(Topic ID: 242000)

Is Franchi Out at Stern?!

By RandomTask

4 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 466 posts
  • 157 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 2 years ago by Methos
  • Topic is favorited by 18 Pinsiders

You

Linked Games

No games have been linked to this topic.

    Topic Gallery

    View topic image gallery

    95F9DCD6-A0D4-4A73-A76E-041041D9D52A (resized).jpeg
    45DD7F2E-3C88-4DDB-8416-396D7AC868D7 (resized).jpeg
    6B2C5773-99C3-49F6-BB18-D987C741A006.jpeg
    giphy (5) (resized).png
    Franch.png
    5de8a12df980c086fdcc9588a027a34b (resized).png
    43BA33CC-D487-4E5F-934C-9FECCE409414 (resized).jpeg
    6F5D0CAF-4A4E-4610-97F7-A6304DB32357 (resized).jpeg
    03B14C00-02EB-4C6E-8323-B783486A6949 (resized).jpeg
    d5848f34373491_5605fb1a89eea.png
    D86D9AD2-31D1-49FA-BDF4-42E403ABD57F (resized).jpeg
    11966836_900x1200 (resized).jpg
    both.gif
    fridge (resized).jpeg
    CD3B267A-5A2D-4AA6-BD79-7046A20D2EEC (resized).jpeg
    wwcf (resized).jpg

    Topic index (key posts)

    2 key posts have been marked in this topic

    Display key post list sorted by: Post date | Keypost summary | User name

    Post #174 From the man himself. Slap Save Podcast will be a must listen. Posted by Metaluna5 (4 years ago)

    Post #234 Podcast link with Franchi discussing details Posted by PismoArcade (4 years ago)


    Topic indices are generated from key posts and maintained by Pinside Editors. For more information, or to become an editor yourself read this post!

    There are 466 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 10.
    -8
    #1 4 years ago

    Any confirm from Kaneda's comments today about Franchi being out at Stern?!

    24
    #2 4 years ago

    if that's what you want to believe! consider the source!

    #3 4 years ago

    I hope not I love Franchi's art.

    #4 4 years ago

    Yes, he is most likely working for Deep Root designing all 15 games they will release at launch all of which will ship with complete code!

    Hopefully my sarcasm rang through with this post.

    #6 4 years ago

    Is he the one that bad mouthed Gomez and aired the dirty laundry? If so, wouldn't surprise me and I'd have fired him in that position. You make a comment like that and it's not likely the first time and someone like that is a cancer

    #7 4 years ago
    Quoted from PinballTilt:

    Is he the one that bad mouthed Gomez and aired the dirty laundry? If so, wouldn't surprise me and I'd have fired him in that position. You make a comment like that and it's not likely the first time and someone like that is a cancer

    What was said???

    #8 4 years ago

    I doubt it, but if so that's not good considering Donnie is off doing the Carnival thing.. as much as I would like it, I doubt Zombie Yeti can do every game! Hope they pick up some other good artists out there if that is true.

    10
    #9 4 years ago
    Quoted from DK:

    What was said???

    I think "bad mouthed" may be an exaggeration. He posted spec art for Beetlejuice and basically quoted George as saying that no teams at Stern were excited by the theme and therefore they wouldn't pursue it.

    #10 4 years ago

    Either way there's thousands of other artists capable of producing amazing artwork for pinball machines. I don't really care who does it to be honest. He's replaceable.

    #11 4 years ago
    Quoted from PinballTilt:

    Is he the one that bad mouthed Gomez and aired the dirty laundry? If so, wouldn't surprise me and I'd have fired him in that position. You make a comment like that and it's not likely the first time and someone like that is a cancer

    Wasn't he a contractor? It's semantics, but it's not really firing someone if they don't opt to renew the contract or accept the proposal for work.

    That said, Franchi did good work for Stern and it stinks to lose work. But if you're not going to be professional with how you discuss your business partner, then you can't be surprised that they don't want to continue the relationship. Good artists are not hard to find, even if it's a small subset of artists who view pinball as a passion project.

    10
    #12 4 years ago

    I figured that whole Beetlejuice post was orchestrated by Stern as a teaser to gauge interest and he was just playing his part

    #13 4 years ago

    Franchi - good art. But man, that first podcast episode he released (whether you find it funny or not... or whether he was just being sarcastic) couldn't have made anyone at Stern very happy. They're trying to run a very public business that targets all walks of life. That little "eat my butt" diatribe lacked some professional class. If he is out, the ultimate timeline will probably never be known. But, one must wonder...?

