Thomas Willeford

Last updated

Thomas Dean Willeford V (born October 29, 1964) is a steampunk writer, artist and maker. He is known for his work appearing on television and for his book Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos. [1] He lives and works in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, doing business as Brute Force Studios. [1] [2] [3] His steampunk subculture persona is Lord Archibald "Feathers" Featherstone. [3] [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Brought up in a Victorian house with a "mad scientist" grandfather who worked for DuPont, [5] [6] Willeford was educated at University of Maryland, College Park, Shenandoah University, University of Delaware and the University of Oxford.

Work

Thomas Willeford in his Studio. Thomas Willeford.jpg
Thomas Willeford in his Studio.

In 1988, Willeford became interested in steampunk and began working on pieces that combined his love of engineering and art. [7] He created the steampunk arm worn by Nathan Fillion in episode 3.4 of the television series Castle . [6] [8] His work has been displayed at the University of Oxford's Museum of the History of Science, [9] at the Steampunk Bizarre Experiment, [10] the Penn State Berks Freyberger Gallery, [11] at Nemo's Steampunk Art & Invention Gallery [2] and at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation, [4] [12] and has been featured in Popular Mechanics. [13] He is a contributor to Bruce Boxleitner's Lantern City [4] and was a judge on Game Show Network's Steampunk'd . [14]

Willeford was a guest curator for the Steampunk U exhibit at the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. [15]

Awards and recognition

Bibliography

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef(s)
2010 Castle PropsSteampunk Arm

[17]

2010 Oddities Himself [18]
2013Old Folks HomeHimselfEpisode "Blow Off Some Steampunk" [19]
2015 Steampunk'd HimselfAs a judge [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steampunk</span> Science fiction genre inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery

Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or the American "Wild West", where steam power remains in mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Lantern</span> Multiple superheroes from the DC universe

Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, and the electromagnetic spectrum of emotional willpower. The characters are typically depicted as members of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic law enforcement agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosplay</span> Type of performance art

Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, and a broader use of the term "cosplay" applies to any costumed role-playing in venues apart from the stage. Any entity that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject. Favorite sources include anime, cartoons, comic books, manga, television series, rock music performances, and video games. The term is composed of the two aforementioned counterparts – costume and role play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Rankin</span> British fantasy author

Robert Fleming Rankin is a prolific British author of comedic fantasy novels. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999, by which time his previous eighteen books had sold around one million copies. His books are a mix of science fiction, fantasy, the occult, urban legends, running gags, metafiction, steampunk and outrageous characters. According to the biography printed in some Corgi editions of his books, Rankin refers to his style as 'Far Fetched Fiction' in the hope that bookshops will let him have a section to himself. Many of Rankin's books are bestsellers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Willingham</span> American writer and artist of comics (born 1956)

William Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series Elementals and Fables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Ross</span> American comic book artist

Nelson Alexander Ross is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries Marvels, on which he collaborated with writer Kurt Busiek for Marvel Comics. He has since done a variety of projects for both Marvel and DC Comics, such as the 1996 miniseries Kingdom Come, which Ross co-wrote. Since then he has done covers and character designs for Busiek's series Astro City, and various projects for Dynamite Entertainment. His feature film work includes concept and narrative art for Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, and DVD packaging art for the M. Night Shyamalan film Unbreakable. He has done covers for TV Guide, promotional artwork for the Academy Awards, posters and packaging design for video games, and his renditions of superheroes have been merchandised as action figures.

<i>Girl Genius</i> Comic book and webcomic series

Girl Genius is an ongoing comic book series turned webcomic, written and drawn by Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment. The comic won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story three times, has been nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist and twice for Eisner Awards, and won multiple WCCA awards.

<i>Hard Boiled</i> (comics) Comic book series written by Frank Miller

Hard Boiled is a three-issue comic book mini-series written by Frank Miller and drawn by Geof Darrow. It was published by American company Dark Horse Comics in 1990-1992. Frank Miller and Geof Darrow won the 1991 Eisner award for Best Writer/Artist for this series.

Balticon is the Maryland Regional science fiction convention, sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS). It has been held annually since 1966. The name "Balticon" is trademarked by BSFS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Timm</span> American artist, character designer, animator

Bruce Walter Timm is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995), Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000), The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999), Batman Beyond (1999–2001), Justice League (2001–2004), and Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006).

MomoCon is a fan convention held in March or May in Atlanta, Georgia.

