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Redefining Classic Bally Williams Art | Brian Allen Flyland Designs
36 Plays6 minutes ago
Brian Allen did the LE art on the recent Pedritti Funhouse release but that wasn't his first attempt at a pinball art package. We're talking about his past projects and what the future could potential hold for Pedretti's line up of Classic Bally Williams Games
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#pinball #arcade #podcast
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode 175
00:00:07
Speaker
for tuning into the loser kid pit ball podcast. My name is Josh Rupp with me my co-captain Scott Larson. One person has said we've we've dropped the episode numbers. Okay, here you go. We're on episode 175. I promise 175 and today we've got an awesome guest on ah but before we jump into the guests, we're gonna be talking a little bit about fun house today. Maybe some other games that might be announced.
00:00:29
Speaker
ah If you're getting these games Scott, who you buying them from?
Pinball Machine Recommendations
00:00:33
Speaker
I'll buy them from Zach and Nicole Mini at Flippin' Out Pinball. They've actually been great in so many ways. So if you want new stuff, if you want used stuff, um they have great customer service. Zach is always super re responsive, especially with ah with yeah Facebook Messenger.
00:00:50
Speaker
That actually seems to be the best way to get get a hold of them. But they post ah they their used stuff also on on Facebook all the time. So if you're looking for the new game, if you're looking for used game,
00:01:02
Speaker
um Stern is going to be coming out likely with a game here. So if you want to be on the interested list and there's a big rumor, it's a big title again. ah Go ahead and contact Zach and Nicole Mini and flip it up pinball.
Discounts and Merchandise
00:01:14
Speaker
Or if you want Funhouse, definitely hit up Zach or Nicole Mini right now. You can get $500 off if you use discount code Loserkid where you do that checkout or you just let Zach know through Messenger, hey, I've been listening to Loserkids. I've been dying to get ah Funhouse.
00:01:32
Speaker
whether it be the LE or the classic edition, doesn't matter. Get $500 off on that. Also, if you like our shirts, silverballswag.com. These are the new ones from Vic VP. Thanks Vic for sending these over to us.
00:01:45
Speaker
He was nice enough to give us the PNGs to hook us up. So you can now buy these shirts through silverballswag. As long as Neil has put it on the website, he's out of the office till Wednesday. So Scott, why don't you introduce our guest for us?
Interview with Brian Allen
00:01:57
Speaker
Okay, so this is Brian Allen with Flyland Design. So he's, i I've actually been familiar with Brian Allen for a long time. In fact, ah over my shoulder here, you're mirrored, but it's my right shoulder, but it looks like my left on the mirror.
00:02:10
Speaker
You can actually see the Medieval Madness Alternative Translight. I also have his Alternative Translight from Monster Bash, which is is great. And he's been doing a lot of different art packages for especially classic games.
00:02:24
Speaker
um He's been great. ah I even have the art blades in my Medieval Madness. So I have the Flyland Design Alternative Medieval Madness. And it's been great. I really like the new take on the old projects because sometimes the old projects you don't really like.
00:02:40
Speaker
you know Okay, it gives you a good option to say, hey, I like the classic, but I really like a new option too. So we'd like to welcome b Brian Allen. He also did the alternative art package for the Funhaus remake.
00:02:54
Speaker
So welcome to the show, Brian, and thanks for joining Thanks, guys. Yeah, I really appreciate it. Yeah, and thanks, Scott. I think you were probably like one of my earliest supporters going way back to Monster Bash. I mean, I remember your name from way back then, so I really appreciate it.
00:03:10
Speaker
And then just seeing you at shows constantly and stuff, so really appreciate it. Speaking of shows, who was the artist on your on the Ludicine shirt? That's fantastic.
00:03:21
Speaker
So Vic VP, he's an arcade gentleman. You can check out his YouTube here. vic vp But yeah, he he's he's testing out some some ah designs. We'll put it that way.
00:03:33
Speaker
And if you look really closely at the shirt, it's actually quite fun. um I thought the rule was never ah wear a T-shirt with your picture on it, but I am i'm breaking that rule now because if you look at it, it has Loser Kid in the Funhaus font and it has Josh and I as Rudy and we are ah we are pointing at each other. And ah by the way, Vic VP is an awesome guy.
00:03:55
Speaker
Just background. If you don't know, he's the he's the guy that we talked about when they were talking. I believe it was John Wick, right, Josh? It was John Wick when they did a reveal.
00:04:07
Speaker
And Stern reached out to a few influencers and said, hey, we're we're trying to promote a product. And part of us was like all the people who are doing the podcast was like, we are we have been doing this for a long time. Why didn't you reach out to us? Yeah.
00:04:21
Speaker
You reached out to some of these some of these people that we haven't heard of. Well, Vic was actually one of those. And he's the one that we talked about. was like, well, he has ah he has a pinball machine in the background. He actually reached out to us. We have been able to interact with him. And he's he's he's a great guy, by the way. He is hes fun. He has a lot of arcade stuff.
00:04:39
Speaker
And so it's been really fun to get to know him. He asked us, hey, what's your... ah like what is your like Stern Insider Connected and also like what is what do you enter in when you get a high score so he had some ideas for t-shirts and this is one of them we're going to show the other one but this is awesome it says Loserkid in the in the Funhaus font but it also has Josh and I and our caricatures on it which is it's fun so it a as Josh said if you want to get your own version of that it's on Silver Ball Swagger will be shortly
00:05:10
Speaker
But if yeah is one thing I want to talk about, Brian, you've been yeah involved in pinball for it for a while, even before we got into the podcasting thing.
Brian's Career Journey in Pinball Art
00:05:19
Speaker
You've been doing this for a long time. So can you give us the background on what brought you into pinball?
00:05:24
Speaker
what is your yeah this is you What is your origin story in pinball? And you also do a lot of other stuff, too. So let's talk about first how you got connected to pinball. That was actually the ill-fated alien pinball machine with Highway Pinball. um i was i can't remember if I reached out to Andrew Highway or if he reached out to me.
00:05:51
Speaker
think he might have reached out to me. And at that time, I was really not plugged into the world of pinball at all. So i I did not know at the time did that that that alien pinball was already kind of struggling.
00:06:08
Speaker
But he hired me to do the limited edition Backglass for his machine. And later, i pretty I pretty much realized that he probably just did that kind of buy himself some time because he wanted to release some new artwork to like get some new interest to just because it later came out that there was like he was basically out of money at that point.
00:06:34
Speaker
Um, but I drew this alien queen for the pinball machine. ah he released the artwork and that brought in like a flood of pinball fans to my website.
00:06:47
Speaker
And then very shortly after, like, I mean, I'm talking like two weeks after, I think that's when they, Andrew, Andrew highway announced that they weren't going to be making any games.
