Mowrer Art Steampunk Frankenstein and more

Steampunk Skull Muscles

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:26:00 +0000

Whew! The final image of the Making of Frahnknshtyne's face is finally done. It is now a completed Triptych. This middle image shows the crafting of the leather straps and support structure that will drive the final skin to move. Like all things Vyctor does, he is obsessive in the detail and art of it even though it will not be seen. I've been enjoying the ironic nature of these images in the sense that they are a form of "still life" and chronicle one brilliant man's attempt at making a new receptacle for life.
More to come in the book. Cheers, Kevin

Steampunk Skull Muscles

Steampunk skull triptych

And a fun video so you can see how the face builds up layer by layer.

Steampunk Frankenstein's face

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:07:00 +0000

Finally, I've gotten to a face for Frahnknshtyne's creation that is delivering the narrative I was striving for. The mechanical man in my story is not about gore or re-animating dead flesh. It is the result of an obsessive labor to create an artful receptacle worthy of holding the minds of the immortals.

Months ago I posted the highly detailed metallic skull (I've reposted it in this post so you can see the finished product on the same bench and in the same position).

The completed head is made from finely tooled soft leather. Each hair has been stitched into place by hand and the leather face is connected to an intricate series of tiny pulleys and leather straps that act like muscles to drive expression and movement. My next painting is the middle image in this Steampunk Tryptych. It will be the image showing the muscles and controls being built on the face. Can't wait to get to it.

For this painting I wanted a mad and complicated sense of Vyctor, bringing all his artisan skills and victorian technology to bear on making this creation of great and subtle intricacy.

I can't tell you any more as I'd like you to read it in the book (which is coming along very nicely). I hope you enjoy these ongoing glimpses into the world of Frahnknshtyne.

Be sure to see the just completed middle stage of the making of the Frahnknshtyne head. It's the crafting of the muscle structure you can find here.
cheers, Kevin

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne leather face

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne's metal skull

New Steampunk Motorcycle

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:37:00 +0000

I've been gone far too long from posting new work on the site. I guess that's what happens when you are launching a brand new company and getting the first apps to market.
I've also been up to my eyebrows in writing the story and working through all the challenges that entails.
Anyway, since so many of you visit the site to see the art I've done a new illustration. One of the things I truly love is vintage motorcycles. I've already worked on a preliminary design for the Gyrostator that appears in the story and that gets the most hits on the site. I wanted to envision another bike that would fit in the world I'm writing but would represent a much more refined design.
I want this bike. It would be handy in heavy traffic. Nothing says "respect me" like fender mounted pistols.
I really enjoy painting rusted, rough and weathered surfaces and really got into the colors and textures on the huge, iron skull buttress and the large hanging pulley beneath it.
I hope you enjoy. I've posted the whole image and some close ups of parts of the painting as well.

Cheers, Kevin

PS - If enough of you are interested I'll assemble and post the making of video for this as well.
PSS - I've also got an older post with a much more fantasy bike sketch with a locomotive drive.

Steampunk Motorcycle Frahnknshtyne

Pistol mounts on front end

Steampunk skull buttress

New Blog about Steampunk Inspirations

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 23:03:00 +0000

Hello Friends and followers.
While writing and drawing Frahnknshtyne I frequently come across other artists, ideas and thinking that help me in the work I'm doing or are just plain inspiring in a steam punk kind of way. I'm establishing a new blog to share those with everyone else. I invite you to visit and sign up if you like. Hope you enjoy and cheers for now, Kevin

Steampunk Inspirations

Viper Wolf before steampunking

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:53:00 +0000

From time to time I go back into older illustrations and add to or rethink them. This is an image for the skull of a mythical creature called a viper wolf that I never fully completed from several years ago. The Jaw is articulated like that of a rattlesnake and it hunts using a pit viper's ability to sense heat (since it has no eyes and is completely unsighted).

I'm going to be going back into this older illustration and adding mechanism and detail to it just for fun. I love the idea of an animal experimented on to make it more dangerous for nefarious purposes. This isn't for Frahnknshtyne but is something I thought I'd share with you as I go just for fun.

I have additional images for Frahnknshtyne but many of them are being held back now as the book gets closer to being completed. I'll still be posting some of those soon (but I gotta surprise you with story and art in the completed book).

Cheers, Kevin

Viper Wolf Skull soon to be Steampunked

The Pinkerton and the Princess: Final

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:17:00 +0000

Well, here's the completed image. I had a lot of fun with this painting as it brought out a number of interesting ideas. One such fun detail is that the rifle is actually a rocket launcher using traditional oriental black powder rockets.
I've included a few detail images so you can see the sculpted face of her sky-train as well as some of the fun detail of the rifle.
Cheers:

The Pinkerton and the Princess

Sky Train

Rocket launcher

The Pinkerton and the Princess

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 22:53:00 +0000

sometimes when I'm developing a story, other stories come to mind that would work in the same world. I'm doing a quick illustration to capture one of those stories that will happen in the world of Frahnknshtyne called "The Pinkerton and the Princess." Here's a sneak peek of part of the image underway.

