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Steampunk
Design
Intro
In the fall of 2025, I attended an illustrator/vector class. One of the requirements was to design a steampunk t-shirt. This design was to be 10 inches wide by 15 inches tall, blend organic & mechanical elements, and was only allowed one spot color and black. In addition, we needed to add a steampunk quote with fitting typography.
I did some research on steampunk design, what others have already created, and what the design/feel for it was. Most things I would describe as out of the ordinary, incorporating organic living things with mechanical elements. From this point, I started to think about meaningful things in my life. I enjoy deer hunting and I like the look of gears moving together. After determining my organic and mechanical elements I started to brainstorm ideas.
Before I started drawing:
I drew out some different avenues, one with a deer head having a mechanical heart as the body/shoulder of the deer. Another idea I had was to have a gear clock hanging off the antler. I found images from Adobe Stock that worked well with my theme. After multiple ideas and inspirations, I decided to expand on a half deer head, half skull/gear. After finding the perfect images to create my piece, I brought them into Illustrator and image traced them into vectors.
Design Brief
Designing
Then came time to choose my spot color, I went with a tan color to play off the color of a real deer. I strategically placed the color so that it would blend nicely and not overpower the design. I chose a quote that I thought would work well with the steampunk era while being true to the sport of hunting. A playful, mysterious font for the type really puts the cherry on top for this piece.
I made two mockups with my steampunk design on them. The t-shirt was a requirement for the project, but then I also did a mockup as an art poster on a living room wall.
Mock Ups
This project helped me learn more tools in Illustrator and understand steampunk design. I truly loved how it turned out; I did go through some struggles of having ideas that I couldn't get to come to life. I overcame the struggles by thinking of more ideas that I was confident I could achieve. My favorite part of the project was showing my creativity with the tree branches growing out of the skull as an antler and the gear body on the deer. I’m hoping in the future I am able to design more abstract art like this!