00:06:59
Speaker
And he basically was out of money. Um, I luckily did get paid for that, but I know a lot of people who worked on the game didn't, which I think is terrible.
00:07:10
Speaker
But when people found out that this back glass was not going to be released, I started getting messages from people saying that they want to buy it on a print. So we made a ah really nice, like really thick paper, really huge prints of this thing.
00:07:29
Speaker
I signed and numbered them out of 100 or something like that. um And everybody was so incredibly supportive because they you know they were disappointed that it wasn't going to be on a game.
00:07:43
Speaker
um I was incredibly disappointed because I thought this was this huge opportunity that just kind of went up in smoke. um But after that, then I just started getting messages from people saying...
00:07:58
Speaker
ah for For example, Monster Bash did like, hey, you should you should redraw some of these old backglasses because we love your artwork and we want it in our machines. And I just kept, I would do one and then I would get requests for another and I kept going.
00:08:15
Speaker
and And that's when I connected with Planetary Pinball to get a Williams Valley license so that I could like officially make artwork for their games.
00:08:26
Speaker
um And I think now we've got like maybe 13 alternate backglasses now. I've done cabinet artwork through Planetary Pinball, the side blades you mentioned and stuff like that.
00:08:41
Speaker
um Started going to pinball conventions. Everyone's very supportive there. um And i' um rambling, but like and in between that, there have been opportunities for me to work with some of the bigger companies i can't really get into specifics but unfortunately like probably like four different times it's either happened where i've started something and then the licensing deal blew up or things blew up before i could even get started um so i haven't had very good luck in that area uh but i am i do have a couple probably like three different things opportunities cooking
00:09:27
Speaker
This year, they kind of came all at once, actually, like in the last couple of months. Um, I can talk a little bit about that, but can't get into specifics. so Well, before you, before we start developing into that, there there was a lot, you just said that we
Art Challenges in Pinball Industry
00:09:40
Speaker
can unpackage.
00:09:40
Speaker
First question I have. So you did that alien, and the alien, uh, edition for, for Andrew highway. Is this the one that's on your website? That's the, uh, 35th anniversary banner that you, you sell.
00:09:53
Speaker
Uh, yeah, yeah. It says like alien 35th and yeah eggs are like but beneath it. And the guy's like, they're hatching. Yeah. theyre This is insane. I'm going if you're watching the video, ive I've just posted it right here next to me, but this, this artwork is insanely cool. I didn't know this is where you started out at was, was doing the alien stuff.
00:10:12
Speaker
Yeah, in in pinball it was anyway. ah Before that, like I've um um been a freelance illustrator full time since 2012. And i've I've been a professional illustrator since 2004. So like 21 years.
00:10:25
Speaker
so um well like twenty one years well Definitely. But this was your introduction to pinball. Cause I think yeah when I first really remember pinball, so I've been in it for quite some time when I started listening to podcasts, started digging deeper, it was during the whole shenanigans of Andrew highway and all that stuff. Right. And the whole two weeks and all that. But, but I mean, this is some art that I've definitely seen of yours that I think we see occasionally cause it's, it's just amazing art. It really is.
00:10:54
Speaker
Um, yeah so, ah you were saying though, that, you've kind of had some other projects so fall through the cracks. I know one that I've kind of asked you about before we got on screen was the Oktoberfest one.
00:11:07
Speaker
Can you kind of tell me a little bit about that and how that didn't pan out, I guess? Oh, that was more like, so I had reached out to them thinking that maybe I could make alternate backlasses for American Pinball.
00:11:20
Speaker
And they were open to it and we were going to do it. um I think it might've been I think I just got too busy with freelance projects and then with the the Williams Valley alternate backglasses that I just didn't have time to get to it. And a it just sort of fizzled out.
00:11:39
Speaker
um If there was interest in that, I'd certainly do it because, i mean, it would be a lot of fun. Like I'm picturing something just with tons of activity and like drunk people and and it just – Although I do remember some direction from them that I don't think that they wanted it to be too fun and drunk.
00:12:00
Speaker
And like, if you like, if you've seen a lot of my artwork, some of of my characters are. i like making things a little weird and creepy and fun and stuff. So, um...
00:12:13
Speaker
since these alternate backlasses, these are all things I do in my spare time. Like if the theme is not something I'm really excited about, I'm probably not going to make time to do it, you know, cause there's always, there's still a big line of ones that I want to get to that I'll probably do first.
00:12:33
Speaker
Definitely. Well, I know that like you're, you're, you have a Mario one. That's kind of like a darker take on Mario and stuff too. That looks pretty cool. Yeah. Thanks. Yeah. I like, Go ahead. The one thing that's interesting about what you've done is now in art, it's actually licensing is a big deal.
00:12:49
Speaker
And you've actually done something that i think a lot of artists haven't done is you've actually approached the original license holder to make sure that, Hey, you are making something with the permission of the license.
00:13:02
Speaker
Uh, can you tell me a little bit more about that and why that's important to you?
00:13:08
Speaker
Well, for one, um, I want the back glass would be kind of useless if it didn't have the title of the game on it. So most of the people who are making bootlegs, they avoid putting that title on.
00:13:23
Speaker
And I think that makes the product look worse and it's probably not going to sell as well. But mainly i just, ah wouldn't feel comfortable ah because all of these back glasses are made by like artists that were at the top of their game and like they're all masterpieces in their own way right so like for me to just come in here and start copying everybody's work uh i think i'd be run out of town really quick and i i would feel terrible about doing that um i think most of the people that you see doing unlicensed stuff in pinball they're usually overseas like they're you know from europe uh
00:14:10
Speaker
mainly Europe actually. um And the only reason they get away with that is they're just harder to sue. um It's a lot more expensive ah to do that. so
00:14:22
Speaker
So I guess morally I thought it was the right thing to do, but I also didn't want to get sued. that you know So there is a little self-interest there. And um also it's just like, it's worth paying the royalty to not have to like look over your shoulder all the time.
00:14:40
Speaker
And now I don't have to, now I can draw the characters as they are instead of like trying, having to make like a, a kind of parody or spoof on everything, you know?
00:14:55
Speaker
So how, how does, how does fair use work? Sorry. Now that you bring it up, drawing characters in a parody and stuff like that. Sure. So, um, So I just, I'm not a lawyer, but I do have a copyright attorney, so I do know a little bit about this stuff.
00:15:10
Speaker
um So don't take my word for it. But there it's not like there's a law written that if you make a parody of something, nobody can sue you. But there is precedent.
