Kevin O'Connor is a legendary pinball artist with a career spanning from the late 1970s through the 2020s, working across Bally, Data East, Williams, and Stern. He is recognized as a master of playfield and cabinet artwork, known for creating distinctive visual packages for iconic games including Kiss (1979, 2015), Black Knight, World Cup Soccer, Lord of the Rings, The Simpsons, and King Kong. O'Connor helped establish Williams' art department alongside Greg Ferris and Margaret Hudson, and later worked extensively at Data East and Stern, collaborating with major designers like John Popadiuk, George Gomez, and Steve Ritchie.
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Kevin O'Connor, the artist, received no style guide or assets from the licensor, only VHS tapes of the first two seasons of the cartoon
Kevin O'Connor created the artwork for NBA Fastbreak
Kevin O'Connor adapted original Bond poster artwork from Frank McCarthy, Robert McGinnis, and Kevin Adam for pinball aesthetic on Bond
Kevin O'Connor previously did artwork for Bally's 1979 Kiss and Stern's 2015 Kiss machines
Renowned pinball artist mentioned as reference for legitimate pinball art; employed at Stern at time of interview
Artist who created artwork for Flash Gordon pinball machine
Stern artist/designer who collaborates with art department on game packages
Stern Pinball artist, worked on Black Knight Sword of Rage
Original Data East King Kong designer (~30 years ago) brought in to contribute artwork to new Stern version
Backglass artist for Star Wars; received critical feedback from Lucasfilm representative on pod race design
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Kevin O'Connor did the artwork for Bally KISS
Star Trek backglass required white-out/gesso rework to change uniforms when Paramount demanded movie version modifications
Kevin O'Connor was hired by Greg Ferris at Bally almost immediately after showing a Frank Frazetta painting copy in his portfolio
No other pinball company was using airbrush techniques when O'Connor pioneered them at Bally
The Kiss backglass was approved by the band in full makeup at Magic Mountain amusement park in California before a concert
Kevin O'Connor applied for and became art director of Bally Midway around 1990
Lucasfilm purchased a 30x40 original Kevin O'Connor Star Wars painting through a committee review process
Dave Christensen insisted on hand-inking every silk screen himself, slowing production but increasing quality
Sam Jones recently contacted Kevin O'Connor about creating limited edition signed Flash Gordon posters together
Kevin O'Connor has worked as a pinball artist for over 40 years, starting with Galaxy Ranger
O'Connor has worked for Williams, Data East, and Stern on both original designs and licensed IP
O'Connor transitioned from flat color and oil techniques through digital methods including Photoshop while maintaining freehand artistry
Kevin O'Connor is known as one of the best retro artists in pinball
Kevin O'Connor created the 2021 Pintastic New England show artwork as a homage to his prior work
Kevin O'Connor pioneered the use of oil paintings in pinball artwork during the 'ballet art revolution'
Kevin O'Connor embedded hidden self-portraits in Silver Ball Mania backglass reflections
Kevin O'Connor included his Jeep in Space Ball Mania playfield plastics
Kevin O'Connor included hidden self-portraits in Space Ball Mania backglass reflections (bearded wizards in side reflections)
Kevin O'Connor designed the original Star Wars pinball for Stern (implied in his game list)
Kevin O'Connor created extensive artwork for Kiss pinball
Kevin O'Connor created all the artwork for the original 1979 Bally KISS machine.
Artist whose work appears on multiple pinball machines; was at Pintastic event but George did not approach him
Stern artist who assembled and adapted Bond movie artwork for the game; previously worked on Bally's 1979 Kiss and Stern's 2015 Kiss
Artist who created artwork for the original 1979 Bally KISS machine and is returning to create hand-drawn artwork for the Stern version.