Steampunk, The Art of Victorian Futurism

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:50:00 +0000

Today, I'm very excited! Korero's book "Steampunk, the Art of Victorian Futurism" has been released and I have received my advance copy! Jay Strongman did a fantastic job authoring the book and has collected quite a compendium of Steampunk art and creations. I am honored that my Frahnknshtyne art is featured in some very high quality prints in the book in quite a few places. Thanks Jay and everyone else who worked putting the book together and thanks for adding to Steampunk's momentum!

Amazing real pistols

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 21:49:00 +0000

A friend sent me the link to these amazing real pistols. Just had to repost the link and share them.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fd3_1310419871&jwp_version=5

Frahnknshtyne's weaponized arm

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 20:21:00 +0000

It's been a bit since the last post as I have been writing the book. I'm well into it and decided to take a break to add some more development art to the site to share with you. This image shows Frahnknshtyne's arm after he decides to build a weapon into it. It's exploding out of his woolen cape sleeve and the mechanical mounts (they look like small metal animal hands) have just thrown it forward to be caught by Wyctor in his gloved hand. There's a big surprise in this gun (beyond the fact that it's up his sleeve and it assembles as it ejects) that I'll hold off sharing for the book.
I'll be posting the "making of" video over the next week or so as well.
Cheers, Kevin

And a closer shot of the gun

The Aether Bullet come to life

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:05:00 +0000

A few months ago I was contacted by a very talented model builder named Arno Erol. Arno enjoys model making and some of what he makes are steampunk things. He asked if he could model the Aether Rifle in 3D and I gave my blessings to go ahead. I've just received some images showing the realization of the concept of the Aether bullet I originally designed for Lacette's assassin rifle. Arno has taken some poetic license and it looks like some beautiful work by a talented model maker! Nicely done Arno. I'm also including a link to Arno's flickr page showing some of his other cool work.
Arno's other models

Original Aether bullet design

Arno's Aether bullet model view #1

Aether Bullet design view #2

Aether bullet design view #3

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne's hand final

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:36:00 +0000

Well, I decided that adding another emotive object into the shot would take away from the singular narrative moment of seeing through Wyctor's eyes the raised hand that isn't your own. I completed the victorian etching on the metal and pivots and knuckle joints and I think this one is ready for its place in the story.

Steampunk Frahnknsthyne's hand

And here is the "making of" video that briefly covers the steps and thinking to make this painting.

Untitled from kevin mowrer on Vimeo.

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Steampunk Frahnknshtyne's hand

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:35:00 +0000

I have been busy structuring and writing the story but wanted to post a new image of one of the moments in the narrative. The first thing our hero sees when he wakes up with his consciousness inside of his own clockwork creation.
I wanted the hand to be a mechanically sophisticated and beautiful object made of steel, brass, bronze and copper with tendons of leather. I also wanted the moment to have a strange church-like victorian operating theater quality to it (with the horror of the moment as well). I'm considering adding a piece of broken mirror or perhaps the locket with his love's image in it being held between the thumb and fingers so this may evolve over the next week. I've already reposted the hand itself with changes to the hand mechanism and finger joints. I will be posting the "making of" video in the next few days so check back for it.

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne hand

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Frahnknshtyne, the next phase

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Hello friends and visitors. It has been a number of weeks since the last post on this blog and I apologize for the protracted period of time. The story work on Frahnknshtyne has entered it's second phase. The exploration and structuring of the ideas in the story are ready to fully write and fully illustrate the narrative. Up to this point I have been sharing the exploration and discovery with you. I will continue to post some of the art and story insights as I continue from here so bear with me if the posting happens a bit less frequently.

Perhaps the most exciting news is that the first publishing format has been set. I have become involved with an exciting new company doing work on the frontier of digital publishing but in a way that truly launches the Meta-story in the best possible fashion. I am thrilled to be directly contributing to the development of this new digital publishing format and to be wrestling with the combination of both linear and non-linear story telling combined in this single new format. Because I am a Meta-story expert working on emerging new formats, this opportunity for me, is priceless. My hope is to have this book to market by end of this year/beginning of next year. As I'm sure most of you can appreciate, balancing the work that pays the bills with the writing and illustrating of something new is always a challenge to manage.

As visitors to my site you will get to see parts of the Frahnknshtyne book before it comes out but...it is also important to me that everyone gets to experience the unexpected and unknown when the book is published. For that reason, I'm holding back lots of goodies to share with you in the book itself. (Wink and a wry smile).

