Saturday, September 10, 2011

The 2011 Dragon*Con Steampunk Exhibition

Sunday at Dragon*Con was the Steampunk Exhibition. The line to get in was pretty long, but at least there were costumes to photograph along the way:

Steampunk Green Lantern - he dyed and handcrafted all the leather pieces himself.



We all dressed for the occasion, too. Here are my parents again:

Mom and I both had different outfits for the day.

This reminds me: it was raining on Sunday. Hellooo, limp hair. Heh.

Here's a later picture of my outfit:

(You guys have been quite nice about all these pictures of me, by the way. Thanks for that.)

Despite my hair issues I was later spoiled again in the art room: artist J. Corsentino liked my costume so much that he insisted I have this print, claiming I reminded him of it:

As you can see, he was being way too kind.

(You can see more at his website, Time of the Faeries - although I couldn't find this print there.)

Corsentino was also really enamored with my steampunk flux capacitor pin - the one thing I got more compliments on than any other all weekend. People would literally stop in the middle of the street, point, and yell, "THAT IS EFFIN' AWESOME!!" Ha!


Ok, getting back to the Exhibition:

This is one of the costumes by Penny Dreadful Productions that they were advertising all weekend. They just unveiled them at D*C, so there aren't even photos on their website yet that I can see. They had a large section of them in the parade as well, called Remnant:

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In addition to those guys, there were foot soldiers:


Scary nurses ala Silent Hill:

And this big guy:


We got to chat with one of the guys from PDP for a while, and it turns out they're hoping to mass produce these costumes to sell. The pieces are made of lightweight foam rubber - even the giant weapons - and the guy told John they'll range from around $1,500 to $3,500. I happen to adore everything PDP makes - they're amazing artisans over there - but the thought of mass-produced steampunk costumes, which are almost by definition extremely personalized and anti-mass-production, made both John and I scratch our heads. You can't deny they look great, though.

Moving on, inside the room we were greeted by some folks from the League of Steam:

Mr. Crackitus Potts himself!

Zed the zombie butler was there, too:

Every 10 or 15 minutes an alarm would sound and he'd try to attack the person in front of him. The others would have to rush over and "subdue" him and get his collar back in place. It was pretty funny. :D

They also had the best way of handing out business cards:

Giant extendable boxing glove ftw!

Like everything else at the con, the Exhibit was crazy crowded. You had to fight to even get close to the tables, so often I'd just stick my camera through a gap between elbows and take pictures of the tables that way:

Most of the time I had no idea what I was looking at, but it all sure looked cool:


Oh! This was really clever:

The guy had me turn the crank to press those metal plates into the paper - a fancy paper punch! Then he wrote their website on the paper glasses to use as a business card. Like I said: clever!


This guy (girl? Not sure) - scared the bejeepers out of a lot of people:

Hehehehe.

This is actually a mask; someone wore it in the parade:


I want one of these:

Isn't it pretty?

There were lots of big guns, of course:


And finally, I found this later in the vendor rooms:

Goooorgeous. I'll take one of these, too, please!

It's by Brute Force Studios, who also make that laser-cut leather you see in the picture. Neat stuff.

There's quite a bit more which I'll be uploading to my Flickr account, if you want to check it out!

37 comments:

  1. You look great in your costume! Good job! You should come work with me sometime. =)

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  2. Oh my gosh! Jen! You're so cute!! <3 I have never seen a picture of you before and I had to comment to say how gorgeous your outfit is and how perfect it looks on you :D

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  3. You both look awesomely adorable! And I too am in love with the steampunk capacitor! All these photos are getting me inspired for the next Steampunk World's Fair in the spring (sooo far awayyyy) I want shiny twirly things to go with my costume!

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  4. Thanks for sharing these pics. We couldn't make it so it's nice to still get to see things. And your costumes were awesome!

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  5. I know you'd rather keep your air of mystery, but I like seeing the person behind the writing! Oh, and incidentally, that's a very awesome costume!

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  6. You guys look so awesomely steampunk! I think I'm in love with your flux capcitor.

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  7. Jen!! You are TOO freaking adorable! Seriously! I love your costume, and can't wait for more pics of it! :) You and John are just the cutest steampunk couple. (second to your parents, of course. ;) )

    This is just so fun.... I haven't remotely budgeted for an event like this, and have not a crafty bone in my body to make an awesome costume, so I'm not sure when I'd ever actually get to go, but you've sure inspired me to try!

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  8. You guys looked fantastic! I had no idea just how pretty you are! Thanks for posting all the pics!

