Best STEAMPUNK DIY : DIY Guide - Threadbanger

Resource type: video (non-fiction)

So you've seen some of those fancy tiny Steampunk hats, metal goggles and lace-up corsets, and feel like trying your hand at making some for yourself?
Well, this video would be an excellent place to start.
Brought to you by the people at ThreadBanger craft, costumes and DIY with a tough punk edge), this video is an amalgamation of other how-to and DIY videos of the Steampunk genre. It's a good starting point for more Steampunk content on YouTube.

There’s a quick introduction to what exactly this "Steampunk" thing is - "Post apocalyptic – Victorian - wild west inspired, future-infused HG Wells-ish kinda style - pretty awesome", as the narrator says, and then we get straight into a collection of content, with a few comments from ThreadBanger on the side. Get acquainted with the award-winning web series League of STEAM Supernatural and Troublesome Ectoplasm Apparition Management), learn how to make your own Steampunk water gun (hint: you'll need to use liberal amounts of bronze spray paint), there's a link to instructions for that quaint tiny hat I mentioned earlier, and even a "Steampunk gypsy dance belt thing".

The tone of narrator is causal, humorous and conversational. He also doesn't sound extremely authoritative, but that isn't a problem as this is simply an introduction to Steampunk - a window to further content.
The video merges humour, some basic background to the genre and a whole lot of content to satisfy your desire for Steampunk fashion and accessories DIY.

This is definitely a video for people who like Steampunk, maybe don't know very much about it, and want to get some inspiration and get started in making things. It's not targeted towards a particular age group, but features mainly older teenagers and adults.

As a side note, the narrator makes the comment that they couldn't find a lot of content out there. So why not get cracking and make your own?

Bibliographic details:

ThreadBanger. (2013, July 12). Best steampunk DIY : DIY Guide - Threadbanger. Retrieved May 12, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAAPr8DUGhs

Howl's Moving Castle

Resource type: movie (fiction)

Poster (Miyazaki, 2004)

Like a ship appearing out the mist, the Steampunk castle looms ahead. But as the air clears, the absurd spindly little legs carrying monstrous castle appear, and it's not so terrifying anymore.

Howl's Moving Castle directed by Hayao Miyazaki is an anime movie based on the fantasy novel of the same name, by Diana Wynne Jones.

We are taken on a whirlwind ride along with Sophie, a young woman only just starting to take on responsibility in her family's hat shop. Her life feels stiffled amongst all the ribbons and bows, and there's warnings across the land that all young women should watch out for the dangerous Wizard Howl, who lives in the moving castle. But the jealous and compulsive Witch of the Waste makes and entrance and, for reasons unclear, puts Sophie under a curse. She finds herself transformed into a wrinkly and grey - but lively - old woman.

Sophie decides that the hat shop is no longer the place for her, and sets out in the world, with a new found sense of freedom and lack of responsibility. She can't have that much more bad luck, and anyway, who's going to bother with a little old lady?

On her journey she finds the magical castle, which decides that Sophie's alright, and lets her take refuge. But she must live alongside Howl, the impetuous, dazzling, vain, impulsive and powerful wizard, and his household of characters - Calcifer the fire demon who strikes a deal with Sophie to let her stay, Markl, Howl's apprentice wizard in training, and Turnip-Head, a scarecrow that Sophie helps to get out of a sticky situation, and now won't leave her alone.

The characters have depth - the baddies are terrifying, but are simply working towards their own goals, while the goodies may have a touch of bad in them, or maybe it's a sense of mystery.

And the mysterious Wizard Howl. Can Sophie trust him? Can she break her curse? Does she even care enough about herself to break it?

This is sumptuously animated movie, brings life, movement and layers of visual delight to Jones' classic fantasy novel. Watch this movie for the food, the flying and the adventure, magic and romance. 

Bibliographic details:

Jones, D. W. (Writer), & Miyazaki, H. (Director). (2004). Howl's moving castle [Motion Picture]. Japan: Toho.

