/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Learn to thrift.

Sell your body to a 50 year old gay man you've met on craigslist for a couple hundred bucks. Buy supplies and make costume.

relevant to my interests

>>19174
This. Victorian steampunk can be made with a single extended thrift store run.

>(in short time with little money)
Magic! (or sufficiently advanced technology) I hope you are skilled with any of the two.

You can also put cogs everywhere but don't expect to have something remotelly good with one dollar bill and half an hour.

Go bit by bit.
Like start with a vest or something.
Glue on washers to look like buttons and small chains around the sides.
Just go in your attic/ garage and dig around for a bit.

Lots of cogs, lots of winguts and regulator valves. Also pic related.

First find out what you want. You can't just make a steampunk costume. Go piece by piece.

Doing this myself for Halloween, not sure if /cgl/, but what I've learned
>if you're planning to rip cogs from something then learn your fucking clocks
>Learn2plasticpunk if you want to save time/money
>this means a few cans or containers of paint, plus plastic parts= instant metallic fantasy
>goggles are essential, look up a tutorial, maybe mix a few, I jar lid'd, plastic for lenses
>they're not enough to complete the fantastical look, you'll need some amount of accesorization
>for the general clothing, the easiest thing I've found is using your formalwear, plus a vest you pick up at a thrift store (I happened to have one from a pirate costume, works perfect), play around for an old look.
>if historical accuracy is your goal then there's wealths of information on the interwebs on fashion, it doesn't have to be though because this is fantasy
>learn your glue cuz you don't have time to soldering or welding skillz
And have some steamgal.

>>19210
>>19210
I fucking love you.

>>19200
>>19179
>>19174
>>19210
>>19213
OP said >in short time with little money

So the only possible alternative is >>19191
Or hope that OP have some sort of super power.

>>19233
Why are steamgirls so fucking sexy?

>>19249
I have no idea.

>>19249
Idunno man they just fucking are.

>>19231
>goggles are essential

... no. If you need to add goggles to make something look steampunk, you're doing it wrong.

Use goggles in a costume if it makes sense for the "character". Otherwise you run the risk of ending up a hot mess of browns and cogs.

different goggles tutorial.

>>19272
It's an easy identifier, OP runs the risk of not being identifiable as steampunk because of not enough time/money/energy put into the costume.
>doing it wrong
Well you probably already disagree with the premise of the thread then but yeah, this is probably considered "doing it wrong".

>thrift store for clothes
>flea market for clothes and little props like aviator goggles, pistols etc.
You are too poor and talentless to create all that metal stuff in OP's pic. Stop right now.

>>19272
>not making sense
>hot mess of browns and cogs
isn't this like the definition of steampunk fashion

>>19260
those look REALLY bad, just saying. like the selfmade armwarmers things 16 year old girls wear at anime cons.

>>19293
No. That's the very definition of doing steampunk the wrong way.

>>19293
There are many interpretations and philosophies of steampunk aesthetics and application ranging from butthurt elitists to not knowing the different between steam and dieselpunk. I think I might be starting to understand the relatively limited internet presence....
>>19296
Problem?

>>19163

>>19296
apparently I was banned for this "troll post" despite posting pictures and helpful stuff in this very thread. enjoy your animu armwarmes, mod-chan

Keep extraneous shit to a minimum. Steampunk looks shitty when it's just "lol cogs and gears and goggles", and people will give you shit/call you a hipster/stone you in the street if you turn it into "Cybergoth in brown with pointless gears on everything", like most retards on the net.

Start with a good, old-fashioned suit. Wear a lighter shirt and a vest. Next, buy or make a cravat that matches your vest; it's essential for older styles, and looks good. If you're going for a more low-class look, tweed vests, a knit cabbie hat, suspenders, and a heavier shirt with dark brown trousers is a great start. These are the essential basics, and ideally, all you'll need.

If you have to slather shit in gears, keep this in mind; less is more. Aim to make it look like they do something. If you're high-class, get some white gloves and a cane. Add a little ornamental semaphore to the top of your cane, and you're good.

Armor never works, unless you're aiming for a "Bog Game hunter" look. If you are, look up a tutorial for making cosplay armor from craft foam; gloves are good, huge bulky pauldrons and chest-pieces are bad.