00:15:22
Speaker
And if I made a parody, which I do often, you'll see that I do a lot of parodies of licensed properties. And If somebody wanted to send me a cease and desist or sue me, they certainly could, and then I would still have to defend it.
00:15:39
Speaker
But my understanding is that if a reasonable person can look at that parody and say that... Well, that did not come from the actual brand.
00:15:49
Speaker
That's something that is commenting on it. That is like not necessarily making fun of it, but drawing it in a different way. And there's a point to the way that it's being drawn.
00:16:01
Speaker
Then like that is a parody and it is protected. um But again, it's not a law. You'd still have to defend it. And so I don't know. That's that's why when i When I do fan art, I don't just draw the characters as they are, which I think is a little boring and lazy. Like I'm trying to to put a little up trying to put a twist on things and make them caricatures.
00:16:29
Speaker
And I'm not just talking about the pinball art. I'm talking more about my own personal parody work. um Which i Day to day, mostly do freelance work for clients.
00:16:43
Speaker
So most of the stuff that I do is not parody and it's not like IP, other people's IP. um But in my free time, that's normally what I kind of gravitate to because I just I'm a fan of all these things and I just want to like, you know, do my take on them.
00:17:05
Speaker
And they're more popular too. I mean, to be honest, they they do sell better when people can identify what the IP is.
Creative Process for Alternate Backglasses
00:17:13
Speaker
So I want to be honest about that, of course.
00:17:16
Speaker
Well, that there is one that I'm i'm actually looking at. And i have i I have thought of pulling the trigger a few times. I actually have a black rose. And we've oh yeah like we've always laughed a little bit about the backlash of Black Rose because although it's it's consistent with the era it was done, it um the joke was it kind of looks like Richard Gere in drag.
00:17:41
Speaker
And so it's kind of it's kind of fun to see your take on it. And I look at that and i think actually that would fit really well in my my Black Rose. ah Right now my Black Rose is in storage. because It's actually usually over here where my Beatles is.
00:17:57
Speaker
But I try to rotate games because I only have room for 10 games down here. right to why Why did you use Black Rose? Because that that's a little bit of an outlier. I was getting a lot of requests for that one.
00:18:10
Speaker
um Probably because of the Richard Gere. Maybe baby um I choose them basically on like how many requests I get. And then if it's a theme that I think I can draw well and have fun doing.
00:18:26
Speaker
And here, like i love drawing pirates and i I, drew a bunch of skeletons and skulls in it. So any, any opportunity i have to do that. That was challenging though, because it has a, ah it has like a, cutout for the score and like,
00:18:44
Speaker
it It was actually very difficult to line up because that cutout, for whatever reason, is is actually not centered in the back lats. It's just a little bit off. So there's a lot of technical stuff like that that comes up that is really difficult because I don't have a black rose.
00:18:59
Speaker
So I had to so ah had some friends um or fans like test it for me, which was extremely helpful but challenging. But anyway, yeah, but I mean, Black Rose has actually done a lot better than I thought it would because there's not I don't see a lot of those games out there. Yeah, I i certainly like your back glass way better than the standard one. So I am sure I will be ah placing order for that one here soon.
00:19:26
Speaker
Well, thanks. Is there a translate you don't own from Brian Scott? Yeah. Okay. ah Okay. I do have attack from Mars and I, I do love the original attack from Mars because it is one, I have an LA, so it's a mirrored back glass, but I do like that classic fifties feel, you know, it feels like one of those B movies from the fifties. And so it that one speaks to me a little more.
00:19:50
Speaker
Yeah. I love that one. I mean, I love all of these. Like I'm not, when I go into these, I'm not trying to improve on them. Cause like, I think they're already perfect. And that's actually one of the challenges is that you're starting from something that somebody spent a lot of time on to already find the best way to do it.
00:20:09
Speaker
And, uh, I'm just trying to like put my spin on it, just make, make an alternate version of it. i yeah How would I have done it at the time?
00:20:21
Speaker
Um, But I also, and i have to stick generally to the same layout because the lights in the back glass, if I move things too much, then you you might have like a blinking light on somebody's crotch or something, you know, that we don't want.
00:20:36
Speaker
So, um so that gets really challenging because I want, I want to change things, but especially, I did one for Bride of Pinbot, and it's like there's really no other way to draw that without her her leg, you know, because it has the it has the lights on it.
00:20:56
Speaker
um I tried to try to do different poses, but I couldn't. So that's – it's a fun challenge for sure. And I would say, i okay, I'm being a little dismissive of of the of the ah the Black Rose back glass, but it is certainly is iconic. And I do like having sometimes a different take on it because most of these games are fan favorites that a lot of people own.
00:21:21
Speaker
And it's nice for me, like Medieval Madness. Yeah, I do like the original, but I like people when they come up, they can see an ah an alternative approach and just a different vision of it. So I i find that a little more fun.
00:21:33
Speaker
So it's more refreshing for a classic look. Yeah, thanks. Yeah, I think there's nothing wrong presenting alternatives. I think some people get offended at me trying to uh they think my by me doing this i'm like insulting the original creators but like i i couldn't respect them more i mean these these guys are legends and when you talk about the black rose like that was literally painted and i have these tools that make it so much easier ah to do stuff like that and i'm just amazed that they were able to do what they did
00:22:12
Speaker
um ah painting or like having to worry about s silkscreen, which is a nightmare. I set up a lot of silkscreen posters for, for bands now. And it's just absolute, I hate it. So tedious. It's a nightmare trying to figure out halftones and everything.
00:22:30
Speaker
So, so how much respect for them? I mean, you're, we're talking about original art here. So how did you have this mentality going into fun house? Cause fun house, is that classic design and stuff like that. And so there's kind of like a ah realism to the original one. So how do you, how do you, I guess, pay ah homage to the original, but yet put your flair on it?
00:22:52
Speaker
Well, yeah. So fun house was excellent because they really do They gave me a lot of freedom on that one. um I should be working with them again soon.
00:23:02
Speaker
i think we've been talking about it um for their, for their next one, but I just, to me, the, the, Rudy was always so creepy.
00:23:15
Speaker
I just wanted to like, uh, crank that up a notch. Um, and I, I love, fun houses to me are scary. Um, I, I went to this one in Ocean City all the time and it like, there were like these skeleton pirates in it and stuff. And it just freaked me out as a kid.
00:23:33
Speaker
So i I just pumped in lots of scary clowns. and
00:23:42
Speaker
It's very difficult to to design something if you worry about what trying to make something that's going to please everybody. And I knew when I was drawing it that not everybody is going to be into freaky clowns and like the way I drew it.
00:24:00
Speaker
But in this case, if they really didn't like that that, they can choose the original. So this was a great opportunity to just really pull the trigger on my own style. um And that's a consideration I always make too.
