Steampunk Bookcover Art

[Christopher Paul]

I know that unless you self-publish, authors rarely get to decide what their books look like, so I thought it might be fun to pose the question to the literary folks here at S.W.A.G. ...

 

Steampunk art can run the gamut from technical drawings of complex machines to head shots of folks in goggles. So I'm curious, assuming that a piece is well-executed, what type of art are SP affectionados interested in seeing? What engages you as a viewer, or what themes might you look at and say 'I would consider making room on my wall for something like that,' or 'it would be cool if my cover was like this.'

 

Could it be...

• Exotic landscapes with airships flying about
• Intricate Art Nouveau designs
• Character Portraits of exciting people in exciting places
• Complex Cityscapes with elaborate mechanicals
• Action scenes of Air Pirate Battles and Flying Squid
• Maps of airship trade routes and prop blueprints
• Combining SP with other genres and including magic, zombies and vampires
• Still Life of Inventions 

 

[Stephen Swartz]

Landscapes, cityscapes, battlefields in action, principal characters in their steamy garb, antique maps all interest me.

In fact, I will be in need of steampunk cover art in the near future. Elements I must include are odd-appearing airships, antique city skylines, and characters dressed in pseudo-Renaissance fashions bearing various mechanical devices. (I realize a great many steampunkers focus on Victoriana; I only refer to the fashions being in typical Renaissance style, which is how they are described in the books.)

I believe I have the maps covered but I am not an artist when it comes to creating images that match what my mind paints during my sleep and drug-induced comas.