Have a proper pocketwatch, even if it doesn't work; you can get cheap ones in clock shops if you're friendly and don't piss them off. Clockmakers absolutely despise the steampunk 'culture', because they ruin a lot of nice old clocks or try to get free gears. A friend of mine owns a repair shop for antique clocks, and he was kicked out of an antiques show for punching a steampunk 'tard who bought a beautiful wall clock just to strip the gears out. Guy started breaking the clock down there, despite the fact it was a good, working piece that just needed the finish re-done and a little bit of work on the chimes.

Thrift stores and loads of gold and silver paint and a nerf gun (from a thrift store!) to paint. Insta-easy.

>>19379
>A friend of mine owns a repair shop for antique clocks, and he was kicked out of an antiques show for punching a steampunk 'tard who bought a beautiful wall clock just to strip the gears out.

fucking glorious, this man deserves a trophy

>>19379
There's a great joke about punching in/out clocks or something here.
>>19374
Ah shit, hopefully moderation and stuff is just settling into place. Evading is pretty much never a good idea though man.
>>19402
We had a /b/ thread once where a guy showed off his pics from a con and was using a toy gun with an orange tip that totally ruined it. Something about a state law, don't do this man rip that sucker off or paint it if it's there.

>>19432
I think it's a federal law.

>patronising mods whooo
Whatever man, I'll just keep helping. I've done shitloads of steampunk and dieselpunk costumes, go away.


Don't just make "a steampunk costume". Think of a character. Evil scientist, pirate? What fits him/her?
If you're female, don't just make another boring wench costume. You can do so much more

Flea markets were already posted. Check etsy, for the love of God check etsy they have TONS of useful stuff.

>>19379
> Clockmakers absolutely despise the steampunk 'culture', because they ruin a lot of nice old clocks or try to get free gears

Not true, I've run into a lot of clockmakers who enjoy the culture, because they're actually getting more BUSINESS. They can also throw their spare shitty bits together and go LOL STEAMPUNK and morons buy it up for $30 or more.

But yeah, that idiot deserved to be punched.

General rule of thumb is to start period (ish) and then add.

1. Think of a character, what do they do? The accessories for a librarian are different than a mad scientist or a zeppelin captain.
2. Throw together a period base from thrift stores and your own closet. If high class - suit is good. If lower class or on a safari type adventure, check out WWI uniforms (WWI is slightly after the proper period, but the clothes are very utilitarian and close to the right period. Also remember that overalls were invented by this time.)
3. Add accessories that make sense for you character. A pocket watch is generally a good thing. If you're a mad scientist why not have a bandolier with magnifying glasses and test tubes? Goggles are standard for airship captains, but that doesn't mean that everyone should have them always. It totally depends on the character you're playing what accessories you want to work with. Gears and cogs are cool, but if you just hot glued a smattering of gears onto a jacket you're going to get "wtf" looks.

>>19432
lol I have those goggles, I like how they fold up nice and small like.

>>19441
*hug*
>>19486 is me

The problem with etsy when you're working on the cheap is you can get distracted with mostly complete beautiful outfits that are expensive (as they should be, as they often involved handmade corsets - yeesh!) and you can loose site of what you're capable of.

Also, ebay has cool stuff (including awesome awesome toy guns that aren't sold on etsy) if you bother sifting through gothy raver type rubbish like glow-in-blacklight shoelaces.

>>19509
>loose site


Wait don't normal white shoelaces pretty much glow in blacklight?

>>19446
Guess I'm just in a shitty area for it. That, or my friend and all the folks he works with have just dealt with the absolute dregs.

After asking him, business apparently picked up after people got interested, especially for clocks with visible gears, but he's also had to deal with people trying to scam free gears/get discounts on parts that he's worked on. Plus, the aforementioned "breaking nice clocks".

It's apparently a nice field, but the start-up is murder and you really, really need a lot of skill and good marketing ability to make it. He's third-generation (inherited the shop from his father, who got it from his, who started it after immigrating from France), and managed to pick up a lot as a kid.

I know he has some horror stories, including a guy literally trying to break down a clock in the store, then claiming it was busted and that he should get it at a discount. That, along with stories of angry old women who stop in every day, bring him booze, and wonder why it takes so long to restore an antique with warped wood, rusted-out gears, and missing parts. It seems like a rewarding field.