Guest artist for Pintastic 2021 poster; known for KISS pinball machine artwork; updated year design on 2021 poster
Designer of modern Kiss pinball (5 years old at time of recording); also designed original 1979 Kiss game
Pinball artist; designed artwork for Bally Kiss; scheduled to appear at Pintastic
Artwork designer for KISS and multiple other games (Flash Gordon, Frontier, Medusa, Skateball, Star Trek, Supersonic, AC/DC, Batman); currently Stern employee; hosts will see him at Pentastic event
Artist for Silverball Mania; known for including Easter eggs in artwork (drew Jeep Cherokee on plastics, self-portrait on back glass); part of era's playful/suggestive artistic trend
Brought drawing concept of Black Knight character with flail to Steve Ritchie's design process
Designer credited on The Walking Dead
Co-designer of Rapid Fire Arcade (1982); did complete R package for the game
Artwork designer for Lord of the Rings (2003)
Prolific classic pinball artist whose output Ferrer acknowledges as surpassing his own
Artist credited with hand-drawing James Bond cabinet art (all side art, not photoshopped)
Performed motion capture as Darth Maul for Star Wars Episode 1 pinball; trained with Popadiuk in lightsaber choreography
Legendary pinball artist guest of honor for 2021 Pintastic New England; career spanning from 1970s oil paintings through modern digital techniques across Williams, Data East, and Stern
Mentioned as upcoming guest/panelist at Pintastic New England event; connection to pinball community
Legendary pinball artist with 50+ year career at Bally/Williams/Stern, pioneered airbrush techniques, created iconic backglasses for Kiss, Star Trek, Flash Gordon, Star Wars, and many others
Bally artist hired by Faris; designed Strikes and Spares, Silver Ball Mania, Medusa, Monster Bash, Flash Gordon, Congo, Viking, Kiss, and Time Machine at Data East; long career in pinball art
Artist who recreated Bedrock for The Flintstones pinball game based on photos taken at Universal Studios location
Lead artist for Black Knight playfield and cabinet art; created plunger design
Pinball artist; Youssi admires his Star Wars artwork
Artist who contributed to King Kong playfield design alongside Greg Ferris.
Artwork artist for KISS pinball (1979)
Hand-drawn artwork artist for Black Knight: Sword of Rage
Stern Pinball artist/designer; collaborated on Kong artwork
Lead artist; delivered artwork package for all three games in Black Knight trilogy; not present at stream
Artist for World Cup Soccer 94
Legendary pinball illustrator credited on Kong LE back glass, side cabinet decals, and art blades artwork
Williams pinball artist known for classic brushwork on playfields; work also threatened Gottlieb management
Artist who developed King Kong color palette before Keith Elwin joined project; worked on playfield and back glass design
Artist credited for World Cup Soccer artwork
Artist/graphics designer at Stern, created art packages for Black Knight: Sword of Rage, previously worked on Kiss pinball
Pinball artist observed by Ramunni painting on Flash Gordon; noted as one of the best pinball artists; artwork highly valued in collector market
Pinball artist; described by Youssi as 'a force to be reckoned with & a creative dynamo'
Stern Pinball artist with extensive Kiss artwork on display
Pinball artist with 40+ years of career; created art for Galaxy Ranger (first game), Kiss, Monster Bash, Playboy, and others; worked at Bally, Data East, Williams/Bally/Midway, Bromley, Stern
Stern Pinball artist; extensive Kiss artwork displayed in exhibition
Original artist who created the Monster Bash backglass artwork for Williams; Brian Allen used his composition as starting point for retheme but has not reached out to him
Playboy pinball artist; previously artist on Star Wars: Episode One and Playboy: 35th Anniversary
Legendary pinball artist; artwork collaboration on King Kong
Artist on Playboy machine, previously worked on Star Wars Episode One and Playboy: 35th Anniversary
Special guest at DPO 2017 who selected the Best Machine in Show award winner
Pinball artist who created artwork for all three models
Famous pinball artist who created artwork for NBA Fastbreak
Recent Stern artist; Black Knight: Sword of Rage work
Playfield artist at Stern; worked on Batman 66 playfield alongside Franchi; had prior experience Gomez trusted
Artist on King Kong: Myth of Terror Island
Designer at Stern Pinball; collaborated on Kong art package alongside Ferris and Packard
Stern artist; criticized by Nick for poor art direction on Bond 60th due to restrictive license; no offense intended but noted lack of creative flair
Artist for Congo pinball machine
Artist credited on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Trek (1991); nominated for Best Art Package
Artist from original Data East King Kong game; referenced as inspiration for center post homage in new Kong
Bally artist who created Silver Ball Mania artwork; embedded self-portraits and personal items in designs
Bally artist; created artwork for Strikes and Spares; recognized as master of pinball art.
