Clink

Written by Kelly DiPucchio • Balzer + Bray, 2011.

Clink is ancient, as far as robots go. Who could possibly want him?

 

Making a robot

Originally Clink was written as a robot who is part toaster and part accordion. Toasters are easy to draw. But accordions are really only recognizable when they don't have toasters connected to them, and even then only by old illustrators. 

The best part of illustrating Clink was also the hardest — I had to create dozens of robots and robot packages. I invented many of them on the drawing board, but often I had to figure out a new robot while I was painting, to fill a spot on the shelves.

Scroll down to see early sketches.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Megabot • Oil on illustration board

Dance! • Oil on illustration board

Chaos! • Oil on illustration board. Any guess in which decade I was a little kid? Robots were big.

Home Run • Oil on illustration board. Zippy the robot can play baseball and pick up laundry simultaneously. Poor Clink can't hit a ball to save his life.

Milton's Workshop • Oil on illustration board. Check out Milton's plans and notes in the background. BTW, I own most of these tools.

Original 1939 Packaging • Oil on illustration board

You Want Me? • Oil on illustration board. Anyone out there get the GORT reference?

Trash • Oil on illustration board. Clink's toaster head is always popping out burnt toast, so here I used it to make an exclamation point.

 

Cover sketch.

First sketch for Milton's Workshop.

First sketch for Milton's Workshop.

Second sketch for Milton's Workshop. Note the different radio body on Clink.

Milton's Workshop, about halfway finished.

First sketch for Trash. What do you think? A bit too violent perhaps?

Sketch for Megabot.