The New Harry Potter Pinball Machine is Covered in Cheap AI Art – JJP
Update: Much has happened in the days since we first published our article.
Kineticist was able to get Jack Guarnieri’s statement directly on the AI use allegations, and he flatly denied ANY AI was used.
I can tell you that the artwork product you see was all hand-drawn over hundreds of hours, weeks and months.
We used the images from the Style Guide and created an adaptive version in the artist’s style, which he hand-painted.
In JJP licensed games, our artists can only interpret the Style Guide artwork fractionally. After all, Harry Potter still needs to look like Harry Potter and get approvals.
Hundreds of hours of work was performed on the art package produced. Not including MinaLima.
Is that so Jack?
Well now, after his claim that “that the artwork product you see was all hand-drawn,” Jesper Abels has finally come clean and admitted that he used AI.
But, he claims that it was all just part of his “artistic vision.”
Hi everyone,
As one of the artists behind the new Harry Potter pinball machine from Jersey Jack Pinball, I’d like to take a moment to openly address the recent conversations surrounding the artwork particularly around the use of AI and to share some insight into the process, the intentions, and the creative decisions that were made along the way.
AI tools were never used to generate full illustrations or replace the hand-crafted work, but rather as part of a much larger creative process that also included hand-drawing, painting, digital composition, and licensed assets.
I made the creative decision to pursue complexity over simplicity in the visual design. That was my call, and I stand by it. The reason is simple we wanted to deliver something that hadn’t been done before. Something that brought unique, dynamic poses and compositions to life scenes that represent not only moments from the films, but the emotional and narrative core of the entire Harry Potter story.
Our goal wasn’t to replicate what’s already out there. We wanted to give fans something completely new, something immersive and visually rich, where the art serves the gameplay and storytelling at every level. We believed that taking this risk would result in a more rewarding experience for the player.
To be transparent, we did use AI tools sparingly and intentionally, as a way to support the visual blending of certain elements and create harmony between complex assets. Every instance of AI use was guided by my own artistic vision and layered onto hand-crafted designs. It was never about replacing the human element it was about enhancing it.
That said, not everyone involved in the project had direct knowledge or understanding of these technologies. The leadership team at Jersey Jack Pinball was not involved in the technical art pipeline, and understandably, they were not in a position to explain or defend those tools, as they were unfamiliar with the specifics of how they were applied. The creative team took on that responsibility, always with the intent of delivering the best product possible.
What the audience sees is the final product. But what you don’t see is the countless revisions, challenges, feedback loops, technical restrictions, and approvals that went into making it all come together. It’s honestly a wonder that we were able to create something this complex and detailed, and I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved as a team.
The people at Jersey Jack Pinball gave everything to this project. This wasn’t just a job it was a passion project fueled by a deep respect for both the Harry Potter universe and the game of pinball itself. We did everything we could to bring something magical and memorable into the world.
At the end of the day, this machine was made for you the players, the collectors, the fans. We know there will be feedback, and we welcome it, because it means you care. We’ll keep learning, keep pushing, and keep creating.
Thank you for your passion for pinball.
Jesper
https://tiltforums.com/t/jjp-harry-potter-and-the-order-of-ai-a-visual-analysis/9662/87
Jack says “no AI,” Jesper says “some AI,” and the rest of us say “that explains the twisted‑eyed dragon.” After founder Jack Guarnieri’s blanket denial that any generative tech touched the artwork, lead illustrator Jesper Abels now concedes he ran diffusion models “sparingly and intentionally” as part of his “artistic vision.” In other words: yes, the machine did some of the painting—leadership just didn’t know (or didn’t want to know) the details.
Now Jack says:
To me, being accused of ‘Using AI’ means that someone told ChatGPT ‘Create artwork for a Pinball machine, cabinet and playfield’. That didn’t happen, so my reply to you was we didn’t use AI. But it seems that AI is in everything – I thought about other software used to create games. Almost all pinball designers, mechanical / electrical engineers use the SolidWorks program [which uses AI].
This response is a laughable straw man – and an excuse. The admission might pass on a $40 poster, but it’s a bad joke on a $12,000 cabinet that’s locked under clear‑coat. Jesper’s “blending” still left Ron’s face rubbery and that infamous dragon looking both ways at once. If the art team’s review cycle couldn’t catch a melted eyeball, “complexity over simplicity” reads more like “deadline over diligence.” Meanwhile Jack is still playing semantics—insisting AI means typing make me a playfield—and offering buyers exactly zero decal swaps or apology swag.