00:24:13
Speaker
Is that I remind myself that they hired me because they like my style of work. And i have this opportunity. So I need to make it look like I made it.
00:24:27
Speaker
Like, I want people to look at it and say, that is Brian Allen's style. Uh, I don't want to be hired for a job and then have to like copy someone else's style.
00:24:38
Speaker
Does that make sense? Um, cause I, I just, I don't really understand, don't really see the point, you know, um, that, that's, that sort of becomes a dead end. If you're just a guy who could just, you're hired uh,
00:24:52
Speaker
just finish someone else's style rather than yeah have you make it yeah yeah yeah so i i do i do try to pump my style and everything which can also hurt because my style is definitely not good for everything you know um there's a lot of themes that have come out in the last few years for pinball games that i would i would have never been the right pick for you know um so having such a specific style has really helped me in my freelance work because I think I can, I think I get bigger jobs and because people are looking specifically for my style rather than just anybody who can do the job.
00:25:35
Speaker
But then it also makes it harder to get jobs like specifically pinball jobs because the theme has to be like an exact fit for, for my style, you know?
00:25:49
Speaker
Definitely. That makes sense. So Pendretti has talked about different versions of different games too, that they have considered doing. Now I'm looking at your website. You also have, you already have a theater of magic.
00:26:00
Speaker
You have a tales of the Arabian nights. You have, you know, brands, Bram Stoker's Dracula. um Is there, are there other things? How do you incorporate like an entire art package? Because you have the back glass or the TransLite. But then you also have to incorporate, you know, the the side panels and you have to incorporate, you know, the side art and the the coin door. And ah how do you approach making a new a take on an entire art package versus just focusing on the TransLite?
00:26:31
Speaker
ah The play field so far, that's the most challenging part for me. Most time consuming part too. And I think I've done like design maybe 10 now, 10 play fields.
00:26:44
Speaker
um So to do an entire package, the Translite is like the part I enjoy the most because that's the most, that's most similar to everything else I do.
00:26:56
Speaker
You know, a lot of t-shirt designs, a lot of poster designs. That's what I do dayto- day to day. That to me is like, the book cover that's the window into into the world so i have i have the most fun with that um the cabinet art i usually do next and then we usually save the play field for last at least on the projects i've worked on just because the i think the the backlash sort of like sets the tone for the game it sets it it says what the characters are going to look like
00:27:31
Speaker
And then the play field becomes way more technical about like, what are these characters doing? um where yeah Where are they? So you're drawing different landscapes and stuff like that.
00:27:43
Speaker
um and what And then the side side blades, I forgot about side blades. Those are a lot of fun too, but they have their own challenges because you have to you have to draw around all the ramps and obstacles that block the artwork on the side blades.
00:28:03
Speaker
So I usually do, i usually do a lot of work. Like I put paper up on the side and and trace over the ramps and stuff with a pencil and then scan it in. So I know like exactly what's going to be blocked.
00:28:15
Speaker
I think some of the other side blades out there, um, they're, they're not really taking that into account. So they just like throw a lot of art on them, which ends up being covered when you, when you apply them.
00:28:26
Speaker
So I really try to make, I try to make the side blades like compliment the area that they are, uh, uh, sharing on the play field. Um, did I answer your question?
00:28:39
Speaker
Yeah. Well, okay the question is, do you have like, is there, is there potential other ones that you would be interested in working on with, like with the fun house? You did the, the entire art package. Oh, sure.
00:28:50
Speaker
Oh yeah. Yeah. so I, I have like a couple of things I'm juggling at the moment. Um, I might get all of them, I might get none of them, I don't know. But there is, Pedretti has been talking to me all year about possibly doing their next one, um but i have I haven't started that yet, so I don't know what is going on with that.
00:29:13
Speaker
But there's another, one of the big companies did just ask me to do an art test, and I'm just waiting for them to approve my quote. and It's a fantastic IP. I think I would be perfect for it because it fits my style really well.
00:29:31
Speaker
and i think I think there's only a couple other artists doing the test. so I don't know. I might have a good shot on that one. ah and Then there's another not there's another company. I was going to say big company.
00:29:46
Speaker
They're in there. um We've been talking about like we've had like three almost starts this same year. ah Actually, it lasts like four months.
00:29:59
Speaker
So that can be frustrating because I've been on like a conference call and then we have the IP set and everything and then something changes the last minute. But it seems like I will be working with them very shortly, think.
00:30:14
Speaker
So ah the issue is with these, the way pinball works yeah is that These things, even if I start working today, they're not going to be released until like 2027. So that that's a frustrating part of this is that the the production cycle is so long and each company is really only making like two games a year maybe so if it's it's really hard to get an opportunity um to do one of these things and if you miss it which i did i missed an opportunity in the spring um for one of the bigger companies i i did an art test along with um three other artists
00:31:00
Speaker
And they ended up choosing, the IP ended up choosing the artists that they always work with. I'm trying not to say too much. um But, which i I understand that choice, you know, but it's still like a devastating hit because, you know, it's so exciting to maybe, and I really like the IP too.
00:31:22
Speaker
And then you put a lot of work into into the test, but um that's just part of it, unfortunately. Well, two questions.
Art Tests and Industry Challenges
00:31:30
Speaker
Yeah. You keep talking about art test. Can you explain to our listeners what an art test is? And then the second question tacked onto that too, is um when you're talking about, you know, I just, my, my brain went blank. I am so sorry.
00:31:47
Speaker
Oh my goodness. You know what? Well, let's just, let me really, okay. Before you get going further, ask your question about the art test. I'm re asking. Okay. Okay. Before go any further, I want you to, um if you would explain to us what an art test is now, I remember my second question.
00:32:04
Speaker
Yeah. And then because you were talking about a license or decide to go with the artists that they usually use for any other product that is out there in the world. So whether it be plates or t-shirts or whatever, how it's harder for one of those artists to be integrated into pinball.
00:32:19
Speaker
Yeah, sure. So an art test. um This is not something I experience a lot actually like so because most of the clients that I work with, they already know that they want to work with me because they've seen my portfolio. So they they're just asking for a quote and usually the the quote, either the price is too high is or you know ah or they say yes and I work with them.
00:32:45
Speaker
um In the cases of pinball, I've been asked to do um i think three art tests, trying to remember, and this will be, they will tell you to complete like a very small section of like the cabinet artwork, for example.
00:33:05
Speaker
um they don't They purposely don't really give you much direction. They're just trying to see... like It's like an audition. you know or Like a line reading. You go in and you you read the script and they they figure out if you're the guy or not.
00:33:22
Speaker
um Which can be frustrating, of course. because like i've Like I said, I've been doing this for over 20 years. I've got probably over a thousand pieces of artwork on my website. So I think...
