Tea Staining Experimentation

After doing research into steampunk I decided that I should incorporate the traditional technique of tea dying into my illustrations. I did some experiments with different types of papers to see which ones would hold the tea the best. The papers I used were Field, Watercolour, Rough Watercolour and Cartridge paper. I also did some experiments with how much tea to put on the paper to get the colour I was after. I was very happy with the chosen paper being field 225gsm. It held the tea in a nice way and had a variation of colour in it. In the final tea dyed papers I used a little less tea to make the colour lighter.

Jules Verne and his influence in Steampunk

Jules Verne is a Victorian Era author. He is the world’s second most translated author and is considered to be a major influence on the steampunk community. This is due to his creation of three iconic images in his novels:

• The predatory airship ‘Albatross’ in The Chipper of the Clouds (1886)

• The baroque underwater vessel ‘Nautilus’ in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870)

• The steam-powered elephant in The Demon of Cawnpore (1880)

These three iconic images are still appropriated in Steampunk culture today.

Cover of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Other Classic Novels [Fall River Press 2014]