The search for a companion character to walk readers through ninety years of computing.
Character Design
The Robot Guide
Designing the guide character.
The published v1 used inline SVG robot guides — functional but not visual
storytelling. v2 uses Z-Image-Turbo for AI-generated art, but the model doesn't allow
visual consistency across images. Now we're experimenting with character design approaches
for future versions, using Issue 1 as our proving ground.
Early exploration: character archetypes. We started with stylized 3D renders — Spark, Byte, Ada, Coil, Pip,
Relay, Nixie, Patch, Hex. Each tested a different personality archetype for the
guide role. The goal: find a compelling design approach for each issue's guide character.
Spark
Byte
Ada
Pip
Nixie
Coil
Relay
Patch
Hex
Rune
Each issue also got era-specific robot guide explorations — themed
to the computing era they represent.
Ticker — Issue 1
Valvie — Issue 2
Shell — Issue 4
Neuron — Issue 6
Hivemind — Issue 9
The Search for Scribble
One character, twenty explorations.
One leading candidate emerged: Scribble. A tiny brass robot with a magnifying
glass, a pencil, and boundless curiosity. Finding the right form took 20 stylized 3D
explorations alone.
Porcelain
Wooden Toy
Candy Colored
Copper Steampunk
Bean
Boxy Retro
Kid Explorer
Stargazer
Glass Glow
Origami
We also explored comic-style character designs — ten personality archetypes
for the guide role, each with a different vibe.
Scribble v1
Blinky
Nibble
Ticker
Zippy
Material Exploration
Fifteen materials. One front-runner.
With the form taking shape, we explored materials. Same robot, fifteen different surfaces —
from white matte to frosted glass to warm brass to chalkboard.
Hover to expand each material.
"Warm brass. It feels like a pocket watch — something you'd carry with you
through history."
Design decision, Session 47
Scribble v2
Scribble v2 — The Cruiser
The second iteration: a tiny round warm brass robot with a magnifying glass, a pencil,
and two dark curious eyes. Ten expression studies tested the design's range in a stylized 3D look.
The Cruiser
Explorer
Thinker
Reader
Nightrider
Speedster
Dancer
Writer
Teacher
Legend
Current Leading Candidate
Scribble v3 — Photorealistic
The current leading candidate for Issue 1. Same warm brass Turing machine robot — now rendered
photorealistically with studio lighting. The kawaii face, steampunk joints, magnifying glass read head,
pencil write head, and unicycle scooter along the paper tape all survived the style jump.
Five core poses form a production-ready character sheet.
Reference
Curious
Writing
Celebrating
Confused
Sleeping
"A Turing machine you'd want as a friend. The magnifying glass reads, the pencil writes,
the eraser deletes — and the unicycle carries him along the tape."
Character design rationale
World Building
The Object Library
130 objects across ninety years.
Every era of computing got its own set of iconic objects — from 1930s tape reels
and typewriters to modern GPUs and neural network displays. Five shown below;
browse all 130 in the character explorer.
1930s — Tape Reel
1930s — Clockwork
1930s — Enigma
Ancient — Abacus
1800s — Music Box
3D — Tape Reel
3D — Typewriter
3D — Calculator
3D — Slide Rule
3D — Counter
Galleries
Browse the Full Collections
Character galleries.
Interactive galleries for browsing every character design, material study,
and expression test. Click any to explore.
