Monday: Revisiting Competitions

Hey everyone!

It's Ryan filling in today until I can decide on Monday's new writer. That person should be in place for next week's Monday post. In the meantime, lets talk Stanley Cup Playoffs. Has anyone been lucky enough to get to a playoff game this year yet? Obviously, I haven't. Being from Toronto, the season typically ends in early April. I did get to Game 7 in 2004 (Ottawa @ Toronto) and I was also at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1993 for Game 7, Norris Final (St. Louis @ Toronto). Leafs won both of those games!

COTY-April vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

COTW May 5-11 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

Jokerit Competition entries (due Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

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Cleveland Barons by Alex J.

Batting lead-off is Alex J with his entry into the Cleveland Barons ReDesign. I really like how clean and tidy this concept is. Details were not overlooked at everything is presented very professionally. The stripes also let the logo get the attention, which is needed for an in depth logo like this. I don't care for the logo though. I really think it could have been better if the baron didn't very much look like the Monopoly man.
(Rating 7/10)

Cleveland Barons by Christian L.

Another entry from the Barons ReDesign and I'm really digging the colours used on this one. I'm also really loving the yoke style. The black alternate isn't for my tastes, but I'm sure others will like it. The logo seems very forced to me, like sitting on your suitcase to try and zip it closed. His hat is so big. I personally would have outlined the CLEVELAND script in black and used it as the brim of the top hat. Logo has potential, but needed to be executed better in my opinion.
(Rating 7.5/10)

Edmonton Oilers by Garrett F.

The competition prior to the Barons ReDesign was the Oilers Steel Drop Logo Comp. This was Garrett's entry. You'll see my rating below, but this concept had the potential to go about 2 points higher. It's nicely executed with no loose pixels or any other inexplicable mistakes. I don't know why the rivets are only used on the hem stripes. I applaud the effort to assemble the 35th anniversary logo, but I think it clutters the jersey a bit. I would have used it as the shoulder patch, or patches. I know some people like to have that black tag inside the collar on the front view. In real life, that tag is only on authentic NHL jerseys sold to the public as well as AHL and Euro jerseys made by Reebok. That's why I choose not to include it on my concepts. To me it's the same as including the jock tag (found on the front of Reebok replica sweaters) on your concepts.
(Rating 6.5/10)

Pittsburgh Penguins by Stephen T.

We get a Penguins concept from Stephen here, which I'm pretty sure is his favourite team. I'm also 100% sure that this is simply a re-hash of one of his concepts we've seen before. Oh look, he changed the Vegas gold on this concept to yellow for the above concept. Oh look, he coloured it red for a Senators concept that was posted on April 20. This concept has been rated and critiqued several times before, so thank you for wasting our time Stephen. It seems to me that you don't put enough effort or heart into your concepts and I feel that I don't need to provide that effort or heart when rating your concepts. For the first time ever on HJC this concept gets a...
(Rating 0/10)

San Jose Sharks by Stephen T.

 

This is what the Sharks would look like with either teal or orange used in a classic striping pattern. Could use some shoulder patches, and a helmet logo, and some heart and effort. I also enjoy seeing small details taken care of and that includes colouring all spaces behind the Reebok logo the appropriate colour (see inside the R).

(Rating 4/10)

Bayern Munich by Stephen T.

Now we see a bit of creativity here! Stephen has used the checkerboard pattern from the team's crest on the side of the jersey. I think this could work in the crazy European hockey jersey world. For the jersey stripes I would have used the classic 3 stripes of Adidas, or extrapolate the stripes used on the sleeve trim of the actual red football kit. For the numbers, I think a thick blue outline would work best rather than a 2 colour outline.
(Rating 6.5/10)

Including all of today's (and this week's) concepts, there are a total of 115 concepts waiting to be posted. Of those 115 concepts, 31 of them are Stephen's (26.9%). The next highest total is for someone who has 9 and that's because it's a series completed ahead of time. Stephen, you need to slow down because your work is suffering! I get the feeling that you don't read the comments though, so I may just be yelling into the wind.

Battle of the Lone Star Plate (License Plate Series) by Daniel L.

I love the creative thinking that is the genesis of this series! I think Daniel has a good start, but I have a few points that may improve future series. I like the yokes and cuffs on the white jersey. I would have extracted the TEXAS wordmark instead of the skyline though. The number and NOB (Name on Back) would be best if it was the same font that is on the license plate. The black jersey is almost there, but again I would suggest using the same fonts that appear on the plates.
(Rating 6.5/10)

St. Louis Blues (fauxbacks) by Joey F.

Right off the bat, the first thing that takes away from this concept is the lack of stitching on the jersey. Despite that, I can see where this idea is going. Unfortunately, the cuffs are so small that they would be rendered insignificant by the players' gloves. Furthermore, for a team called the Blues there certainly is a lot of yellow on the white jersey. Where's the NHL shield in the collar insert? It's required to be there by the NHL-Reebok contract. The shoulder patches are using a different blue than the rest of the jersey. Take care of those items first and then you can start tackling some other issues.
(Rating 5.5/10)

Bel-Air Academy by David K.

Loving the creative ideas again! If you watched the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air you would know that this was the private school some of the characters went to. Hard to imagine them having a hockey team, or Will Smith's 90's hair fitting in a helmet. Seriously though, I'd like to see the thickness of the outline on the school name match the number on the front. Also, one jersey has an outline on team name and numbers and the other doesn't. In this case, the jersey have continuity and I think the lettering should as well.
(Rating 7/10)

Atlanta Flames (Back From The Dead Series) by Mike S.

A big yellow jersey seems perfect for "Hotlanta". I think removing the yokes would make this jersey even better. The execution is near perfect, which is the usual for Mike. There is one giant thing that has always bothered me though. That mirrored Easton glove! It's just lazy, so please take the time to create a reverse Easton glove that you can use over and over again.
(Rating 8/10)

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I once heard someone say that what makes something art is that it comes from one's heart. "Paint by numbers" pictures can look great, but you'll never see them in an art gallery because they're done with your brain. The same theory can be applied to jersey concepts. It's great to think about what something would look like, but you need to go further. You need to feel something inside yourself which adds some uniqueness and creativity to your concepts. You can still make classic looking concepts, but ask yourself what you can do to make your concept unique. Why do people need to see your concept? Not every jersey is going to be a masterpiece, but your reputation can certainly improve how readers perceive your concepts.

That's all for me. It was fun to get to review concepts again. Next week your new HJC writer should be in place!