The winner of the locomotive design contest!

The winning contribution by Mandy Martin. We will not build it exactly like this, but use this picture as artistical input to our drawings and adapt it to what we think we can actually build.

Mandy Martin, congratulations! You won the design contest Can you tell us briefly who you are?

I’m a freelance illustrator working in Canada. I specialize in digital and mixed media work, and I enjoy creating short animations. I often explore animals in motion and sequential narratives, while applying whimsical and surreal subject matter to my work. I also have an interest in illustrating fantastical versions of ancient technologies and weapons. I am currently working on a degree in Illustration at the Ontario College of Art and Design, in Toronto, Ontario.

What is your relationship to Steampunk?

As a fan of science fiction and fantasy, I love steampunk because it is a style that bridges these genres. What makes steampunk even more intriguing to me is that much of it is based on elaborate elements taken from machinery and art history. It combines the industrial with the elegant. Details on machines such as the locomotive become exaggerated to be larger and heavier, but also more intricate. As an artist, I find that this creates an interesting contrast.

Would you like to tell us something about your thoughts behind the design?

When I think of steampunk, the first things that come to mind are large brass gears, monocles and top hats. I considered putting top hats on the train, and although it was funny, I decided to take a more ‘practical’ approach by diving back into art history. There were many things in the late 1800s and early 1900s that were intricately crafted in iron, bronze and brass. I thought that if I could consider designs that were actually used in our past, then the train may become more tasteful and simultaneously, less expected. I researched early designs that were used for art nouveau prints and furniture to develop my concept. While this style is not definitively steampunk, it is reminiscent of an era were many objects for daily use were designed elegantly, and wrought in bronze and iron. The shapes may be organic, but they were still combined with metal, and used in an era that still relied on the steam-powered locomotive. The design is meant to invoke the way in which people of the past portrayed their idea of the future.

Thank you Mandy!

To everyone who likes this idea: don’t forget to support the project at FundedByMe. We rely on you to afford the means to build this! The past weekend we organised the group. We have a time plan, a project manager, a work team leader, and many thoughts on how make this all happen.