Additional links

Game: Broken Age



Broken Age is a crowd funded game by Tim Schafer, following two parallel stories in a fantasy world. A young woman named Vella has been chosen to be sacrificed to the monsters to save her village, while Shay, a young man, is on a solitary voyage through space, with only the ships' computer to keep him company.
This is a point and click adventure game, where players interact with objects and surroundings with their mouse. This easily learned and accessible gameplay means that you can quickly get in to the story and dialogue - which are the strong points of this game.

The game is set in luscious scenery, and has a vivid hand painted art-style.
It's well-written and has high-quality voice acting, with a portion of the crowd-funded budget going towards actors Elijah Wood and Masasa Moyo. The dialogue and story of this game is both funny and deeply involving, dealing with concepts such as survival, sacrifice and growing up.

Playing this game is like taking part in a fantastic adventure movie.

Website: Rookie - Lost Tomorrows of Yesterday: Inventions that died before their time.

Memex machine (

The Internet's been around for around 24 years, but what if it was actually closer to 70 years old? That's when the idea of a memex was first thought of - a machine that could store files of information, link these files to form relationships between ideas, and then take you on a journey of related ideas.  But the idea was shelved, and we had to wait another 45 years before being able to get lost on tangents of thought and investigation on the Internet.

This article on Rookie (a website for teenage girls) describes the memex, and other inventions that never really got very far. It's written for teenage girls by current YA fiction authors and writers. There are popular culture references (Miley Cyrus and Back to the Future 2) and it ties in with Steampunk and YA literature (Westerfeld's Uglies series). But at it's heart, it's actually a very entertaining and informative piece of writing about invention, innovation and ideas.

Also, if you visit this link you'll probably go off on your own memex-like adventure, discovering a whole heap of interesting articles, animations, photographs and illustrations of everything from fashion and music, to the joys of taking a nap, how to give yourself a cloud manicure, and gross things done in the name of love. A very much endorsed website.


Video: Understanding Science Fiction - ABC Splash

This interview, from TV show: Between the Lines, was first aired in 1996 on the ABC network. It features two writers living in Australia who have a professional interest in science fiction: Peter Nicholls and Jack Dann. It seeks to answer questions such as how do you define science fiction, and whether science fiction is more about trying to understand the present, rather than trying to foresee the future.

It is valuable as it gives insight in to the science fiction writer's intention and their understanding of the genre.

Alongside the video, there are also questions to think about before, during and after viewing. These aim to challenge you, the viewer, increase your understanding, and to encourage you to take information away from the video and make sense of it in terms of your own life, experiences and understanding. It can give you a starting point to thinking about science fiction in an academic and literary context.

This is a high quality resource, and includes subtitles to make it more accessible. It is from a reputable source, and is linked in with the Australian English curriculum for high school.


Author's blog: Blog - Malinda Lo

Malinda Lo is a YA author, whose book Ash is included in this reading guide. She writes regular post for her blog, and including extensive writing on diversity in YA literature, and LGBTQ YA.

Her blog is written in a personal and approachable style, with many stories included from her own childhood and personal life, alongside more academic pieces on issues such as gender and racial diversity in YA, and the writing process.

Her posts are regular and frequent. You are able to search for older articles (find out the background story to Ash), and view posts sorted by topic (for example, pop culture, writer advice and YA pride).

Keep in mind that this is the author's professional writing blog, so there are frequent posts promoting books. But if you enjoy reading Ash, then it would be good to keep aware of when her new books come out.

Overall, this is a really valuable insight into the writer's process and thoughts, and is extremely useful for those who have an interest in becoming a writer themselves.

Ebook: Grimms' Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

Do you want to read more traditional fairytales? Are you inspired by comics of Erstwhile and the adaptation of the Cinderella story in Ash, and want to try your hand at adapting one of these old tales?

Well, fear not dear friends, because these are all available free for your use at Project Gutenberg, the oldest digital library with over 45,000 free ebooks that are no longer under copyright and are free for you to use.

The collection of Grimms' Fairy Tales is available in a range of formats including HTML (for reading on a webpage), ePub, Kindle, PDF and plain text.

It includes well known stories such as Rapunzel, and Hansel and Gretel, and 60 other tales that have been passed down though storytelling traditions, and were recorded and collected by the Grimm brothers in the 1800s.