Promptkoi

Steampunk Brass Automaton in a Victorian Laboratory

Stable Diffusion
By Varun Sharma Tested with Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0

An SDXL prompt for a 3:4 steampunk character concept: a full-length brass automaton with riveted torso, exposed copper gears through a glass chest panel, articulated iron fingers, single blue lens eye, steam pipes along the spine, standing on a checkerboard floor among chemistry apparatus.

Last tested: August 2026 with Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0

Part of the Stable Diffusion prompt library · see more vintage prompts .

Remix in builder
Steampunk brass automaton with exposed gears and blue lens eye standing in a Victorian laboratory
Steampunk Brass Automaton in a Victorian Laboratory — Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0, Aspect ratio 3:4
Commercial use included

Prompt 

A full-length steampunk brass automaton standing upright in a Victorian laboratory, the automaton humanoid in proportion with a riveted brass torso, exposed copper gears visible through a glass panel in the chest, articulated iron fingers, a brass head with a single blue lens for an eye, steam pipes running along the spine, standing on a checkerboard tile floor among chemistry apparatus and Tesla coils, warm gas lamp light, no text, no letters

Negative prompt 

blurry, low quality, deformed, extra limbs, text, watermark, signature, electric wires, modern technology, LED lights, plastic, neon, cartoon, anime, symmetrical face, two normal eyes, smooth metal, generic robot

Settings

Model
Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0
Aspect ratio
3:4
Steps
30
CFG scale
7
Sampler
DPM++ 2M Karras

How to use this prompt

"Exposed copper gears visible through a glass panel in the chest" separates this from a metal statue — the transparent panel proves the automaton is a machine. "Single blue lens for an eye" rather than "eyes" is deliberate: one lens reads as a telescope, which is the steampunk aesthetic; two symmetric eyes make it look like a robot. "Steam pipes running along the spine" is the engineering logic — without pipes the power source is unstated. "Articulated iron fingers" rather than "hands" forces the model to show joints, making the fingers look engineered. "Checkerboard tile floor" grounds the figure; a bare floor lets the automaton float. "Warm gas lamp light" only — electric lighting kills the Victorian atmosphere.

Variations to try

  • Replace the automaton with a clockwork horse pulling a brass carriage
  • Swap the lab for a greenhouse with brass-framed glass panels and fern plants
vintage concept art concept art character design

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What to do next

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Open this prompt in the Stable Diffusion builder, pre-filled, and change one layer at a time.

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For developers — copy this prompt as JSON 
{
  "title": "Steampunk Brass Automaton in a Victorian Laboratory",
  "prompt": "A full-length steampunk brass automaton standing upright in a Victorian laboratory, the automaton humanoid in proportion with a riveted brass torso, exposed copper gears visible through a glass panel in the chest, articulated iron fingers, a brass head with a single blue lens for an eye, steam pipes running along the spine, standing on a checkerboard tile floor among chemistry apparatus and Tesla coils, warm gas lamp light, no text, no letters",
  "negative_prompt": "blurry, low quality, deformed, extra limbs, text, watermark, signature, electric wires, modern technology, LED lights, plastic, neon, cartoon, anime, symmetrical face, two normal eyes, smooth metal, generic robot",
  "model": "Stable Diffusion",
  "model_version": "SDXL 1.0",
  "settings": {
    "aspect_ratio": "3:4",
    "steps": 30,
    "cfg": 7,
    "sampler": "DPM++ 2M Karras"
  },
  "style_tags": [
    "vintage",
    "concept-art"
  ],
  "use_case_tags": [
    "concept-art",
    "character-design"
  ],
  "source_url": "https://promptkoi.com/prompts/stable-diffusion/steampunk-automaton-victorian-lab/"
}

The whole library is available as an open JSON dataset · developer docs.