GameX, the Games & Media Expo, today announced the launch of their debut artwork contest, the “GameX Steampunk Art Competition.” Presented in conjunction with the GameX, the game consumer show and industry conference supported by NBC Local Media Philadelphia, the “GameX Steampunk Art Competition” is a one-of-a-kind science fiction-fantasy art contest designed to support and promote both professional and student artists in the games, film and comic art communities.

An all-star line-up of industry judges in film, animation, games and comics include top artistic talent from companies such as Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Universal Studios, 2K Boston, Ubisoft and Turbine. Winning entries will be on display in the Artist Market area at GameX, October 23-25 in Philadelphia.

Artists are invited to create an original steampunk-themed artwork and submit their art entry online by Saturday, October 10, 2009. Presented by Steam Gear Lab, the GameX Steampunk Art Competition will award one Grand Prize Winner, one 2D Winner, one Digital 3D Winner, and one Physical Construction/Sculpture Winner. The contest Grand Prize Winner and three finalists will receive a combined total $10,000-worth of art tools, software and technology from contest sponsors Alienware, Wacom, Pixologic ZBrush, 3D Coat, Digicel and Faber-Castell.

Steampunk is a sub-genre of fantasy fiction usually set in Victorian or Edwardian era England, with prominent elements of science fiction or fantasy. Steampunk is influenced by the style of 19th century scientific romances by authors such as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle and Mary Shelley. Steampunk is often represented by alternate history-style presentations of technology, such as dirigibles or digital mechanical computers.

Notable examples of Steampunk in media include filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s anime films such as Howl’s Moving Castle and Laputa: Castle in the Sky, the comic book series League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the Disney animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and a slew of video games, such as Final Fantasy VI, Space: 1889, Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, Damnation and numerous other popular films, books and games.