Internbot - 02 Project: Steampunk Nutcracker

As the first days passed at Ghostbot and I learned the mechanics of Flash, Roque came to me with the concept of a design project. The first thought was both daunting and exciting at the scope of the project among my other classes.

Inspired by my Jack and the Beanstalk Cyber Punk/Fantasy designs from my portfolio, Roque came up with a similar project for me to embark on. The project was to pick from a few fairy tales and put it in a different genre. From the Gingerbread man to Three Billy Goats Gruff, one in particular caught my eye.



I chose the Nutcracker. Unbeknownst to Roque, I played both the Nutcracker and Herr Drosselmeyer in two play productions as a child in elementary school! How could I even consider another choice?

Now onto the genre choice: Goth, Techno, Aquatic, Pulp Adventure? In the end, I choose Steampunk; something I've never explored in my own free time. Before even grabbing a pencil and paper, Roque asked me to define the archetypes of the cast, giving each three descriptive adjectives for each character. As well as collecting a massive amount of research of both steampunk and nutcracker images.

Below is my first set of sketches on the initial concept after getting the go ahead from Roque, along with descriptions of each character.

Cast:

The Nutcracker: The lead character of the play and the quiet protagonist of the film. He protects Clara from the evil grasp of the Rat King. Created by Herr Drosselmeyer, this mechanical, steam driven, and stalwart hero leads his steam powered army into battle against the ominous Rat King.

Nutcracker Army: Loyal and steadfast the mechanical steam army follows their leader to the ends of the earth and back.

Clara: A young brilliant woman, who is a mechanical genius, like her Godfather Herr Drosselmeyer. Always interested in her godfather’s work Clara locks herself in her lab tinkering away at new devices… that is until Herr Drosselmeyer stops by on Christmas Eve with a gift.

Herr Drosselmeyer: The mysterious and ominous Godfather of Clara. He is a genius mechanic, creating revolutionary designs in steam engineering. He has a mechanical eye that has yet to be explained. Drosselmeyer considers Clara as his protégé.

The Rat King: A ruthless tyrant and leader of his pirate crew, he has a long standing feud with the Nutcracker. Nothing would bring him more joy then seeing his head on a pike in his throne room. Hei is half rat with an assortment of mechanical devices replacing limbs and organs.

Rat Army: The Rat King’s pirate army is an assortment of ruthless and greedy rats. Scavengers by nature, they replace and enhance their bodies with any assortment of mechanical devices they can get a hold of.