00:33:37
Speaker
I think it should be pretty clear what my artwork would look like. But i do I understand in these situations, they have so much money they're putting on this. It's worth having a bit of an audition, right?
00:33:49
Speaker
um The thing that's so challenging about an art test is that normally when I work with a client, like you're talking directly to the art director and you're throwing ideas back and forth. You're drawing sketches to try to get to develop the idea together.
00:34:07
Speaker
But with an art test, you're really like, you're on your own. You're you're taking your best shot. It's a shot in the dark, really. you know um So anyway, the the art test is just basically a, in the in the case of the one in the spring that I didn't get, was a section of the cabinet ah inked and colored. and And they ended up, like I said, they were they ended up going with without saying too much, one of the artists that they worked with on all their other stuff.
00:34:44
Speaker
So i did I even have a chance? I don't even know. But it was definitely nice to be invited, for sure. um So, oh, your other question.
00:34:56
Speaker
So I think if you're an artist outside of pinball, which clearly I was not that long ago,
00:35:07
Speaker
there's a lot to learn about like how to set up a playfield that took me a long you know took me many playfields to understand. lot of technical aspects to it.
00:35:19
Speaker
um So i I could see if If a brand is just going to take their artist who's never done anything in pinball, that can definitely be a there's probably a ah large learning curve in store for whoever that guy is.
00:35:36
Speaker
Do I sound bitter? yeah i think I sound bitter. no Well, OK, I would argue that when when you're auditioning, when you're asked to audition, In some ways, it could be more of a test audition because they already probably have someone in mind that they're likely doing, but giving you the opportunity to take to give a take on something that they you know they may have pre-selected anyway.
00:36:01
Speaker
I bet what it does is it allows them to see what your take would be and then consider future projects to say, well, I think Brian would be good for this one because he gave us the test for this other one.
00:36:15
Speaker
And so in many ways, I think that actually still gives you the opportunity of of working with them, maybe not on that project. And it's probably a little counterintuitive. But to say, well, we ah we auditioned him for something else. And so maybe you'd be the front runner on a future project.
00:36:32
Speaker
Yeah. And the the art test that I will be doing next is for that same company. So hopefully ah hopefully ah this one is picked.
00:36:42
Speaker
We'll see.
00:36:45
Speaker
But the same thing could happen again. The same thing could happen again because it's like the the IP also... They may be the final word in this, right?
00:36:56
Speaker
But you have you have to please the IP and you have to please the pinball company um and the art director. so So yeah, it's it's challenging, but I mean, it's like I'm competing against the best artists out there.
00:37:12
Speaker
And there's only, ah like I said, there's only a couple slots to fill every year. Um, and I've given quotes, I've been asked for quotes from pretty much all of the smaller companies.
00:37:25
Speaker
Um, and I'm, I'm often outbid, ah but I haven't got, I've, I've had a couple starts with them where I've like started a project, like I mentioned earlier, and then the IP collapses, um,
00:37:41
Speaker
I had one really unfortunate one where like I had the whole package almost finished except for the play field. So I had the back glass, the cabinet, side blades.
00:37:52
Speaker
And then they found out that the, basically the contract they thought they had with the IP had expired or something. Somebody didn't, somebody didn't double check.
00:38:03
Speaker
And so that project is lost forever. That's a shame. But, but I don't know. Talk about that project or no, because even though it's been lost to time, I,
00:38:18
Speaker
well, I guess if I don't say the company, it it was, it was actually supposed to be a bride of pin bot remake. And, um, I ended up after that, I ended up doing my own bride of pin bot alternate, which is totally different artwork.
00:38:33
Speaker
I didn't want to reuse the same artwork. Um, I think it would have been pretty cool. Uh, but I don't know. And there was, there's there's also like lots of little kind of startup pinball projects I've been involved in where I've done the backlash or something. And then the game is never built.
00:38:54
Speaker
I heard it's hard to make pinball. That's what people say. That's what they say. That definitely is. a Well, and how, I mean, it's hard for you too. I mean, for Dreddy has put out that they're going making more,
00:39:08
Speaker
ah versions. And like you said, you've, you've been in talks with them on, on some of this, but you know, how do you take theater of magic? How do you take tells the Arabian nights? How do you take creature from the black lagoon and you do art packages that are still you but they also pay homage to, to these titles that people just It's like it's it's what brought him into pinball or it's the it's the nostalgia fill. know i'm saying? Like, do you ever have people get upset that you're doing these projects?
00:39:39
Speaker
Oh, yeah. But i I get people. i get people mad at me all the time. I mean, daily, not even talking about pinball. um now that I'm doing more concert artwork, like, um, I, Oh yeah. I wanted to say I i released, uh, posters for the offspring.
00:39:58
Speaker
If this releases tomorrow, um, I have like a foil poster released for the offspring. ah today I released that. And then in two days I'll have another poster for the offspring.
00:40:11
Speaker
So if you're saying, if you're, if you're fan, uh, please check it out. Um, But yeah, so anytime I release a new poster, like luckily most people do seem to be very supportive and like it, but there's always that guy who says, you know, this sucks, you know, and it it's hard.
00:40:31
Speaker
It hurts you. I think people think that because we're artists, it's our job to like take criticism and then, and we must've gone to a special school to like harden us or something like that. But I mean, it hurt it hurts your feelings just like anybody else, you know?
00:40:50
Speaker
Um, and it, it's funny. You don't, you don't like see a lot of people, you get a haircut and then you turn around and say, cause that sucks. This is a slop, you know? i mean, people online just talk,
00:41:04
Speaker
so much more aggressively and and cruelly, you know. But anyway, yeah, so I have gotten some negative feedback, and it usually is like, well, I don't like, like the attack from Mars, for example.
00:41:22
Speaker
um I changed the woman to not be in a white dress she's wearing more like ah a uh like daisy dukes and like a checkered redneck shirt why did i do that i don't know i thought at the time i thought it was funny i think people think i put way more thought into this stuff than i i do i'm just sort of drawing to amuse my myself you know uh but but i'll get messages ah from people saying My favorite is when they say, I would have bought this except for that one thing.
00:41:54
Speaker
And it's like, no, you wouldn't. you know the people The people who like my style, they buy it or they share it or they comment on it or they like it.
00:42:05
Speaker
you know you don't have to I'm not saying you have to buy something for me to be supportive. um But the people who say those kind of things, they never would have bought it. So what makes me chuckle too, is like art is subjective. Like whether people want to agree with that or not, it is subjective. And like you said, people love their certain styles and stuff like that, but it makes me chuckle when people comment as if it was like a hard and fast fact when it's like, no, it just isn't, wasn't, doesn't appeal to you on that level because of your tastes.
