This is a head cannon regarding how the idea of Bendy was created, and just some possible ideas about how it was when Joey Drew's studio just started.

The nature between Henry and Joey have been inspired both by other works and theories.

The fullname of Henry is not cannon.

I do not own Bendy and the Ink Machine.

Birth of the demon

It was a rainy night in February, Henry T. Howard sat at his desk drawing and scrapping sketches. Looking in frustration at the ideas that just weren't working. He had tried several designs and creature concepts but they either turned out too silly or too detailed.

The previous day Joey had asked his staff to come up with a flagship character, something that could be the face of the studio and make them stand out from all the rest. While they suggested different types of animals as potential ideas Joey didn't look pleased at all. Frogs, mice, rabbits, dog and cats have already been made and the last thing Joey needed was a potential lawsuit.

The first couple of toons they made was well received by the public, the so called 'Smile Reels' where tiny shorts with comedic tones and a few raunchy jokes that went over the younger viewers heads. But they knew that even if they had a formula, a constant face would help solidify Joey Drew Studios identity.

Not only had that, Joey wanted to have a character that could be appealing to both adults and children alike. So making a character too 'childish' could be a potential trap. After all: "it was the adults that had the money to spend" as Joey so elegantly put it.

Henry knew that Joey was a big dreamer and his boss and friend had a flamboyant side to him. But he also had quite a temper at times. Hence why Henry at times had to act as the calmer of the two. The young twenty year old wanted to surprise his friend with a character that was out of this world. Hence the big stack of books on mythos, legends, fairy tales and children's books, stacked in piles just beside the animator.

The first thing Henry tried was a faun, but decided against it once the rough sketch was produced. He just scrunched up his face at the toon. It would perhaps be a good foil or antagonist, but to carry multiple stories and cartoons it was… lacking. Even if he redesigned it to be younger and more childlike it wouldn't be enough. He could keep it as an idea for a later date. Henry went through several designs everything from appealing mermaids to frightening anthropomorphic lizards. But even if they had some appeal and they would be considered either charming or frightening none of them had the impact something that made them really stick out. They all looked like they all belonged to the same world but that was about it.

Henry was almost ready to give up on his assignment all together when he looked at his watch and saw that it was almost 11 pm. He had been there for a good couple of hours already. He rubbed his brown eyes and his hands went into his auburn hair. Letting his head hit the drawing board in frustration, he wouldn't be surprised if his forehead had a bruise in the morning. To make matters worse the stacks of books decided to topple over and spread across the floor and Henry groaning in frustration. Rising from his seat to collect them. While he picked up books one of the titles caught his attention.

The Princess and the Goblin

Goblin…

Faster than a bullet from a rifle Henry was back in his chair and a clean new paper was in place. Remembering stories that his grandparents told him and his siblings about their childhood. About mischievous and helpful house spirits, stories about fairy that would mess with humans for kicks. He even remembered the theatre he visited a few years back, showing Shakespeare's play: A Midsummer Night's Dream. A character like that was more or less everything Joey could ever want in a main character.

However Henry knew that Joey wasn't looking for a human character, so he would need to go a different route, but he knew he wanted some human elements in the toon.

He began with an oval shape for the body, then a round shape for the head. Looking back on his faun character he decided to add horns to at the top, creating a crescent shape between the two tips. He began to sketch out the arms, slinky with big white gloved hands at the end. Then was the legs they ended in a pair of Sturdy boots, all that was left was the face and details. This was the most important part of the character, as gently as he could Henry sketched out a rounded heart where the face would be.

A pair of dark eyes and a cheeky grim was added along with a fluffy bowtie.

Henry would never forget the moment 'Bendy' was 'born'. A few minutes before midnight with the rain hitting the roof of the newly opened Joey Drew studio. Henry looked at his latest sketch with a smile. The little toon was cute: no denying that, and he was definitely different from any of the currently existing mascot. The little imp reminded him of a small child, the stories the little toon could tell. He could already imagine his impish personality but perhaps even the sweetness the design hinted at.

"There, that should do the trick. Wait till Joey sees you." Henry rubbed his tired eyes. He really should be getting home, but then again there was no one there waiting for him. Perhaps he should rest his head for a few minutes before leaving.

"I have a feeling he will like you quite a bit, Little Darlin'." Why Henry felt a need to say it out loud was a mystery to the man, perhaps it was the lack of sleep. Before Henry knew it his head was resting against his arms snoring. Had he stayed awake perhaps he could have noticed the slight shift in Darlin's eyes.

The next morning Joey was more than pleased with Henry's 'Little Darlin''. He congratulated his friend and was more than happy to do some bragging on Henry's part. But he still needed a name, and after a few hours he finally had it: Bendy the Dancing Demon.