The community is split straight down the middle: half the preorder queue just wants their crate to ship, the other half wants fresh decals yesterday. JJP has offered neither fixes nor apologies—only word games. Until they own the glitch parade and promise a clean second run, AI‑Gate will keep clanging louder than the game’s multiball knocker.
Original Post:
Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP) is known for expensive, lavishly detailed machines. When the company announced a fully licensed Harry Potter table—three trim levels, animated LCD backbox, interactive toys—the fan base expected another show‑piece. Instead, the first high‑resolution photos set forums ablaze. Collectors didn’t debate rule sets or pricing. They zoomed in on hands with too many knuckles, a dragon whose two eyes sit on the same side of its face, and a Hogwarts silhouette that looks like it collapsed into itself.
The outrage landed fast because art is half the magic of modern pinball. A premium cabinet costs more than a used car; owners want something they’re proud to leave on all night. Spotting what looked like sloppy AI imagery felt, to many, like paying for a painting and getting a poster run through a filter.
Why the Art Matters—Even if You’ve Never Flipped a Ball
Pinball appeals to collectors the way vinyl appeals to audiophiles: physical presence, crafted details, and—yes—nostalgia. Every inch of glass‑covered playfield is visible from the player’s perspective. You trap the ball, you stare at the art. If the art has doubled fingers or blurred symbols, it breaks immersion the same way a pixelated texture does in a video game.
That’s why early images sparked hundreds of side‑by‑side breakdowns on Pinside, Tilt Forums, and Reddit. Fans circled anomalies, posted red arrows, and often wrote, “how did that get approved?” The consensus: MinaLima’s Collector’s Edition cabinet looks hand‑drawn and beautiful. The other two versions, credited to illustrator Jesper Abels under art director Jean‑Paul de Win, appear to lean on AI tools—and not gently.
A Guided Tour of the Glitches
Mutated Anatomy
- Dumbledore’s casting hand balloons at the knuckles, then fuses straight into the wrist.
- Ron Weasley’s Quidditch model clearly originates from a licensed PNG, yet the painted version stretches his face and muddles the leather strap across his chest into a rubbery belt.
Patchwork Architecture
- One Hogwarts tower is crisp; its twin right next door melts into a watercolor smear.
- A clock face repeats second‑hands at different angles—as though two renders overlapped and nobody noticed.
Repetitive “AI Dust”
- Clouds in the trans‑light share identical fluff patterns six times in a row.
- Stone textures on Horcrux icons contain little spirals unrelated to any real chisel or brushstroke, the visual equivalent of static on a vinyl record.
Perspective Gone Sideways
- The Hogwarts Express sports a glowing square where the iconic crest should sit.
- Carriage windows shrink and expand along the train, ignoring the steel frame that ought to constrain them.
Texture Oddities
- Snakes show table‑tennis‑net skin.
- Ornamental scrollwork behind Dumbledore flips direction halfway, as if the prompt said, “give me Art Nouveau” and the model answered, “sure, here’s half of one side.”
Individually, any glitch could be a rushed paint‑over. Collectively, they track with common failures of text‑to‑image diffusion models: local detail, no holistic structure, and a tendency to hallucinate when the prompt gets weird.
Why These Mistakes Happen When AI Takes the Wheel
Generative models don’t understand. They predict pixel sequences based on training data. That’s why hands sprout six fingers: the model tries to please every reference for “open hand,” averages them, and produces a chimera. Human illustrators can fix those slips, but only if they treat AI as a draft, not a final pass.
In this case, the volume of oddities suggests an over‑reliance. Maybe time pressure, maybe budget, maybe both. Licensing Harry Potter from Warner Bros. is not cheap. Automating background work with AI offers seductive savings. Unfortunately, you can’t hide weird output on a playfield bathed in LEDs. Mistakes will glow.
AI Is a Tool, Not a Crutch
Plenty of studios use AI well. They generate color studies, push rough shapes, then redraw every line. Players never notice because the final pass carries a single human voice. The problem shows when the hand‑drawn layer is thin or missing. The machine’s quirks peek through like base coat under chipped paint.