    47
    #14 4 years ago
    Quoted from valgalder:

    I doubt it, but if so that's not good considering Donnie is off doing the Carnival thing.. as much as I would like it, I doubt Zombie Yeti can do every game! Hope they pick up some other good artists out there if that is true.

    Why is everyone so hung up on having the same two or three guys doing the art for these games all the time? Getting some new artists involved once in a while is a good thing IMO. I don't personally care to see the same art styles over and over again anyways. Let's see what other artists can do.

    #15 4 years ago
    Quoted from PunkPin:

    I figured that whole Beetlejuice post was orchestrated by Stern as a teaser to gauge interest and he was just playing his part

    That seems way too elaborate for such little payoff. Stern could just make a burner account here and make a post with some ideas if they wanted to gauge interest. (And probably have done so in the past and will do so again)

    16
    #16 4 years ago
    B8B3E50B-896B-4102-BA36-74ADAB5FF2E0 (resized).jpegB8B3E50B-896B-4102-BA36-74ADAB5FF2E0 (resized).jpeg
    #17 4 years ago

    Perhaps George stumbled upon "Clip2Comic" and realized they could pair a single intern with the app and do an entire playfield for a $1.99?

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clip2comic-caricature-maker/id876328355?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D8

    I jest, of course...

    #18 4 years ago
    Quoted from pipes:

    Either way there's thousands of other artists capable of producing amazing artwork for pinball machines. I don't really care who does it to be honest. He's replaceable.

    But do they have the pinball talent?

    #19 4 years ago
    Quoted from TreyBo69:

    That seems way too elaborate for such little payoff. Stern could just make a burner account here and make a post with some ideas if they wanted to gauge interest. (And probably have done so in the past and will do so again)

    Quoted from pipes:

    Why is everyone so hung up on having the same two or three guys doing the art for these games all the time? Getting some new artists involved once in a while is a good thing IMO. I don't personally care to see the same art styles over and over again anyways. Let's see what other artists can do.

    I agree, I just want to make sure we don't fall back to pre-dirty donnie, zombie yeti, art. It was bad for so long and we are still not that far removed from that time.. I would hope Stern recognizes people actually care about art to make the effort, but man.. WD, GOT, SW, ACDC, WWE, MUSTANG, etc etc. weren't that long ago. That's all..

    anyway, yes, hire on some real artists! I'm all for it.

    15
    #20 4 years ago
    Quoted from chad:

    But do they have the pinball talent?

    Doing playfield art is, imo, tricky. Some experience helps. But plenty of good artists would be up for the challenge. If you're working with a good company that knows how to make pins and can give you the kind of guidance and resources you need it helps.

    Rob Zombie is a good example of fabulous backglass and cabinet art, not so great playfield art. It needs some understanding of what a playfield requires for sure. I dunno that I'll ever do another playfield again, but if I did I'd definitely learn from my own mistakes.

    I don't know or care about rumors or podcasts. What will be will be. But I do think pinball has a minor 'art problem' in that the same wells get visited over and over.

    This isn't a diss on any of the people who do pinball art. Nor do I wish them a lack of work or anything else. It's cool to see old favorites, and see new people grow. I think Zombie Yeti is a great illustrator. Franchi has a style that isn't my personal favorite, that photorealism thing he does is a real talent, I just prefer a little more stylization. For the right project he's a perfect fit though. I thought Batman66 was a really good match for his style for instance.

    But, that said, it would be nice to see more variety in the artists to be a good match for the themes. Dialed In is a good example. Mom jeans guy didn't help the feeling of "old men designing a game for young people" vibe. There are so many people out there with skill, just seeing more variety would be cool.

    My 2 cents.

    22
    #21 4 years ago

    I remember us all bitching aboot the "photoshop" days PF art and if I look at Beatles that's exactly what I see; a lunch box.

    #22 4 years ago

    I would like to know what happened with John Youssi.. he did some incredible and iconic work in the past that fit pinball perfectly, with the illustrations and hand drawn art, and since the early 2000's mainly does generic looking photoshop art? what a waste!

    #23 4 years ago
    Quoted from valgalder:

    I would like to know what happened with John Youssi.. he did some incredible and iconic work in the past that fit pinball perfectly, with the illustrations and hand drawn art, and since the early 2000's mainly does generic looking photoshop art? what a waste!

    He works for JJP.

    #24 4 years ago
    Quoted from valgalder:

    I would like to know what happened with John Youssi.. he did some incredible and iconic work in the past that fit pinball perfectly, with the illustrations and hand drawn art, and since the early 2000's mainly does generic looking photoshop art? what a waste!

