April 25, 2020

For sometime now I have been a fan of Science Fiction. One style I absolutely love is called Steampunk. Steampunk is the vision of the future as seen from the eyes of the 1800’s. Victorian England and the industrial revolution and also the conquest of the American Wild West. So Steampunk’s look is filled with copper and gold, with gears, clocks, steam engines, yes, old fashion trains, and even corsets! It is warm and positive as during this time, humans were very inspired to make many of the inventions we enjoy today in more modern ways: lightbulbs, telephones, cars, trains, flying machines, clocks, etc!  Steampunk, a movement that looked to recreate this period was started in the 1980’s. Jules Verne is considered one of the fathers of Sci-fi.  And he is also one of the symbols of Steampunk.  There are various styles of Steampunk now, I like the classic 1800’s look.  Let me illustrate it with a couple of images:

The movie Hugo, is a Steampunk movie:

Hugo became my favorite movie as soon as I saw it for the first time.  Directed by the genius of Martin Scorsese this opening sequence is for me the best beginning to a movie ever:

Yes! Totally Steampunk!

So you must be wondering, what does Jung Il woo have to do with all this… well, do you remember the Kribbit notebooks that Ilwoo sold during his fan meetings? Well inside he had some of his photos printed.  And of course, as soon as I saw this following photo I gasped in absolute Steampunk Delight!

I had never seen this place before so decided to look for that train station.  I found out it was subway station in the Paris underground system by the name of “Arts et Métiers” which means Arts and Industry:

The photo inspired me so much!  I thought of creating a Steampunk dressed Ilwoo and placing him right in it.  I found the perfect photo in the Celebrity magazine photo shoot from 2012.  This is the image I created:

Then all of the sudden, I looked at the other photos and a light bulb went on inside my head! What if I create more images… then that turned into a short story and eventually it became what you will enjoy here today:  The Adventures of Captain Ilwoo!  I decided to recreate the story of Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, the book written by Jules Verne! (Well, part of it…) Everything photo seemed to fall into place perfectly as I worked and I was able to use every single image of what I call the “dark” Celebrity Magazine photos from that photo shoot in this project.  It was so much fun!  And then I decided to add Awoo as his side kick, as a way to continue to keep her memory alive in a fun way.  This is the comic:

The Adventures of Captain Ilwoo 1  Download

The Adventures of Captain Ilwoo 2  Download

The Adventures of Captain Ilwoo 3  Download

These are the images I created:

Then I dreamed of making a short animation and well I did! and I learned how to use the program Adobe Premiere (a video program) a bit more.  It was a satisfying challenge… I finally learned to use keyframes to animate images… a whole world of new possibilities await!  Here is the video:

When did I discover Steampunk? …  a long time ago!

I’ll share with you the first time I saw and fell in love with Steampunk in its full splendor.  It was on my second trip to Disneyland Paris. The Land of Tomorrow is totally Jules Verne inspired… therefore totally Steampunk.  These were my photos from the trip:

Yes!!! That is the Nautilus in the water!

The weather that day was so perfect too… the colors were at their maximum  intensity!  I didn’t even know that the style was called in this moment, I just remember being in absolute awe…

Then this is the day when I learned what the style I loved so much was called.  I visited a museum near me, in Waltham, Massachusetts called “The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation”  I went for an event where amateur designers and engineers were showing projects that they were working on… all mechanical…  This place was unreal!  Let me show you:

This is what it looks like from outside…

And inside you are greeted by this unbelievable firetruck from the city of Waltham.

This place was once “The Boston Manufacturing Company” founded in 1813!  ^^  by a group of Boston-based businessmen gathered and initially led by Francis Cabot Lowell. Together they proceeded to develop the New England textile industry and supporting organizational, financial, and transportation infrastructure until the Civil War.  They worked on many devices including bicycles and watches.  

They had a huge room dedicated to their time pieces… it is so fascinating!  They were well sought as they were considered the American “Swiss” watches of the time!

They also had an exhibit on Steampunk!  That’s where I finally learned what the the style was called… and their exhibits had a profound impact in me.  I went on to incorporate this style into many of my creations and as you can see I still do… it’s Ilwoo’s turn!  Here are some of the incredible pieces they had… all worked!

That last one was ipod!  It worked!!!  I was speechless! And these were some of the Amateur pieces from the event I had originally gone to see:

Yes! that guy actually built old fashioned fans!

Yeah… it was a room full of nerds… including me!  ^ ^

And last HERE is the Museum’s Website.  It is absolutely fascinating to read some of its content… such fascinating history.  Yes!  As you may have guessed I love reading about this time in history a lot… The Industrial Revolution… Charles Dickens!  all the way to Art Deco… in the early 1900’s.

This is a virtual tour:

Well I hope you delighted in this special Steampunk Post…  and like my comic said in the end…

… to be continued!