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  9. I just love...love...love the steampunk look. You and John are such a cute couple. It's so wonderful that you can share this steampunk passion with your parents, Jen. Thanks so much for sharing

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  10. IIRC, the gentleman with the paper punch machine is part of PDP. I remember seeing him at the World Steam Expo this past May. Yay Steampunk!

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  11. Ok.... that is the best nurse costume I have ever seen! Love it. :)
    Love your costume. I have been out of the loop with the steampunk stuff... but looks like a fun crowd of people!

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  12. Love your costume - you look super cute! I can't quite tell from the photo if you actually dyed green streaks in your hair, or if they're feathers? Either way, it looks really cool!

    Looking forward to to the ray gun tutorial...I already told my husband I want him to make me one for Christmas :)

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  13. You too look so adorable! {hug!!}
    And you look as though you're having so much fun, too. Thanks for all the photos!

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  14. That print really DOES look like you! When I saw the pictures before reading the text I thought someone had painted you. How cool!

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  15. Jen, why don't you EVER post pictures of yourself? You're HAWT! And that costume is just amazing!

    Did they really say "Effing", though? :P

    I'm totally sold. I never knew about cons until you started Epbot and now I MUST GO!!

    Thank you so much for sharing! It was really fun to see your pictures!

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  16. So before I started reading your blog, I had heard of steampunk, but didn't really know what it was. I have since fallen in love - what beautiful things! So clever, and I love the handmade aspect. Thanks for introducing me. :)

    The picts of you and John are darling! I love your outfits - you're both very photogenic. Your parents, too!

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  17. With all due respect, Rrrrrawwwwr! Nice photo!

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  18. Is it weird that I LOVE just looking at steampunk stuff?
    I think it's pretty but that's about it.
    But I think my enjoyment grows each year when I see your pics.
    And since I actually sell hardware I think it's time I comb the warehouse for gears and external tooth lockwashers so maybe I can make my own steampunky goodness.

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  19. I love all the pictures! Such amazing pieces! You're parents are so cute together! And I love the picture of you and John! :) The painting does look like you! love it! :)

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  20. you are so freakin adorable :) I love your costume!

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  21. Jen,
    Steampunk looks good on you (and John). You guys and your folks looked great! Thanks for sharing!

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  22. You look so cute Jen! I'm starting to work on my own steampunk outfit, though I don't have anywhere to wear it! lol

    How do you find out about these cons? It there a master website somewhere?

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  23. I think it's absolutely amazing that your parents dressed up for it. Too cool! And stop being so self-deprecating, you look awesome, lady!

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  24. Jen, you are totally adorable in your costume! You and John make such a great couple!

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  25. Thank you for finally including yourself in your photos! I know you feel self-conscious, but you are too cute! We love you, and we love to see you!

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  26. you look so gorgeously steampunky amazing!!!!!!!!!

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  27. Jen, you, John and your parents all look amazing! You are really pretty! You also look about 20 :D Thanks for all these fabulous photos - you look like you had an absolute blast!

    Lucy

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  28. Your adorable. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE the hair streaks. Are they permanent?

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  29. Corsentino is right--that drawing DOES look a bit like you, especially the hair.

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  30. Of course we're going to be nice about the pictures of you. Your costumes are freakin' awesome! I think the one you wore the first day is my favorite of the two. And you (and John ) are adorable, too, so I don't know why anyone would be mean! Sad to see the pics of D*C come to an end. My vicarious living through your pictures has been fun.

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  31. Love the pics of you and your folks in costume! So cool that you got to share this with your parents; somehow I don't see mine coming with me to a con...

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  32. Wow Jen, those costumes are super nice! And I must say: you are beautiful! Kind of makes me wish I never saw those pictures, because up untill now I was thinking: "Jen does all these super cool things and she does them amazingly good, but she can't really be this absolutely totally perfect human right? I bet she's a bit ugly." But you're not, so now I need to think of another possible flaw you might have.

    (My god, do I sound shallow! It's just that I think I'm totally silly for idolising people, so I compulsively need to humanize them. It does not work, I'm still a crazy fan!)

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  33. Love It!!
    I am trying to talk hubby into making costumes and going with me. I think it would be so cool to see all of this in person. And we only live 2 hours away!!

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  34. My costume was made my Erin at Penny Dreadful Productions. It's one of a kind, though. It was fabulous! (I was wearing it during the Steampunk Exhibition). They have great stuff.

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  35. i love your costumes! And your parents looked adorable as well!

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  36. Great pictures! I'm pretty sure I spoke to your parents at some point during D*C. They look very familiar. Were they in the parade?

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  37. Gorgeous pics!

    And sigh, I know it's hard for the crafty and artistic to get, but some of us are all thumbs and do have to buy costuming pieces.

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