    Umm... https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/john-youssi

    #25 4 years ago
    Quoted from valgalder:

    I would like to know what happened with John Youssi..

    see below

    Quoted from Aurich:

    Dialed In is a good example. Mom jeans guy didn't help the feeling of "old men designing a game for young people" vibe.

    40
    #26 4 years ago

    You know it's rough when the Alien guy is calling out mom jeans.
    pew pew pew artist fight

    #27 4 years ago

    Yes, I am aware he works for JJP.. I specifically mean, what HAPPENED to his art.. used to be so good and now is mostly generic and lame.

    #28 4 years ago

    After the Betelgeuse fiasco, I wouldn’t doubt it.
    Also, every recent release has that weird rainbow color wheel look to it regardless of the artist. Lots of rich reds, purples and blues for everything.
    I really miss the graphics art styles the classics had.

    #29 4 years ago

    The Munster's was the best thing Franchi has done for pinball. It's really well done and integrated well I think. Batman 66 fits his style too but other than that, I can't say Beatles was a masterpiece or Guardians just looks like generic photoshop art to me..

    #30 4 years ago

    I'm not sure how Stern employees their artist. Dirty Donny seems to be a independent artist and probably free to roam.

    Wonder what Franchi's deal is?

    I'd love to see some women get into what seems to be an good old boys club. My tattoo artist would pwn some of these guys.

    #31 4 years ago

    Margaret Hudson did a bunch of art..

    #32 4 years ago

    Linda Deal as well.

    #33 4 years ago

    Seems like Franchi just can't keep his mouth shut about a variety of topics that amount to airing too much of the dirty laundry. I am sure Stern didn't appreciate a lot of that. Wouldn't be surprised if they don't give him another project.

    19
    #34 4 years ago
    Quoted from valgalder:

    I doubt it, but if so that's not good considering Donnie is off doing the Carnival thing.. as much as I would like it, I doubt Zombie Yeti can do every game! Hope they pick up some other good artists out there if that is true.

    Don't forget kevin o connor. He killed it on black knight and kiss.

    #35 4 years ago

    I feel like Franchi was pretty much done with Stern anyways and decided to "take a bow" as it were.

    Seems like he's catching alot of flack for just being himself and I get the feeling that doesn't ride with him.

    I'm sure he'll land on his feet, and hopefully he's not done with pinball altogether.

    #36 4 years ago

    Was he the one who fake crushed the TWIPY (supposedly as a joke) in Dallas? I know some people on here with a bad sense of humor thought it was hilarious. I thought it was, at best cringe worthy and at worst was pretty disrespectful to Stern.

    #37 4 years ago
    Quoted from Rondogg:

    Was he the one who fake crushed the TWIPY (supposedly as a joke) in Dallas? I know some people on here with a bad sense of humor thought it was hilarious. I thought it was, at best cringe worthy and at worst was pretty disrespectful to Stern.

    That's him.

    #38 4 years ago
    Quoted from Aurich:

    Doing playfield art is, imo, tricky. Some experience helps. But plenty of good artists would be up for the challenge. If you're working with a good company that knows how to make pins and can give you the kind of guidance and resources you need it helps.
    Rob Zombie is a good example of fabulous backglass and cabinet art, not so great playfield art. It needs some understanding of what a playfield requires for sure. I dunno that I'll ever do another playfield again, but if I did I'd definitely learn from my own mistakes.
    I don't know or care about rumors or podcasts. What will be will be. But I do think pinball has a minor 'art problem' in that the same wells get visited over and over.
    This isn't a diss on any of the people who do pinball art. Nor do I wish them a lack of work or anything else. It's cool to see old favorites, and see new people grow. I think Zombie Yeti is a great illustrator. Franchi has a style that isn't my personal favorite, that photorealism thing he does is a real talent, I just prefer a little more stylization. For the right project he's a perfect fit though. I thought Batman66 was a really good match for his style for instance.
    But, that said, it would be nice to see more variety in the artists to be a good match for the themes. Dialed In is a good example. Mom jeans guy didn't help the feeling of "old men designing a game for young people" vibe. There are so many people out there with skill, just seeing more variety would be cool.
    My 2 cents.

    Have to disagree on the Dialed In "mom jeans" comment as the artwork of the mechanic character and the mechanism itself represent a shift from traditional pinball art and mech design.

    Eric from JJP just recently said on a pinball podcast how he's had women come up to him at shows to thank JJP for representing the mechanic as a woman and doing so tastefully versus how women have traditionally been represented on pinball machines. Good on JJP!

