Nailed a very unique Steampunk aesthetic. Cool.

I like this idea, it would make a great toy!

This would work excellently as a pool toy, as I think others before me have mentioned. Hell, even a plush would be cool. I can see cuddling up to a robot fish- is that weird? :D

wow, thanks Vise. That means a lot! I spent a great deal of time on the steampunk bug. By the time I was finished with it I was exhausted. But the idea of this fish wouldn't leave my head so I stayed up extra EXTRA late for a few days to create this guy.

I have to say - this is the most interesting design i've seen for quite a while now...you rocked this theme!

I just popped on to check how things are going. I find it pretty interesting that this particular entry has over 150 more views than my Macchina Insetto even though they were both submitted at the same time and are right next to each other in the gallery. I'm not sure what's going on really. Perhaps it's a much more catchy thumbnail? perplexing for sure.

Thanks for all the love!

I'll explain a little how I imagined this guy working.

The front fins push up and down inside the copper grove.

The tail is three fins that rotate around on the gear (you can see the gear easily from the back).

There is a steam pipe behind his top fin. I made it flair out a bit to add interest and make it a little more cute.

There's a hinge on the jaw where you could feed in coals to power the little toy.

I don't expect him to have any moving parts as a toy but as I was designing him I wanted to think about the "logistics" :)

I did try to make him so he rests on his rather large chin and the rest balances in the air.

I created this design in 3d to make sure all the parts worked well together and that it looked good from all angles. Then I added a few small touches to the picture in 2d to add wear. It was just faster that way then creating it ALL in 2d or ALL in 3d. This is a little "cuter" than most steampunk designs but that was on purpose. Cheers!

Nice and funny idea, but I definitely prefer your Macchina Insetto ;)