Two strangers meet, laying bare their vulnerabilities and their need for companionship, in a dance as old as the human race. This machine represents a couple of significant firsts for me. It was the first machine I built whose mechanism worked perfectly. Also, these are the first characters that resembled my actual cartooning style of drawing people. (By contrast, take a look at “Burlesque,” an earlier-built machine in which the little men were like crude eggheads.)

“Blind Date” is built with materials salvaged from my late parents’ home, including gears and cams cut from drawer cases and a framework built from a stereo cabinet.