    15
    #39 4 years ago

    STERN or Gomez if your reading this check out Mike Fudge
    https://www.mikefudgeart.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/mikefudgeart/
    images1NWFMQNN (resized).jpgimages1NWFMQNN (resized).jpgmatt-leunig-e1521924704929 (resized).pngmatt-leunig-e1521924704929 (resized).pngimagesFD9MWQBV (resized).jpgimagesFD9MWQBV (resized).jpgimages9QF5NS3G (resized).jpgimages9QF5NS3G (resized).jpg222 (resized).png222 (resized).png

    11
    #40 4 years ago
    Quoted from valgalder:

    I would hope Stern recognizes people actually care about art to make the effort, but WD, GOT, SW, ACDC, WWE, MUSTANG weren't that long ago.

    Mustang playfield art could have been much better, but Camilo Pardo did a great job on the Mustang cabs and translites.

    Quoted from pipes:

    Why is everyone so hung up on having the same two or three guys doing the art for these games all the time? I personally don't care to see the same art styles over and over again. Let's see what other artists can do.

    Maybe, but don't mess with Elvira 3. It better be Greg Freres artwork on Elvira 3.

    #41 4 years ago
    Quoted from littlecammi:

    Maybe, but don't mess with Elvira 3. It better be Greg Freres artwork on Elvira 3.

    I think Brian Holderman could put a cool spin on Elvira.

    8CD6B70B-3E6A-42B2-AAB2-72F4D4B996C9.jpeg8CD6B70B-3E6A-42B2-AAB2-72F4D4B996C9.jpeg
    10
    #42 4 years ago

    https://www.flylanddesigns.com/

    Brian Allen gets my vote for next art package at Stern (or anywhere)!

    #43 4 years ago

    I wanna know who sits in Trudeau's old office.

    #44 4 years ago
    Quoted from LoveNeverDiesGuy:

    [quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]STERN or Gomez if your reading this check out Mike Fudge
    https://www.mikefudgeart.com/

    LOL Twiddle.
    Call me when he does some artwork for Phish.

    ::EDIT:: Nevermind. He already has.

    #45 4 years ago
    Quoted from kermit24:

    Seems like Franchi just can't keep his mouth shut about a variety of topics that amount to airing too much of the dirty laundry. I am sure Stern didn't appreciate a lot of that. Wouldn't be surprised if they don't give him another project.

    Stern brings in freelance artists. Greg Freres, their Art Director, would handle the relationship between the artist and Stern Pinball. I'm sure he is aware of more artists than the ones we've seen recently.

    As for Franchi keeping his mouth shut, note that he'll have an hour-long seminar slot at Pintastic New England in late June. We have no idea what he might say.
    .................David Marston

    #46 4 years ago

    BOOM...The guy crushes it. Hope to see more from him soon.
    Phish.jpgPhish.jpg

    11
    #47 4 years ago
    Quoted from TheLaw:

    I remember us all bitching aboot the "photoshop" days PF art and if I look at Beatles that's exactly what I see; a lunch box.

    OMG I had a Welcome Back Kotter lunchbox w/thermos that looked similar!

    Signed,

    Epstein's Mother

    lunchbox (resized).jpglunchbox (resized).jpg

    #48 4 years ago

    So many artists out there, glad they have used Donnie, Yeti and Franchi on the last few games and hope they continue with this style artists.

    https://squareup.com/store/bryan-pedersen/

    This guy does some cool stuff and looks like he did a portrait of Vid! I got the Slimer print at comic-con.

    original (resized).jpegoriginal (resized).jpeg

    #49 4 years ago
    Quoted from TheLaw:

    I remember us all bitching aboot the "photoshop" days PF art and if I look at Beatles that's exactly what I see; a lunch box.

    I'm not trying to take anything away from Franchi's abilities, but I couldn't agree more. The first thing I thought when I first saw BM66. Photoshop versus photo-realistic hand drawn art is not worth anyone's time to debate because it is so similar.

    #50 4 years ago
    Quoted from PanzerFreak:

    Have to disagree on the Dialed In "mom jeans" comment as the artwork of the mechanic character and the mechanism itself represent a shift from traditional pinball art and mech design.
    Eric from JJP just recently said on a pinball podcast how he's had women come up to him at shows to thank JJP for representing the mechanic as a woman and doing so tastefully versus how women have traditionally been represented on pinball machines. Good on JJP!

    I think you're misunderstanding my comment, I'm talking about the kid with the phone in the art, not the mechanic sculpt. She's wearing overalls and is fine.

    There are 466 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 10.

    Reply

    Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

    Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

    Donate to Pinside

    Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


    This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/is-franchi-out-at-stern-?hl=jsampel and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

    Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.