Here are some character designs for the next issue of Trackrabbit. The story centers around a scientist named Beanie Boylan who quits his job as a robotics engineer to move to a farm and lead a pastoral life with his new bride, Deborah. The shackles of robot-ology do not prove so easily cast off, however, as Beanie builds a new robot out of old boiler parts to help him around the homestead. The robot, Ponchito, seems sweet enough at first, but he doesn't like having to compete with Beanie's wife for attention, or deal with the sneering derision of their neo-hillbilly neighbor Brian. Also, the farm is infested with mysterious alien insects. Hilarity and chemical warfare ensue.
Visually, Beanie (center) is sort of a cuddly version of Steve Albini; Deborah is sort of an amalgam of Beverly D'Angelo and Goldie Hawn; Brian is based on my ex-girlfriend's dad, a rugged, out-doorsey type who once bought me a head-lamp for Christmas. The Robots Poncho (right) and Ponchito are based on a cylinder and a sphere, respectively.
