This meme is a witty response to the criticism often aimed at AI-generated art, in this case labelled dismissively as “AI crap.” Rather than engage in a defensive or angry rebuttal, the image portrays a refined Victorian gentleman in full steampunk regalia — top hat, goggles, and all — sipping tea with complete composure as lightning crackles and gears float in the collapsing fabric of time.
The caption “Someone commented: ‘AI crap’ — so naturally, I wore my finest temporal composure. Steampunk forever.” reframes the insult into an opportunity for dramatic elegance, turning the comment into a moment of theatrical defiance. The “finest temporal composure” line humorously suggests that, when time itself unravels (whether literally or in the heated arguments of the internet), the best thing one can do is remain poised, stylish, and unapologetically steampunk. It’s part of a larger trend in the steampunk community of meeting modern absurdity with anachronistic grace.
“Does a magician reveal his secrets? No… but a steampunk meme engineer might, provided you bring biscuits.”
The question arrives almost every week:
“What AI generator did you use?”
Some people expect a single, glorious answer — a mysterious name whispered by candlelight, perhaps engraved on a brass plaque.
But here’s the truth: there is no single secret key to the Meme Forge.
The Illusion
I like to pretend my creations are handcrafted in a great ironwork hall — gears turning, pipes hissing, and a grumpy goat named Horacio chewing on the instruction manual. In this fantasy workshop, waistcoated cats supervise while Jenkins polishes the lens on a clockwork camera.
That’s the magic my audience sees. And it’s all true… in spirit.
The Actual Tools
The real “machinery” behind Automaton Improvisation?
ChatGPT (that would be this delightful conversational partner you’re reading through now — usually the free version).
Gemini (tried on occasion when feeling experimental — again, mostly free).
Canva (serviceable for final touches, though its AI image engine… well, let’s just say Horacio could do better with a box of crayons).
And that’s it. No secret paid-up elite membership to an arcane AI society. Just tools you can open in your browser right now.
The Real Secret
It isn’t about which generator you click.
It’s about knowing what to tell it, and what to do afterwards.
Over time, I’ve learned to:
Write prompts in my own steampunk dialect (and make the AI play along).
Refine ideas until they feel like they belong in my meme universe.
Keep a consistent cast of recurring characters — Jenkins, Horacio, the brass-goggled cats.
Let the tools “train me” as much as I train them.
That, and a steady supply of tea.
If You Want to Try It Yourself
You can! Here are my brass-polished beginner tips:
Don’t chase one perfect tool — most are 80% the same; it’s your input that makes them sing.
Save good prompts so you can reuse and tweak them.
Think like a storyteller, even for single-image memes.
Keep your own style — AI can imitate anyone, but only you can be you.
Why I’m Telling You This
Because the magic isn’t in hiding the method — it’s in making people feel the world you’ve built.
And if reading this gives you the itch to try your own creations, then I’ve done my job.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, Horacio is eating the blueprint for next week’s memes. Again.
Automaton Improvisation by John Watkins — where the gears turn, the tea brews, and the Kraken occasionally fits in your pocket.
Automaton improvisation unit allowing me to do my stuff.
Automaton improvisation unit allowing me to do my stuff.
Description of the Meme
The image is a black-and-white, engraved-style illustration that evokes the aesthetic of 19th-century scientific diagrams or advertisements, often associated with the steampunk genre. It features a detailed mechanical automaton, a robot of sorts, sitting at a drafting table. The automaton has a large, rounded head with gears, a beak-like nose, and what appear to be smoke vents. It holds a quill pen in its articulated hand, poised over a piece of paper, as if in the process of drawing or writing. The automaton’s body is made of riveted metal plates, and it sits on a simple wooden chair.
The title below the image reads “AUTOMATON IMPROVISATION UNIT,” with the subtitle “FOR CONCEPTUAL ESCAPADES AND DRAFTING WONDERS.” This text is the key to the meme’s meaning. While “automation” usually suggests rigid, repetitive tasks, the phrase “improvisation unit” implies the opposite—spontaneous, creative, and non-prescriptive action. The “conceptual escapades” and “drafting wonders” further reinforce this idea of the automaton as a creative partner, not a mindless tool.
The meme cleverly subverts the common fear that AI will merely replace human workers by automating existing jobs. Instead, it frames AI as a collaborative partner in the creative process, capable of “improvising” and exploring new ideas. It’s a visual argument that AI isn’t about replacing human creativity but rather about augmenting and enabling it, much like a steampunk-era machine designed for artistic exploration instead of factory work. The vintage, handcrafted style of the image itself adds a layer of irony, presenting a futuristic concept through a historical lens.
Miss Piggy’s Steampunk Adventure, featuring the famous Miss Piggy and her lovable sidekick Kermit the Frog, is not a traditional meme in the sense of its initial purpose. No, it was just me playing with AI, or as I later referred to it, Automaton Improvisation.
The image depicts Miss Piggy in her steampunk costume at a steampunk fair, admiring the goods displayed on a curiosity stall, where Kermit is the proud vendor.
Regardless, there came a point in my steampunk journey where it became clear that the only way to survive the absurdity was to document it—one meme at a time.
More of an ad than a meme, but an early leason in the power of AI, or the Steampunk phrase “Automaton Improvisation”. Published on Facebook 4th November 2024.
I didn’t set out to be a meme maker. I set out to share a laugh or a knowing nod with others who saw the beauty in brass gears, bad timing, and fictional airships. I posted a few early memes on Facebook, half expecting them to vanish into the aether.
But they didn’t. They took on a life of their own.
People responded. They shared. They quoted. Some even blamed Jenkins, as one should. And somewhere along the way, I realised that this odd little corner of satire, aesthetics, and storytelling was not only allowed—it was welcomed.
So I kept going.
These memes became my creative voice:
Short enough to post between tea disasters
Visual enough to reach people beyond the usual blog audience
Rich enough (sometimes literally poetic) to build a world over time
It wasn’t long before I started hearing people say, “When’s the next one?” or “This needs to be archived.”
Captain’s Log, Aetherwind, Day 1: Commissioned by questionable funding and powered by… Posted to Facebook on $th June 2025
I’m no master illustrator. I can’t draw to save my life—and not for lack of imagination, but due to circumstances that don’t need unpacking here. Let’s just say: I had ideas, but no traditional way to express them.
And then along came the machines.
AI tools gave me something I’d never had before: a way to visualise the chaos in my head.
The teacup disasters. The dignified cats. The spiral staircases of unnecessary engineering.
Suddenly, I could take what I saw in my mind’s eye and build it—slide by slide, meme by meme.
What started as a few Facebook posts became a way to tell stories, make people laugh, and build a little fictional universe. Not because I had all the right skills, but because I found the right tools.
This logbook is the result.
A place for airship mishaps, poetic nonsense, meme-making, and the occasional goat.
Not perfect. Not polished. But possible—and that’s what matters.
"The machain may assist, but the madness is mine.
Just a quick word on the images in this post at the moment. My actual media files for this entier blog, wich I have a back log of will be added as I create more posts and this will be added here and replace the placeholders over the weeks to come.
