What is steampunk?

 Welcome to the world of gears, corsets and the Victorian Gentleman...

Talented artist
Bakanekonei

Many people have flipped open the gear cover to look at the question of what steampunk is (and, perhaps, more amusingly, what it is not). One of the best I've seen is at An Educated Guess. But like literature or art, steampunk is many things to many people, and that's what makes it special. I'm not going to regurgitate wikipedia or the other exhausted websites. We all know the usual stuff we read. What I'm really interested in is what it is about steampunk that excites *you* - what you like about the genre, maybe what you like to see and don't like to see, whether in art, fiction, film or otherwise. 

What it means to me...

I think there is an optimism in steampunk, a promise by technology of what could be at a time that is otherwise pretty grim, a bit like Oliver Twist starting in the rookery and finding his family. Steampunk is about the big city that is oppressive and dark, but from the mundane there is a sense of magical wonder, a lot like Disney's workshop. Visually the world is amazing - even beyond the corsets, long coats, top-hats and goggles. 

Stunning Yaya Han - cosplayer
model and designer

It is fantasy with a small "f" - it invites the steampunker to be an inventor and creator and to fix problems using wit and elbow grease, whether travelling through time, exploring a still mysterious horizon or soaring through the sky on majestic wings and balloons. There is sometimes a sense of magic as well, or at least the sunset of magic as dawn of reason and machine approaches.
I guess in summary there is a sense of romanticism. Not romance in the sense of Romeo and Juliet (though there is often that as well) but the sense of wonderment in a world that is not *that* distant from our own. Add mystery, in the truest sense of Holmes, then watch as the sun sets on the preceeding world of sword and sorcery and the dawn of the industrial era rises, where magicians replace their pointed hats and staffs for goggles and a wrench. It is these artificers who plum the new potential of its depths. 

Dipping your toes in

There is such a proliferation of steampunk that it can be daunting. Here are some links that I found helpful on my journey.

• The Steampunk Empire - a must for true lovers of steampunk!
• Steampunk TOR - an excellent blog article about steam with some great links from the mighty publishers. It's extensive but totally worth reading - make sure you've got coffee.
• Steampunk Tribune - a wealth of information and links, one of the best I've seen.
• Tvtropes - who hasn't heard of tvtropes? If you haven't looked already, let this link save you time.
• Steampunk on Deviantart - a collection of the masterpieces of the genre on the best gallery of artwork
• Steampunk Artists on Deviantart - for the more aspiring artist - share your own masterpieces

Amazing Jan Ditlev - digital artist

Welcome to a wonderful world - you've just joined a tremendous group of enthusiasts. madames et monsieurs, I bid you all the best on your new adventure!