00:42:35
Speaker
And so it it just, yeah. Yeah. You hit it. I mean, that, it that is it exactly. And people get defensive when I get defensive. Because there's such a huge difference in saying, i don't like that, or that's not for me, versus saying, hey, that's wrong, or that, you know what I mean? And that's what they, those, like, when people tell me they don't like something, I don't get offended by that, because I, I'll be the first to admit, my style is not for everybody, you know?
00:43:06
Speaker
I, the people, the artists that inspire me, are like the Jimbo Phillips um from the 90s, like the Thrasher magazine artists.
00:43:17
Speaker
Those guys weren't, they were counterculture at the time. So like, I grew up drawing and learning from people who were not like the main accepted art style at the time.
00:43:31
Speaker
So anyway, um so yeah, that's such a great point. It's like, Art is subjective. you're You're totally allowed to not like it, but like when people start talking about it like it's – like I failed a test that i you know I didn't know that they wrote the rules for. It's just – it's so silly.
00:43:55
Speaker
I don't know. uh or ah now i get this is this one's aggravating but now i'll get people um that accuse me of using ai um which is funny i'll post something from something that i drew like 10 years ago and they'll accuse me of ai which would have been impossible um that one sucks because not only do i have to compete against uh i almost said artists i had to compete against people using ai but now i have to defend everything i draw to to like prove that i drew it um which is actually impossible to do i mean i'll show them video videos of me drawing and and then they'll be like oh yeah well you could have just made it an ai and then traced over it it's like well and unless unless i buy him a ticket to come like sit
00:44:45
Speaker
sit in my desk and watch me like i don't i don't know so anyway i don't think you want those people around anyway so it's not a big deal no usually i found that talk to people are best to be kept at arm's distance and true but they they find me they won't leave me alone but that's just the that's the uh the curse of having to be online like um yeah to as a, this is
Dealing with Online Negativity
00:45:10
Speaker
my full-time job. So it's like, I constantly have to be posting artwork, uh, to get new clients and to sell stuff.
00:45:17
Speaker
And like, so I guess in a way I do ask for it, right? If I didn't want that, then, then I would just stop putting it out there. But, I don't know. yeah Yeah. The keyboard commandos are very loud and they're usually very toxic. And i I guess I try to remind myself that how someone reacts is probably more of a reflection on what's going on inside themselves than they actually feel about you. they they They could probably go up to any pinball artist and say exactly the same thing. So, yeah. what if you're good If you're trying to get me to feel sorry for them, it's not going to work.
00:45:54
Speaker
yeah Well, I do have to say one thing, Brian, is like, I really appreciate what you did for us as Loser Kid during flipping the script on autism that we did a few years back, a couple years back.
00:46:05
Speaker
ah Sadly, your booth hit, got hit, our booth got hit. oh yeah Some stuff was stolen. You had a lot more stolen from you. And and luckily with with us, we had people that stepped up and and paid to replace the items that were stolen for us because it was all donated for autism and, and it was going towards a charity cause where you, you weren't so lucky, but you did draw, I'm putting it on the screen right now.
00:46:31
Speaker
The, the butt face sketch art for the gentleman that may have stolen your trans lights and ran away. Yeah, and to to summarize, I think we skipped over it, but what you're talking about is a few years ago at Pinball Expo, there was a guy or multiple guys who went around and stole a bunch of stuff.
00:46:53
Speaker
um They stole like $4,000 of merch from me. um First time in 15 years of doing conventions that I ever had anything stolen.
00:47:05
Speaker
ah So it was a bit of a shock. but But luckily, i have a... My business insurance policy actually covered it all. So. So State Farm is now like one of my best customers because they basically bought it all from me, which is pretty good.
00:47:21
Speaker
So. um So anyway, but yeah, that was that was terrible. It hasn't happened since. So i don't know I don't know who that was or what what that was about.
00:47:32
Speaker
But I can't believe they stole from you guys. It's basically a ah charity. It's insane. I can't. it's Yeah. It's fine. we We appreciate everybody who stepped up. um But let's talk about positive things. So I want to talk about what are some of the of the themes that you are interested in, like, you know, either bands or or a pinball era that you're you really like covering or what are the things that really charge you to draw for pinball or in life?
Future Pinball Themes and Projects
00:48:03
Speaker
um Well, for my own for the alternates, I'm working on Circus Voltaire right now. um i hope to have that. ah Well, not hope. I will have that for Expo. um But as far as like dream themes, it would be anything from 80s, 90s cartoons.
00:48:22
Speaker
So like Ren and Stimpy comes to mind. I would absolutely love to do something like that. would love to do Gremlins. um I think I could have so much fun with that one.
00:48:33
Speaker
um What about Pinky and the Brain? I think you could do a Pinky and the Brain. i I would love to do that. um i would love to do anything cartoon-related, actually, because that's the style I feel most comfortable in.
00:48:46
Speaker
um But I can ah would love to do love to see more video game-related pinball machines. um like Metroid would be a great one. i know that Sonic has been done.
00:49:00
Speaker
A lot of the ones would love to do have already been done. So, because I would have loved to do Ninja Turtles. um Bands, just thinking of bands.
00:49:12
Speaker
ah ah See, I was about to say Iron Maiden, which has obviously been done and done perfectly. But... but I'm sorry, I'm blanking.
00:49:25
Speaker
Just basically, ah Transformers would be great. a He-Man would be so much fun. Thundercats. um
00:49:39
Speaker
Yeah, that's all that's all I got. Okay, I'm going to do a follow-up to Iron Maiden, though. Because now, we know that Zombie Yeti did, you know, Jeremy Packard did the Iron Maiden package. Now...
00:49:50
Speaker
It's a little challenging because the iconic artist for Iron Maiden is actually a guy named Derek Riggs who worked worked with them. Very familiar. Yeah. During their heyday.
00:50:01
Speaker
And so in some ways i would wonder, would that be something you would be interested in doing? Because it is challenging for people to look at a different artist taking that style because Derek has a very distinct style And he's the one who wrote all or did all the iconic Eddie faces, all the all the the different zombie looks.
00:50:24
Speaker
And so what challenges would you have to say, okay, I know it's not Derek's take on this, but it's my take, but I need to at least keep somewhat close to Derek. Yeah. And I, am I wrong in saying that Didn't Derek and Iron Maiden have like a falling out yeah on that?
00:50:44
Speaker
They did a little later. So some of the later later versions like the X Factor and um think Fear of the Dark, many have been his last one, but I could be wrong on that. He came back and did Brave New World, but kind of for the last 20 years has been more in and out of the picture of Iron Maiden than he's been in.
