Monday, May 6, 2024
In his 50 professional years, Tumbleweed has interviewed some true Texas characters and assembled the largest private collection of oral history in the United States. He writes a syndicated weekly newspaper column and teaches broadcasting at the university level.
After graduating from college with a degree in art, Mandy Napper got a job creating advertising art for Lucky Charms. Then she got a job with a firm that makes slot machines.
“A mathematician comes up with a game and then we come up with the visual art to support that just to keep people in their seats and putting their quarters in. That’s what I do for a living, helping people gamble their money away.”
Mandy creates the symbols and artwork on the devices.
“You’ve got your bells and your cherries and your lemons and all that stuff. If it’s a Chinese game, what kind of symbols could we use? They need to be something different. What about three firecrackers? Usually, you would have 10 different symbols, the art surrounding it, the background, the animation, the top screen, the advertisement, everything. So, they all come together to make a game. Buffalo games are popular now, so we have all kinds of western ranch scenes.”
It’s a 9 to 5 job, in what she said is a very stable industry.
“It’s not contract work, which is very rare for an artist and graphic designer. A lot of them have contracts and once the contract is up, they have to go find something else. But this is a salaried position.”
In college she took courses on how to find a job. She sent resumes to all kinds of firms in the largest cities in the U.S. She prepared a portfolio and did lots of interviewing. She would fly to different cities and tell the prospective employer she was in town if they wanted to visit. She knew nothing about slot machines.
“I got a call from this firm that said they needed a junior artist. During the interview I asked about the pay. I was barely out of college and didn’t know much about the going wages for junior artists. The man interviewing me said ‘it’s not really that great. We’ll pay you about $22 an hour.’ I said yes! You know, being 24 and getting something like that right off the bat was just absolutely incredible.”
She has had that job 15 years.
“I do my art, but I have my own spin on it. There are certain rules you have to follow, but I can work within them and do my thing. It’s just the best job. And I go home and work on my own things. I garden, raise my chickens, and have a great life.”
About the industry, she said that no matter if there’s a war going on, a pandemic, or if the stock market takes a dive, whatever the world economic situation is, the slot machines just keep right on ringing those bells and making those sounds.
Mandy grew up in San Antonio and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