MinaLima’s Collector’s Edition art proves the point. It looks consistent because two designers sketched, inked, and polished it with familiar craft. Meanwhile, the Wizard and Arcade Editions read like collages—bits of photo, bits of AI, a burst of painterly filter—stitched under harsh deadline. The gulf is obvious even to newcomers.
Remember Wizards of the Coast?
Last year, Wizards of the Coast previewed art for a Dungeons & Dragons supplement that quietly leaned on AI. The internet noticed the wonky fingers within minutes. Backlash escalated until the company promised stricter guidelines and replacement pieces. The lesson wasn’t, “never use AI.” It was, “never hide the fact, and always have humans tidy up.”
JJP now faces a similar public‑relations knot. Pinball fans are, if anything, pickier than tabletop gamers because they drop five‑figure sums on hardware that can’t be patched with a download. Once the cabinet art is printed, it’s locked under clear‑coat forever.
What Can Jersey Jack Do Now?
Reality check: production has started. Hundreds of playfields are likely already printed, drilled, and routed. Pulling them back could cost more than some small studios earn in a year. That said, JJP still has options:
- Talk
A plain statement beats silence. People want to know which assets were AI‑assisted, how the pipeline worked, and why quality checks missed so many glitches. Honesty will sting at first, yet it builds long‑term trust. - Offer Post‑Launch Fixes
Decal overlays can cover side‑wall art. Trans‑lights can ship as replacements. These patches aren’t perfect, but they show goodwill to early buyers. - Update Future Runs
Pinball machines roll off the line in waves. Between batches, the digital files can be replaced by hand‑corrected versions. Yes, that means two “variants” will exist, but collectors already accept run‑to‑run tweaks in lighting boards or mechs. - Bring Artists Forward
Jesper Abels and Jean‑Paul de Win could share work‑in‑progress sketches to prove where human labor stopped and machine assistance began. Showing thumbnails and pencil layouts would silence at least part of the plagiarism rumor mill. - Implement a Clear Policy
State, on record, that AI may augment minor elements—textures, color blocking—but every final pixel will be reviewed and, if needed, repainted by a person with eyes. The community can live with that. What they can’t live with is a silent shrug.
Waiting for Answers
Forum posters keep refreshing. Review sites keep asking for comment. So far, neither Jersey Jack’s corporate account nor Jesper’s personal feed has offered a detailed explanation. Each day of silence lets the narrative drift toward “they tried to sneak AI past us.” That’s never a healthy space for a premium brand.
Read the discussion on Pinside forums.
What Else Deserves Attention?
- Licensing Risk – Warner and Rowling’s camp may frown on derivative AI built from scraped fan art. If legal teams decide the imagery violates reference agreements, the headache grows.
- Collector Value – First‑run cabinets could become infamous oddities, like postage stamps with the plane printed upside down. Some buyers might lean in; others will bail.
- Industry Example – Stern, Spooky, Multimorphic, all watch JJP. If this storm hurts sales, expect tighter human review in future art packages across the board.
- Moral Debate – Artists argue that flooding the market with mid‑journey mash‑ups devalues skilled labor. Pinball has long celebrated individual illustrators—Greg Freres, John Youssi, Christopher Franchi. Replacing that lineage with prompts feels, to purists, like swapping a Stratocaster solo for autopilot MIDI.
Where We Land
In my opinion, AI isn’t the villain. Misused AI is. A quick prompt can’t replace weeks of reference gathering, sketching, erasing, and late‑night color correction. Treat the model as a junior assistant, fine. Let it run the show, and you risk a two‑eyed dragon staring sideways at your $12,000 machine.
Jersey Jack earned its fan base by pushing craftsmanship in an industry that once thought clip‑art decals were good enough. That same crowd now asks the company to live up to its own bar. The fix won’t be cheap, but it might be simple: own the misstep, patch what you can, promise better. If Wizards of the Coast can U‑turn, so can JJP.
Until we hear from them—or from Jesper Abels—this story sits in limbo, an object lesson in why every shiny new tool needs a steady human hand. Somewhere beneath the muddled Hogwarts and the mutant hands lies a solid pinball design waiting to be celebrated. First, though, somebody has to repaint the dragon’s face so it looks in only one direction at a time.