00:51:04
Speaker
So they've found different ways of doing it. However, I would say... you know the the original the iron maiden album then killers then you number of the beast and you have power slave have somewhere in time and uh seventh son of the seventh son those were all derek rigs and that was really the zenith of their popularity and power so people like what you're up are the ones who are going to identify with that style for sure i mean iron may like Not to discredit their great music and the lead singer and the lyrics and everything about Iron Maiden.
00:51:40
Speaker
But if you didn't have that those album covers and that mascot, like Iron Maiden could have just gone the way of all the other metal bands around that time and just kind of faded away.
00:51:55
Speaker
Yeah. the, that branding is so important. And like, I don't, I should look into the full story about what happened with Iron Maiden and Derek Riggs, but I thought they were kind of taking advantage of him or something like that.
00:52:07
Speaker
And i I, hope that's not the case. Um, that happens a lot, unfortunately. Uh, you, you want to see somebody who like basically was responsible, partly responsible for their rise. I hope he got compensated very well.
00:52:22
Speaker
I have no idea. Um, But anyway, to answer your question, so I think the approach, well, the the approach that Zombie Yeti took was perfect, and I'll kind of circle back to that.
00:52:34
Speaker
But um when I am asked to work with existing IPs, sometimes it's my job to make it look exactly like that IP and that product.
00:52:48
Speaker
And that's usually like when I'm working with for a logo design for a brand or like designing a mascot or something like that. But when you're doing something like a pinball machine, to me, it's like you're doing – you're reinterpreting this existing property into ah totally new media.
00:53:09
Speaker
So I love what what Jeremy did with Iron Maiden because, yes, they they look like Derek Riggs Eddie's.
00:53:20
Speaker
But it's so clearly Jeremy's style. it It looks like he took them and said, what what if they made like a Saturday morning cartoon about Iron Maiden? you know And ah I think that that is so perfect.
00:53:36
Speaker
It's funny that i I'm like, it's almost like of defending. i mean, Jeremy doesn't need to be defended. What I'm saying is, that's like the perfect approach because you're taking something that is kind of already perfect you can't make it better so instead make it different you know take take a different uh different spin on it and since a pinball machine essentially it is it is a game it is a toy so you need to make it more fun and i think i think that's what he did on on iron maiden like
00:54:14
Speaker
it doesn't It doesn't look too dark and depressing. There's there's just so much activity going on. and and And anyway, so that's how I would at least that's how I would tell myself that I would approach these things.
00:54:29
Speaker
It's like, how can I take these characters that everybody loves but make them look like they all fit in a newer version of that story so and i keep saying like what if i was designing a saturday morning cartoon of blank you know that so that's how i would approach it basically and and that's also that's also a limitation of my style is that um I don't do like photo realistic paintings.
00:55:03
Speaker
A lot of the stuff that you see on like movie posters or movie related themes are usually just photos that people paint over.
00:55:14
Speaker
So you achieve this like exact photo realistic representation. And that's just not, I don't know how to do that. And I don't think I would ever want to do that.
00:55:25
Speaker
um but that means that I can't really draw something to look exactly like you remember it. And sometimes that's, I think, what people do want.
00:55:36
Speaker
Those are usually the people making negative comments is at the end of the day, they kind of just wanted the character to look exactly like the character that they remembered growing up.
00:55:47
Speaker
And, you know, I don't know. That sounds boring to me. it's It's funny that you say that. So like one of my favorite art packages is the jaws that Michael Bernard did. And I like premium. But it's funny because like you it hit like the different versions kind of hit on what you're talking about, right? Like The premium was a fresh take on the license from the perspective of like more of an artistic take. Right.
00:56:10
Speaker
But then the Ellie was like straight up the movie poster because it wanted. Yeah. It wanted to honor that photo realistic like and granted, I know like licensors have a lot more sway in what they what they want and stuff like that. And so.
00:56:25
Speaker
I know I'm kind of done like me discrediting. I don't know. But I just think that it's, it's funny because like you could tell that there's two separate different types of groups because there's some that definitely want that photo realistic, like a Christopher Franchi.
00:56:39
Speaker
And then there's someone that wants more of an artistic take like yours. um It just, it's, it all comes back to subjective, right? Like it's, I, I think I think people need to start, stop looking at it. This isn't fine art, right? Like we're not going to the museum and all this stuff. Like you don't need to be, my uncle has put it this way and he equated it to movies. You can enjoy movies one of two ways, right? Like you can either go sit down and turn your brain off for an hour and a half to two hours and just eat popcorn, and enjoy the movie. Or it can be like fine dining.
00:57:10
Speaker
You're going to sit down, you have to have your forks and your spoons and everything in the right place. And you're the courses in a certain way with, with the stuff to cleanse your palate and whatnot. If you enjoy it more from the perspective, like this is something I can turn off my brain and just enjoy, i think for all pinball where this isn't like a fine dining experience, you're just going to enjoy it all the way around. I think everyone does a great job that comes to this table, right? There's been some amazing artists that have joined pinball, including yourself, Brian, that has done stuff that I've never seen. And it's, it's a great fresh take because really,
00:57:45
Speaker
Before nineties, like there wasn't much alternate and you were getting the same stuff because back in the fifties and sixties was a commercial product. So they had a very fit criteria of what they should have to draw more eyes to that product, which you're still doing that with that nowadays, but you get more freedom and flexibility and these alternate back glasses and stuff like that, where you wouldn't get that back in the nineties. I mean, I mean the shadows over in my corner and it's like,
00:58:12
Speaker
it's rough. Like the background yeah is rough, but we live in a world now where there's like three different alternate back glasses that all look fantastic. And if you're into nudity, there's probably a nudity one for you as well. So yeah, I do get asked to make a lot of nudity back glasses.
00:58:30
Speaker
I never really got around to it. Uh, but, uh, but yeah, I, um, what you were saying about the IP too, like sort of, I'm really jealous of those guys who got to work in the time of like, of Attack from Mars and Whitewater and stuff where almost every game was an original IP. They were like, they had the opportunity to make their own story.
00:59:00
Speaker
And some of those games were obvious riffs on things that were already going on, you know, like Attack from Mars. um But that doesn't really exist anymore because all the pinball games coming out, not all, but most, are all like existing IP. So now, you know, now you have to get approval from the the person whose whole job is to make sure that everything looks exactly like this.
00:59:28
Speaker
um And then, and even if they're not strict, you're just sort of You have way less freedom than if you can just make up a new character and make up a new story.
00:59:42
Speaker
It's also easier too because there's nothing to compare it to. So you can make you can make Rudy and they're not you know there there aren't as many people like, well, hey, why didn't you make it look more like this?
