Hi All,

With Expo only one week away, I wanted to draw a bit of attention to some new illustrations I created for a few great folks in our community. I had an absolute blast working on all of these projects, and I couldn't be more proud of the collaborations with each of these pinball entities:

PINBALL LIFE:

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Terry contacted me about creating an illustration for the 10th anniversary of his open house. I attended Pinball Life's EXPLOSION for the first time last year and was floored that Terry thought of me to help commemorate this milestone event. If you like it, please buy one directly from Pinball Life here:

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=3541

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PINBALL CLASSICS:

PinballClassicsColored5.jpg

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Rob Anthony contacted me a few months back with an interest in having me create a shirt for his business. Together, we came up with this really fun image of Rob, the traveling salesman, accompanied by his canine companion, Taro. Rob has these shirts available at the bottom of this page:

http://www.lockwhenlit.com/products.htm

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PINSIDE:

pinsideColorsFinal.jpg

PinsideTshirtMockB.jpg

So, maybe you've heard of this guy named Robin. He's kind of a big deal. Anyway, Robin had a vision for the first ever official Pinside T-shirt and asked me to help make his vision a reality. I think we managed to capture the essence of our community here and we hope you feel the same way. You can order yours on this page in the marketplace:

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/pinside

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Believe it or not, my ultimate goal of this post is not to toot my own horn, but to direct you toward a few upstanding business men in the pinball community. As clients, each of them were a pleasure to work with. I say this honestly and with a lot of client experience behind me. I loved combining two of my passions (illustration and pinball) on these projects and I hope you'll get some enjoyment out of them as well.

Finally, I wanted to thank the Pinside community for all your kind words and support of my work thus far. If you'll be attending Expo next week, please stop me and say hello. I'll be there from Thurs-Saturday, I look like my avatar, and I'll likely be the only guy with a 1-year-old attached to me, so I shouldn't be hard to spot.

Take care,
Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
www.ElephantEater.com

I've been called worse! Ha-ha! Thanks for all your support, Aurich. Very much appreciated.

Actually, I was up crafting this process post for my website (a look into the collaboration behind the Pinball Classics shirt pictured above):

http://www.elephanteater.com/10334/pinball-classics-shirt-process

...then my son woke up two hours after I went to bed. Ha-ha!

You're in good company, BillE.

Very cool of you! I'm a native Californian (still head back at least a couple times each year), so thanks for donning my artwork in my home state.

Good night again,
Ryan

Ha-ha! Thanks for your sentiments, j_m_! Rob and I had a great time bringing that image to fruition. I can't wait to pick up the shirts next week, put one on my back, and hand the rest to him at Expo!

Take care,
Ryan

A man of practicality. I like that, Elix72. Ha-ha!

Thanks, my fellow Whirlwind brother, Ranhorton! Truly appreciate your kind words.

Just listened to the most recent Spooky Pinball Podcast and loved the energy and enthusiasm of hooch333! (I'm assuming that's who you're speaking of.) Along with the rest of Pinside, I've been following (and drooling over) his new gameroom updates for the past year:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/build-it-and-they-will-come

I wish him all the best with Life Under Glass and hope to tell him that in person at Expo!

Sincerely,
Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
www.ElephantEater.com

Much appreciated, trilogybeer. Thanks for chiming in here.

Can I correctly assume from your screen-name that you are the owner of the machine that was the inspiration for Terry's open house illustration above? If so, thanks for sharing your mad genius with all of us.

Sincerely,
Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
http://www.ElephantEater.com

Terry is being honest. He gave me a LOT of leway to create whatever I wanted.

...although this constructed narrative is pretty awesome. Maybe we should just start agreeing with this when people ask, Terry.

Oh, man. I can't wait to have my mind blown all over again.

Seriously? You gotta let me know what I'm in for. I don't know if I can take two mind-splosions in one weekend. Can't wait to see whatever it is, trilogybeer!

In logistical news, I plan on arriving at Expo on Thursday afternoon, so Rob's shirts will arrive around then, too.

Robin, thanks again for your kind words. The feeling is definitely mutual. Looking forward to seeing you next week at Expo and handing you a heap o' shirts!!

The Crumb reference is pretty high praise. Thanks for chiming in here, David, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for your booth at Expo. ...and you keep an eye out for the guy who looks like my avatar with a 1-year-old boy attached to him.

It hangs in a place of honor, Doug! Ha-ha! Thanks so much for this gift. Sooo cool!

Our wardrobes are beginning to look very similar, moto_cat! *LOL* If you're looking for a size of Terry's PBL shirt that he no longer carries, I've got a few of my own...just haven't had time to list them on my website yet. PM me if interested.

Sincerely,
Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
www.ElephantEater.com

Hi Guys,

DISCLAIMER: There's a new thread with this information ( https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/10th-anniversary-shirt ), but figured there are some folks following this thread who might be interested in this update:

This year marks a decade of comics illustration for me, and I'm celebrating with, you guessed it, a T-shirt :

EE10TshirtMocke.jpg

The illustration will be printed on high-quality ring-spun cotton (very soft, as you've come to expect), and it's a 4-color screen-printed design on the front of a dusty blue shirt. Shirts will customarily be sold for $20, but I'm offering a 15% pre-order discount for the next two weeks. Details and order buttons are available on my website here:

http://www.elephanteater.com/10435

Thanks for all your support for my work over the past year, guys. It's been a ton of fun illustrating some stuff for our great hobby (and expect to see some more in the future ).

Take care,
Ryan Claytor
Elephant Eater Comics
www.ElephantEater.com

Thanks for the kudos, The_Director! Glad you're helping to spread the Pinside love in NC!