Get Geekt: Maya Rafa: Master of Steampunk

Thursday

Maya Rafa: Master of Steampunk

What’s there not to love about Steampunk? That was a rhetorical question of course. Steampunk is culmination of all those things that are holy in Geekdom; Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Alternate History stylized in a Victorian era backdrop that’s powered by steam. Now we're talking.

K.W. Jeter has been credited for coining the term Steampunk in the early 80’s, who is the leader of the Steampunk Rat Pack consisting of Tim Powers and James Blaylock. But the roots of Steampunk go much further back than that. Every genre of writers are influenced by writers before them, and Steampunk is no exception. The Steampunk Rat Pack owes much of their influence to the Fathers of Science Fiction; Hugo Gernsback (Amazing Stories), Jules Verne (Twenty Leagues Under the Sea), and H. G. Wells (The Time Machine).

Wells, Verne, and Gernsback were masters of their craft. Their works have inspired the Science Fiction world much in the same way as Lord Dunsany (The Book of Wonder), Robert E. Howard (Conan the Barbarian), C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), and J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit) have inspired Modern Fantasy.

Notebook Stone Metal - Maya Rafa

Now, there’s a new master in town - a master of Steampunk - Maya Rafa. Not in the literary sense, but in the form of Steampunk 3D art. Maya is, as the pictures will show, incredibly gifted at bringing the words and images of the Steampunk genre to life. What is even more incredible is that Maya creates these works of art almost entirely of cardboard and bits. Hollywood needs to hire this man. He is obviously talented and resourceful, and could make props for movies much cheaper than the “experts.”