[attachment=421:art8.jpg]
I thought I would post this here as a Pinballinfo.com exclusive. I have been working on this in my spare time for over 4 months so it is nice to put it to bed.
I was inspired to create this because all artwork I had seen for the TZ was crap generic gift-wrapping type art lifted straight from the machine which did nothing IMO just made it look tacky.
All pinball inner cab art I have seen suffers from the same flaw (even the reasonable attempt made on the IJ), basically it is drawn by people who look at the cab as a rectangular shaped canvas which results in rectangular shaped art, the art creates a box around the playfield which is fine in some cases but not always, this is where I have done things completely different and why it took so long, art is easy....... perspective is the killer.
I have used the cab sides (which are running at 90 degrees to the playfield) as a parallel extension of the playfield itself which gives the impression that the playfield is extending beyond the cab sides rather than being confined within it, same with the backboard art, this also extends into the cab sides, it is the perspective that makes this work unique, so much so that if you look at it from any position other than the playing position is looks all wrong but in the driver seat it all makes sense, (same as that channel 4 advert where the number 4 only comes into view when you are in the sweet spot) all the playfield art extends out of the machine and there is no box framework confine…….. the art is open.
The grid on the backboard was a pain, not the backboard itself but getting it to continue in the right plane on a canvas running at 90 degrees away from the back itself and then the added angles created by the space between art and viewer, the grids on the playfield the same, there is a sweet spot where it all works, step out of the sweet spot and everything goes astray, (I am average height so should suit most) such was the complexity of what I have done here and why it was so difficult to nail the lines, everytime I moved, the grids looked wrong which made it near on impossible to lock it down.
All the art is original, nothing was lifted from the playfield although I did attempt to continue the theme on the clouds, grid, flame etc for obvious reasons, getting everything to line up was a chore beyond words, then there was colour matching with the print works etc, it all dragged on lol. The reason I went for most of the art should be obvious, it can be no other way, taking that into account it should be the only art you will ever need for your TZ as anything that follows should have to obey the same principles as those which I have adopted, the fireball flame and colour blocks blend into the cab side.
The parts which were free to fill are as follows, the red on the backboard and sides, this is a continuation of the red plastics in that area, the red art on the cab sides also create the impression that they are extending outward from the backboard rather than running forward in a box like enclosure. The grid on the backboard was to create perspective and to follow on from the art on the playfield. My original design had loads more artwork on it but it became apparent that less is more and to be sympathetic to what was already there was the key.
There you have it, my first contribution to the Twilight Zone pinball in 2012, this is the most substantial mod you will ever make to your machine and hopefully it will be universally accepted as the canvas for this pin.
Photographing this is near on impossible as the camera does not see the same field of view and perspective as the human eye but these pics should give you an idea, obviously looks way better in the flesh
Someone did recently ask what I had constructively contributed to this hobby, there you have it, the TZ will never be the same again : - )
These are laminated so no worries on wear and tear (we hope) available from next week.
[attachment=429:art2.jpg]
[attachment=419:art9.jpg]
[attachment=428:art5.jpg]
I thought I would post this here as a Pinballinfo.com exclusive. I have been working on this in my spare time for over 4 months so it is nice to put it to bed.
I was inspired to create this because all artwork I had seen for the TZ was crap generic gift-wrapping type art lifted straight from the machine which did nothing IMO just made it look tacky.
All pinball inner cab art I have seen suffers from the same flaw (even the reasonable attempt made on the IJ), basically it is drawn by people who look at the cab as a rectangular shaped canvas which results in rectangular shaped art, the art creates a box around the playfield which is fine in some cases but not always, this is where I have done things completely different and why it took so long, art is easy....... perspective is the killer.
I have used the cab sides (which are running at 90 degrees to the playfield) as a parallel extension of the playfield itself which gives the impression that the playfield is extending beyond the cab sides rather than being confined within it, same with the backboard art, this also extends into the cab sides, it is the perspective that makes this work unique, so much so that if you look at it from any position other than the playing position is looks all wrong but in the driver seat it all makes sense, (same as that channel 4 advert where the number 4 only comes into view when you are in the sweet spot) all the playfield art extends out of the machine and there is no box framework confine…….. the art is open.
The grid on the backboard was a pain, not the backboard itself but getting it to continue in the right plane on a canvas running at 90 degrees away from the back itself and then the added angles created by the space between art and viewer, the grids on the playfield the same, there is a sweet spot where it all works, step out of the sweet spot and everything goes astray, (I am average height so should suit most) such was the complexity of what I have done here and why it was so difficult to nail the lines, everytime I moved, the grids looked wrong which made it near on impossible to lock it down.
All the art is original, nothing was lifted from the playfield although I did attempt to continue the theme on the clouds, grid, flame etc for obvious reasons, getting everything to line up was a chore beyond words, then there was colour matching with the print works etc, it all dragged on lol. The reason I went for most of the art should be obvious, it can be no other way, taking that into account it should be the only art you will ever need for your TZ as anything that follows should have to obey the same principles as those which I have adopted, the fireball flame and colour blocks blend into the cab side.
The parts which were free to fill are as follows, the red on the backboard and sides, this is a continuation of the red plastics in that area, the red art on the cab sides also create the impression that they are extending outward from the backboard rather than running forward in a box like enclosure. The grid on the backboard was to create perspective and to follow on from the art on the playfield. My original design had loads more artwork on it but it became apparent that less is more and to be sympathetic to what was already there was the key.
There you have it, my first contribution to the Twilight Zone pinball in 2012, this is the most substantial mod you will ever make to your machine and hopefully it will be universally accepted as the canvas for this pin.
Photographing this is near on impossible as the camera does not see the same field of view and perspective as the human eye but these pics should give you an idea, obviously looks way better in the flesh
Someone did recently ask what I had constructively contributed to this hobby, there you have it, the TZ will never be the same again : - )
These are laminated so no worries on wear and tear (we hope) available from next week.
[attachment=429:art2.jpg]
[attachment=419:art9.jpg]
[attachment=428:art5.jpg]
).
