but should only be included if it pertains to your vision rather than being added for the sake of making your art “look steampunk”.

Anyone looking to collect steampunk art may be fortunate enough to have a local art gallery which features such works otherwise you may have to take your search online. Sites like Etsy.com usually has handmade steampunk items or you can browse eBay.com or other specialty sites if you’re looking for specific pieces.

Flickering gas lamps puncture a thick London fog. A metallic, rhythmic noise begins to drown out the normal sounds of the evening. An army of copper clockwork automatons comes marching out of the darkness. Overhead, a looming dirigible barely clears the tallest buildings. Brass nozzles emerge from the airship’s gondola, blasting fire down upon the rooftops. This is the world of steampunk.

The term “steampunk” originally referred to speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy and fictional historical tales — set in an alternate Earth’s 19th century. In this universe, Victorian inventors made great leaps in technological advancement with materials like iron and brass and using steam engines for power. From a fictional standpoint, real-life inventor Charles Babbage might have succeeded in building his proposed Difference Engine, an early computer. In reality, Babbage never saw his computational engine realized.

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