<i>Gizmos & Gadgets!</i> 1993 video game

Super Solvers: Gizmos & Gadgets is an educational science video game designed by The Learning Company. It is intended to teach children between the ages of 7 and 12 introductory mechanics, namely simple machines, magnets, basic electronics, and forms of energy. The original game is compatible with computers running DOS 3.3 or higher and a later CD release added Windows 95 and Macintosh compatibility. A popular game through 1997, The Learning Company, then incorporated with Broderbund, discontinued Gizmos & Gadgets in 1998. Riverdeep eventually obtained the rights and re-released it in some of the "Adventure Workshop" collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Carlin</span> American comic book artist

Michael Carlin is an American comic book writer, editor, and executive. He has worked principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics since the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Steel</span> Musical artist

Rion Vernon, known by his stage name Doctor Steel is an American musician and internet personality from Los Angeles. He performed on rare occasions with a "backup band", claiming that a fictitious robot band had malfunctioned. Shows incorporated puppetry, multimedia and performances by female members of his street team, The Army of Toy Soldiers. Steel made a brief appearance on The Tonight Show and has had numerous interviews. He was the subject of an article in Wired magazine regarding allegations that Dr. Horrible had copied his style. Steel has frequently been cited as an example of steampunk music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">League of STEAM</span> American performance art troupe

The League of S.T.E.A.M., a.k.a. the "Steampunk Ghostbusters", is an American performance art troupe from Southern California popular in the steampunk community and specializing in live interactive themed entertainment.

Steampunk World's Fair (SPWF) was the largest annual Steampunk festival on the East Coast of the United States and one of the biggest in the world held over the course of a weekend during the month of May in Piscataway, New Jersey or Somerset, New Jersey. The programming embodied an atmosphere of fandom, including musicians, performers, vendors, artisans, authors, and other guests whose work is related to the steampunk subculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steampunk HQ</span>

Steampunk HQ is an art collaboration and gallery in the historic Victorian precinct of Oamaru, New Zealand. Opened in November 2011, it celebrates its own industrial take on steampunk via an array of contraptions and sculptures, complemented by audio-visual installations in two darkened rooms and part of the buildings basement. A yard also contains a collection of other industrial parts and projects in various stages of completion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Lambert</span> British-American model (born 1983)

Kate Lambert, known professionally as "Kato", is a British model, fashion designer, singer and entrepreneur. A native of Wales, Kato emigrated to the United States in 2007. She became a US citizen in 2019.

<i>GURPS Steampunk</i> Role-playing game sourcebook

GURPS Steampunk is a role-playing game sourcebook written by William H. Stoddard and published by Steve Jackson Games in 2000. The supplement facilitates play in the steampunk genre using the GURPS system. Upon publication, the book won the Origins Award for "Best Roleplaying Supplement". As the most detailed definition of the genre at the time, it was also credited with reifying the attributes of steampunk. GURPS Steampunk was accompanied by licensed publications in the world of Castle Falkenstein and followed by supplements by Jo Ramsay and Phil Masters. Since 2016, SJG has published additional releases in the genre, compatible with GURPS Fourth Edition.

References

  1. 1 2 Kelly, James Floyd. "Create Your Own Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos". Wired. Conde Nast. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Hornyak, Tim. "Breathing apparatus". Cnet. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Pho, Diana M. (September 20, 2012). "The Dynamics of Ideology and Consumerism in Steampunk Subculture". In Taddeo, Julie Anne; Miller, Cynthia J. (eds.). Steaming into a Victorian Future: A Steampunk Anthology. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0-8108-8586-8.
  4. 1 2 3 "Bruce Boxleitner's Lantern City: Contributors". Lantern City. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  5. Strickland, Ashley (14 December 2011). "Thy fearful gadgetry: Steampunk's mad scientists". CNN . Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  6. 1 2 Hatmaker, Julia. "Steampunk in Harrisburg: Thomas Willeford is the midstate's mad scientist". Penn Live/The Patriot-News . Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  7. "Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos". McGraw Hill. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  8. MacFarland, Joe. "Steampunk-ier than Justin Bieber". Ebay. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
    - Pinchefsky, Carol. "Fashion's Biggest Trend in 2013–2015 (as Predicted by IBM)? Steampunk". Forbes . Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  9. "Steampunk: Contraptions + Devices Extraordinaire". Hamptons.com. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  10. "The 2010 Steampunk Bizarre Experiment". Steampunk Bizarre 2010. Archived from the original on February 9, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  11. "Freyberger Gallery presents STEAMpunk!". Penn State. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  12. "Totally Hot Artistic Opportunities". Massachusetts Cultural Council. Archived from the original on July 1, 2010. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  13. "Top DIY Costumes from Comic Con 2010". Popular Mechanics . Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  14. "GSNTV / Steampunk'd / judges". Game Show Network. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  15. ""Function Goes Punk": Steampunk U Exhibit". AACA Museum. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  16. 1 2 "Steampunk Chronicle Readers Choice Awards 2012". Steampunk Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  17. Lamar, Cyriaque. "Buy Nathan Fillion's steampunk cybernetic arm from Castle". io9. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  18. "Harrisburg mad scientist: 'If you've got $250,000, I can build you a 50 foot tall robot'". Penn Live/Patriot-News. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  19. Odd Folks Home, Amazon, retrieved March 22, 2017
  20. "Steampunkd". GSN TV. Archived from the original on August 15, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2017.