>>19379
>>19379
>>19379
>>19379
>>19379
A thousand times this.
Nothing is worse than random gears and cogs not hooked up to anything.

>>19174
>>19174

this forever. It's really easy. Become familiar with victorian/1800's style clothing (I did it by watching Deadwood and film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes--you'll start to notice differences between American and British attire), then find thrift stuff that gives that effect. After that you add accessories to give some character to yourself, as people ITT have said.

I would advise you to come up with a theme for yourself. I usually go with something simple like a coachman or a chimney sweep; my friend comes up with intricate stories about her outlandish characters and bases her whole costume idea off of it. both ways work out well! If you don't have a theme at all, then I would advise you to not get really flamboyant with your costume. keep it simple and elegant, or else you'll look like you've been magnetized to collect random clothing and objects on your body.

>>19590
oh and wear a fucking cravat, because they're awesome

made these from welding goggles.

Many of you underestimate the ability of tits to make things look good that normally wouldn't.

>>19622
ugh. way to ruin a perfectly good piece of industrial equipment. how would you feel if some an oxy-acetylene welder took an iphone, smashed the screen, took the innards out and used it for a super-cool futuristic cigar case?

I don't have anything useful to contribute to this discussion other than this picture from my friend's old steampunk band, lemming malloy. This is just a MIDI keyboard with a bunch of shit from lowes on it. He calls it the Marvelon

>>19712
Welding goggles cost $5. Seriously. If I had a iPhone that was $5, I would not give a shit. They're just spray painted plastic with welding lenses.

>>19673
Is that Nicotine? She could wear a plastic bag and be sexy. Brute Force Leather's stuff is top notch, even withouuuuuu... *trails off*

>>19712
dandy. who gives a shit.

>>19712
this I would be okay with.

>>19712
>how would you feel if someone smashed an iPhone
>Apple product

I'd probably say it's a pretty good use for a piece of garbage.

>>19712
lol that was a poor comparison, people are not giving a damn.

P.S. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B489u_1ZBIA this video is purty cool.

>>19721
>"steampunk music"
Herein lies my pet peeve. Not cogtism-ridden brasspies/neckgeards, but the attempts to forcibly bind existing or "attempts" to associate "new music" with steampunk.
But it would be hypocritical to express buttmad or self-indulgent superiority, no, I wish for only the best outcomes in any creative endeavors, and I honestly hope some good (as subjectively interpreted by myself) results of said music are possible, may exist, or are just around the corner, I'll go check if your friend's stuff is online.

>>19729
hahaha

lol yeah sorry about ragegasming on you there
i'm just pissed because it seems like everyone wants to have that smart industrial look without having to bother to understand the principles behind the design and the function behind the form

also because i haven't had a decent cigar in so goddamn long

tl;dr KIDS THESE DAYS

>>19749
>>19721

I have friends in a steampunk band, too!

they're also robot mimes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF2K50oPeVs

bumping for steampunk being cool.

One thing I hate about the steampunk community is their need to claim everything as steampunk. Ironman movie? Steampunk. And you have no right to tell them what is or isn't steampunk because their opinion is just as important as anyone's and blah blah blah. I hate it. There needs to be some guidelines or standards.

>>20419

I'm glad cyberpunk doesn't have the same problem.

Lol steampunk...
Fucking faggots.

>>20431
I wish there was more cyberpunk though. Even bad stuff. At least we cyberpunk fans would have something to look at

>>19749
"steampunk" music is a theme, not a style. it's music that brings up images of clockwork automatons, steam powered flying machines, mad scientist laboratories, and other associated themes common in victorian science fiction and steampunk literature in general.

Anyone been to the brass goggles forums?
They banned me a few years back for "racism"
Of course, all I said was that I didn't like african stuff when people suggested to me that I gauge my ears. I've never liked the look of gauged ears and I prefer my simple piercing.
Apparently, making reference to things like the rwandan genocide and the current political climate of violent small dictatorships all over africa is racist, as is stating that african culture holds no personal relevance to someone who lives in canada and is of irish and scottish descent.

bumping, because steampunk