Artist on King Kong (playfield), previously worked on Data East King Kong prototype concept
Stern artist responsible for repainting and correcting Bond movie poster artwork; previously worked on Bally Kiss (1979) and Stern Kiss (2015)
Stern artist who contributed custom work to Bond artwork despite heavy reliance on pre-existing posters
Legendary pinball artist; designed artwork for Data East's unreleased King Kong prototype; contributed to new King Kong: Myth of Terror Island artwork
Artist credited with Black Knight Sword of Rage artwork; praised by hosts for quality of visual design
Artist on Indiana Jones pinball machine; collaborated with Borg on theme interpretation
Bally artist (playfield) on BMX and other titles from Bally Midway era.
Artist who worked on Playboy and Lord of the Rings art for Stern
Artist on World Cup Soccer; created the game's art package
Artist on Terminator 3 pinball; described as 'the legend'
Artist who worked on Pinball 2000; showed George Gomez similar projection ideas he had previously developed
Artist for Rocky and Bullwinkle; created playfield art from VHS tape memory without official style guide or assets; praised for artistic quality
Pinball artist who started Williams art department with Greg Freres and Margaret Hudson; worked at Data East through Sega into Stern years alongside Margaret Hudson.
Pinball artist who preceded Greg Ferris by six months at Bally; worked together at point-of-purchase advertising company; helped recruit Ferris into industry
Freelance pinball artist who worked with Greg Freres using a penciler-inker-colorist workflow model; completed inking of playfields from Greg's tight pencil drawings; also created Monster Bash art package
Pinball artist; created Judge Dredd cabinet art (motorcycle, bullets, Judge Dredd fascist aesthetic) and Black Knight game art; awarded 'best art package' by hosts
Artist credited on High Roller Casino
Artist on World Cup Soccer (1994)
Credited with backglass, playfield, and cabinet art on SW:E1
Stern Pinball artist; primary artwork contributor to Black Knight remake; previously worked on Kiss, Walking Dead, Avengers
Pinball artist; created initial King Kong artwork as personal tribute project. Known for World Cup Soccer artwork. Collaborated on Kong playfield with Greg Ferris and Jeremy Packer.
Artist on Monster Bash
Artist for The Walking Dead pinball
Artist who collaborated with Trudeau on 4-5 games at Gottlieb; Trudeau's favorite artist to work with
Pinball artist hired by Paul Ferris to help build Valley art department; created Galaxy Ranger artwork as replacement for cancelled Evil Knievel home game
Pinball designer/artist who collaborated extensively with Hudson at Data East and Stern on games like The Simpsons, Lord of the Rings; later taught her digital tools
Artist for 2015 Stern KISS and original 1979 Bally KISS; 17,000-unit classic arcade game
Artwork designer for Batman '66
Artwork designer for 'Baby in the Hole' Data East game; historical pinball artist
Pinball illustrator contributing to art package
Pinball artist; contributed playfield art using Data East lower playfield design
Referenced as artist on King Kong project; pedigree mentioned in context of shouldn't excuse subpar art evaluation
Pinball artist who designed the playfield graphics for Batman. Franchi did character illustrations only for that game
Artist on Kong; host unclear on background, speculates comic book artist involvement
Pinball artist referenced in discussion of artwork distribution across Kong models
Legendary pinball illustrator contributing to King Kong art collaboration