Last quarter, I finished up another section of my UC Davis first-year seminar on Steampunk. Fifteen students came on board to read the VanderMeer’s short story collection, the original League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel, and watch Wild Wild West and Howl’s Moving Castle.

One of the special projects asks them to design a steampunk character (for a comic, or video game, or other media). I thought I’d share a photo of some of their entries.

This year I had two students who used porcelain-style dolls for their characters. Other submissions included a four-legged “steam sheriff,” a girl balloonist, and an electric-robot version of “The Little Mermaid.”

Overall, the assignment simply asks them to show familiarity with steampunk iconography. Each one comes with a description of the characters, similar to the ones featured for costumes at the Steampunk Emporium.