A Cephalopod by any other name

Steampunk Octopus

Cephalobot

Today’s artwork is not what I had planned to show you originally (you may see that later), but it suits this blog well because it started out as a doodle. I was trying to draw a more realistic octopus that didn’t look exactly like my reference. My drawings were all right, but not anywhere near what I had planned out in my head. So I decided to draw something that had nothing to do with my plan.

The first thing that came to mind was how an octopus has eyes that resemble gauges, and the rest is what you see above. I do not claim to be an expert on steam punk, but I have read William Gibson’s The Difference Engine and I’ve seen Steamboy and The Amazing Screw On Head (does that one even count?), and I love the show Firefly so I was familiar with the concept. This piece is a celebration of the knobs, gears and gadgets of a time that never was.

It’s also a celebration of going into a creation without quite knowing where it will end. It was a lot of fun to explore the textures and colors and at the end I have a piece that definitely departs from the reference to show my voice. So I encourage you to embrace stepping into the unknown and trying something unplanned.

For bonus images I’m going to attach the drawing minus the digital parts and a drawing I did today that is a little more like the octopus we all know and love.

Cephalobot sans Digital

Cephalobot sans Digital

Your Standard Orange Octopus

Your Standard Orange Octopus

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5 Responses to A Cephalopod by any other name

  1. Meg says:

    Awesome cephalopoda!

  2. andrewwales says:

    I like the juxtaposition of the mechanical octopus with Victorian England. Very Jules Verney.

  3. Lori says:

    Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! This is awesome. Can I get a print for home? Seriously, i want one. Great work. Can’t wait to see the next installment!

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