00:59:55
Speaker
I don't know. Maybe they existed back then too, but they didn't have a way to express it. But anyway, that's a long-winded way of saying that I would love to work on like an original IP in pinball, but there's not that many opportunities out there, unfortunately, because Because most of the games that come out with an original IP have not have struggled.
01:00:20
Speaker
You know, they really haven't gone very far. um It's hard because in nowadays, a lot of things come into home environments. And so yeah I'm very lucky in that I do have, you know, the the CGCs over my shoulder and I actually have Attack from Mars currently in storage.
01:00:39
Speaker
But they all they almost became kind of a brand unto themselves. And so it's it's almost like they are licensed themes at this point. But yeah if I'm going to be buying a game, like for example, I would more likely spend a lot of money on a ah ah game called Lord of the Rings than I would to have ah you know gnomes, goblins, and elves.
01:01:05
Speaker
Sure. I totally get it. There's a storyline that I connect to. And actually, Josh, I will actually push back a little bit on one thing because when when you were talking about um like a comic book style,
01:01:19
Speaker
In many ways, seeing that type of style, it it it feels like it's a it's a ah more accessible style. but But I think that's in the challenge of a great artist who's able to do something like a comic book artist style.
01:01:36
Speaker
and being able to make it accessible because it's a little harder to make that, um make it accessible, but also very artistic. mean, the, the, the artists, I mean, I've talked about this before that when I was, ah when I was growing up, there was Wiltz Portacio, there was Jim Lee, ah there was, um,
01:01:57
Speaker
uh todd mcfarlane like all those guys they took an existing comic book form and rob lyfield who did uh deadpool they They took an existing form and made it so different because their approach was it was a new take on a very accessible thing that made them very distinct.
01:02:16
Speaker
A lot of these type of artists, like the commercial artist type things, they're surprisingly challenging, especially with pinball, is to make it it is make it more accessible, but also it's so ah challenging to get all of the themes right and the play field and everything like that. So I think we, we automatically assume because it's, it's more of a a comic book style that it's easier. I don't believe that that's exactly it.
01:02:46
Speaker
Well, if Rob can do art, then anyone can draw feet. We know that. Or chat on, on, on perspective. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, well, I appreciate that because it it is it is more it is more difficult to draw a character, draw a face that is supposed to look like the guy, but to then also give give some kind of style to it, some kind of different look. Yeah.
01:03:20
Speaker
it would be easier to just copy it exactly. Um, I don't know. Uh, I'm not sure where I was going with that, but, but yeah, I think, I think just the word comic book style, you're right. It has been cheapened a little bit because for a long time, comic books were kind of seen as like a lower art form, you know, um, not, not so much anymore. Now with every, every single movie that comes out as a comic book movie, but,
01:03:49
Speaker
ah But yeah, i I've never found it. I've understood that it can actually take longer than a painting, for example.
01:04:00
Speaker
um Especially because most comic book pages are made by three people. It's the penciler, inker, and then a color ah colorist. um so Well, if you remember the movie 300...
01:04:16
Speaker
If you're not familiar with it, that's actually, it's a Frank Miller who did The Dark Knight Returns. Yeah, it's a great book. If you look at his book, it's actually like they took a lot of that exact imagery, like the shots in the movie they took from his comic book art.
01:04:32
Speaker
And he definitely took it into more adult themes and and made it a little bit less campy. than what we were kind of used to with. It's kind of like when you think of the old Batman 66 type, you know that's tongue in cheek. It's supposed to be lighthearted. It's supposed to be whimsical.
01:04:50
Speaker
ah Frank Miller took it to more of you know kind of an adult theme. and And the way that that art is, it's really impressive. I still have the the book that I bought 30 years ago.
01:05:03
Speaker
Yeah, it's so great. ah love I love his stuff. I have some of it on on the shelf here. Him and H.R. Giger, everybody says Giger when you ask who their influences are.
01:05:14
Speaker
But hit him and Frank Miller and Todd McFarlane, probably my biggest influences back then. And still, really.
01:05:26
Speaker
Yeah, it was funny because ah Todd McFarland did buy the um back in the in the home run derby race. He actually bought that the Barry Bonds 73rd one.
01:05:38
Speaker
I think he paid like $10 million dollars for it. What? Yeah. No, it's crazy, right? man It's kind of fun. That's crazy. I wish I had $10 million, but if I had a baseball, I'd sell it for $10 million. dollars yeah i don't buy um I think I'd buy 10 million baseball cards that would be instead of just one.
01:06:01
Speaker
Well, Brian, we appreciate you coming on.
Upcoming Releases and Contact Information
01:06:03
Speaker
We've kind of went over an hour now. And, uh, if you know, there's, you've got some more projects coming out and we can't wait to see what you're working on. I know that you've, you've got a lot, you've got to keep under the hood.
01:06:15
Speaker
Is there anything we're going I know you talked about, you've got your circus Volterra coming to expos or anything else we might see at expo from you. Um, Yes. So I, I'm making, uh, some, some alternate Williams, um, aprons, like magnetic aprons that cover up, uh, the aprons. I have, I have monster bash and medieval madness so far. I hope to have two more.
01:06:39
Speaker
Um, I'm going to have a topper, uh, I'm working with one of the topper companies. So that'll either be available or hopefully at the very least we'll have like a prototype to show.
01:06:53
Speaker
Um, I'm really proud of that. It's got like lots of mechanics and cool stuff going on. Um, then, uh, yeah, Circus Voltaire, Backglass.
01:07:05
Speaker
Um, I had the Black Rose, which I did release earlier in the year, but I didn't have that last expo. Um, what else?
01:07:16
Speaker
I got, I'll have a bunch of, i have tons of new artwork just, fan art and art prints um hopefully i won't have any of these offspring posters because i'll sell out but if i don't i'll have those um other than that uh no i think that's about it awesome well if someone wants to get a hold of you what is the best way to get hold of you brian uh my website fly land designs.com.
01:07:47
Speaker
Um, you can just cut my email is right there. We could fill out the contact form. Um, so, and ah if you have requests on like alternate pinball artwork, you want me to tackle next? Like I, I keep track of all that. So, so please keep those coming.
01:08:03
Speaker
Awesome. If you want to get ahold of us, we are loser kid pinball podcast at gmail.com. You can find us on all the socials on Facebook, Instagram, X at loser kid pinball.
01:08:14
Speaker
especially here on YouTube. If you like this content, please subscribe and hit a like button and leave a comment below. Scott, give us our final words. You know what Get ready for Expo and go and check out our t-shirts, the Loser Kid ah Funhouse t-shirts. on It's filled all swag. So I'm planning on coming to Expo, so we'll see you there.
01:08:45
Speaker
you