Stay tuned and cheers for now, Kevin

PS - here's a sketchy concept for the dragon ship that I rejected because it was too futuristic. I can't stand to post without including some kind of sketch for eye-candy.

Dragon ship rejected concept sketch

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Steampunk Writers and Artists Guild interview

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 13:38:00 +0000

Recently, Lia Keyes, the founder and creator of the Steampunk Writers and Artists Guild, sent me some questions for an interview for her site. Click the title of this post to go to that interview and to her wonderful and deeply interesting site. Check out some of the activities and discussions going on there. Very exciting to see the story-crafters exchanging ideas and knowledge.
Cheers, Kevin

http://steampunkwriters.ning.com/profiles/blogs/interview-kevin-mowrer-on

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Steampunk Lord Praetor

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:17:00 +0000

The lord Praetor has been the most challenging of the characters to create so far. I have never been a fan of one-dimensional bad guys with simple world domination madness. I believe storytelling becomes truthful when the evil (or better said, Antagonist) in the story has a point of view and a true belief system. There are catalyzing events and moments that make characters heroic or malevolant. The Lord Praetor is just such a layered, brilliant and fanatical soul. He has been alive longer than any human on the planet as the original recipient of the Aether of others. His wealth is a fortune beyond the size of any government's and he believes in the supremecy and stability of the governance that flows from the Royales. In this portrait, the opulance of his accumulated wealth and empire seem indistinguishable from the man himself. Each flows into the other. Though he knows of the many horrible abominations that have sprung up amongst the ultra rich, he believes these are acceptable given the stability that has reigned for hundreds of years under his rule.

Steampunk Lord Praetor

Here's a close up where you can see the glow from the Aether that masks the pupils. I had a lot of fun with his glasses. There is a torc that runs around the back of his head under his hair to allow for no nose bridge.

Lord Praetor close up

I'll be posting the "making of" video in a bit so check back.

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Steampunk Slums

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:15:00 +0000

The vast, compacted slums of Travaille have been expanding as more and more of the population have become paupers. It is a dark and labyrinthian place where the bones and bowels of industry trespass blindly into the desperately poor makeshift dwellings of those who live here. As you would expect, down here there is little police presence and for that reason, the Royales, the ultra rich, frequent the brothels and illegal places looking for "entertainment" to break the monotony of their preternaturally long lives. There are those here who specialize in their terrible pleasures and if they go too far...few notice when a resident disappears.

This image shows one of the hundreds of multi-layered alleys with their connecting walkways and open flame torches burning off the ever present bi-products of industry. One of the more ancient of the Royales is descending on the right. A few of the Royales have absorbed so much Aether that they can do humanly impossible things like fly.

There is more work to be done on this image but it's far enough along to post and then update as I go (so check back).

Here is the "making of" video. I've included some text to talk about how the art informs the narrative process and vice versa. For me, being an artist and a writer, it is a key part of my process.

Steampunk slums of Travaille

Steampunk slums of travaille making of from kevin mowrer on Vimeo.

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Steampunk Dragon Ship

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:54:00 +0000

Here is one of the action moments in the Story. Frankenstein is now in the body of the clockwork man he has created and full of deep despair, he is secretly watching over the woman he loves without her knowing during an airship ride. They come under attack by a pirate dragon craft and, for the first time, he uses the power of the mechanical being he has become to leap from the airship to attack the craft and destroy it. The man who believed he had become a monster discovers he has power. I've just finished it and taken down the previous image to replace it with this one with the addition of the burning iron boarding lance about to be shot from the mouth of the dragon.

Steampunk dragon ship

I've included the "making of" slide video for those of you who may want to see a bit more of the art and narrative development process.

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Steampunk Frahnknshtyne interview

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 14:41:00 +0000

Hello Friends
Recently I had the great pleasure of meeting and speaking with Bruno Accioly, the gentleman who has created the Conselho Steampunk (the Steampunk Council) in Brazil. His organization is wonderfully structured to host and encourage the growth of independant chapters and they are doing many exciting Steampunk activities and promoting steampunk thought and ideas.
Bruno invited me to do a Steamcast Interview over skype and that interview is now posted for anyone who would like to hear more about Frahnknshtyne and its ongoing development. The main interview is in English and subtitled in Portuguese. You can click on the link below for the interview or click on the post title to go to their site.
Cheers, Kevin

Steampunk Skull becomes the book cover

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:12:00 +0000

The first of the triptych images of the building of the monster's/hero's head is done. I think it is likely to be the cover for the book. It has the kind of iconic feel I was looking for. Just like in the Darth image I did, if you look closely into the reflection in the loupe over the empty eye socket you can see the outline of the good doctor himself. I felt strongly that the monster has a kind of painstaking artisan beauty to everything about him. He is only a monster in that he is brought to life but is not human. I'm also trying something new with this post. Since this art is complete, I'm adding an MOV file to the post that shows step by step the drawing and painting of the image. I'd like to know if you find this interesting so if you do, drop me a comment and I'll post more like this as I go.

Check out what the completed mechanical man's face with the tooled leather skin Here and the middle stage of building the creature, the crafting of the muscles and controls Here!

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne cover

Steampunk Skull

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:54:00 +0000

Well, this is "in-progress" and it's finally the first image getting a look at the making of the monster/hero. I'm doing this as a triptych showing the underlying beautiful handcrafted structure and then adding the leather straps that act as muscles and finally the hand-tooled leather face.

"If sheer artistic application of will and mad obsession alone could bring the device to life, the Doctor Frahnknshtyne's marvelous clockwork being would have sprung from the table the moment its form was completed. It's hand crafted beauty and subtlety of construction await only two final elements. The power source, its heart, that will prove to the world that the terrible commerce of Aether can at last come to an end, and a brain that will live forever within this being of perfect craftmanship."

The former of these missing elements is still under desperate development and yet defies reproduction. It is little more than a curiosity if there is but one. The latter element will be supplied simply by choosing a worthy, kind and scholarly person whom has been recently deceased. little does the good doctor know, he will make a far greater contribution to this being's rising than he ever intended.

Stay tuned for completing these images. I Just replaced the first image with one that I'm under way with the background and the clamping mechanism that holds it on the workbench. tools to add and other juicy detail coming soon.
PS - I really liked putting the mechanical eye in Darth Vader so I'm doing a very different version of it.

See the finished illustration Here and check out what the completed mechanical man's face looks like Here and take a look at the completed middle image showing the building of the facial muscles made of leather Here!

Steampunk Skull for Frankenstein in progress V2

Steampunk Skull for Frankenstein in progress V1

Steampunk circuit judge and librarian

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 23:49:00 +0000

A key character in the city our hero lives in is the crooked circuit judge who helps entrap indebted souls into being convicted to suffer the fate of the Leathermen. His eyes glow because his reward is that the super rich kick back Aether to him to feed his habit and to insure they keep a steady flow of conscripted Aether coming in. I based him on one of my favorite 60's actors Robert Morley (always loved his patrician raptor beak of a nose). Mister Scribb, the court reporter/librarian, misses nothing that is said in the courtroom because of his amplification device and he records even the whispers heard in the back of the room. This proves important in the story. The sound collection horns turn towards sounds in the room like a dog's ears so he's a fun and animated looking character to watch. He's not a gossip but is a stuttery and fussy man of obsessive detail and duty.

Steampunk judge and librarian

Meet Lil Steamy

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:35:00 +0000

Hi friends,
I took a break from the Frankenstein work to do some rough sketching on a little character I'd been meaning to create just to have some fun commenting on life, absurdity and steampunkery. I'll be posting one panel bits of Lil Steamy's whistling wisdom from time to time. Hope you enjoy.

Steampunk "Lil Steamy"

Steampunk Motorcycle contraption

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:43:00 +0000

Our hero needs something powerful and fast on which to get around the city and countryside in the inky blackness of the night. Here's one of the concepts on "the contraption" (as the press calls it) seen well lit (which it isn't most of the time). It's noisy, smokey, and weighs nearly a ton. I wanted to develop this vehicle around the notion of "personal locomotive." At full speed it can slam through masonry walls like brass knuckles through a sheet of plate glass. It's in an unfinished state because he was building it when he dies and becomes the monster. He'll be adding more to it as he needs. I liked the idea of a locomotive type of drive for a two-wheeled vehicle. It creates such a flurry of motion and seems even more dangerous/mad. I've added the final image above the in-progress shot. Added in the big iron ram on the front and the rest of the fun steam lines and details.

I also have a new post up with another motorcycle design. Check it out if you get the chance.

Steampunk motorcycle contraption final

Steampunk Motorcycle Contraption in progress

Steampunk Medusa

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Mowrer) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 01:21:00 +0000

As promised, here's the latest character sketch in the story development. She's one of the bad guys/girls in this world. Her name is Maydusa and she's over 200 years old (excuse the different spelling on the image title as it makes it easier for folks to search the picture). She's kept herself in this child form by using the exotic Aether rig on her head to sap the Aether (life force) of man or beast she can manage to lure on to her estate. She needs a lot of life force to remain a child and you see her in the image not fully regenerated. The way the rig works leaves the poor victim literally petrified as you can see on the broken cat in the image.

Steampunk Medusa feeding

A a few in-progress shots:

Line work for Maydusa and cat

Testing ideas for light and color

completing grey scale painting