Thursday: Good Looks

Hello again guys and welcome back to another Thursday post! I don't have an incredible amount of time to write today's post nor do I have much to say until we get to the concepts, I'm going to keep the intro really short, in fact I think that's all I really have for an intro.

This week we have a few votes. One of them is the usual COTW voting, there's also a vote for COTY May, which rather than emailing in the vote all you have to do is go to the right of this page to the survey that is there! Hopefully that gets the voting up considering that it is much easier, and the last vote is for the HJC Open logo, so go cast your vote for those! Don't worry, I'll wait. Well not that I need to anyways this is just a blog post which you can stop reading and come back to at any time, so..yeah.

HJC Open Logo voting (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

COTY-May voting (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

COTW May 31 - June 6 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

As you guys know I've been doing a new system for my reviews the past 2 weeks, and while I like it, I felt it needed some improvement. So I've changed it very slightly. The "new" format is:

The concepts will be reviewed in 4 or 5 of the following areas, those being ones that I feel need touched on the most, whether positively or negatively. The Other areas category will always be reviewed. 

Creativity: 1 point

Execution: 2 points

Realism: Could I see this jersey on the ice? 1 point

Pizazz, wow factor, just something that makes the concept really stand out. It's hard to do, and you can still have a good looking concept without it, but I don't think you can have a perfect concept without it: 1 point

Other areas of the concept, or just the overall look, regardless of the other categories: 5 or 6 points

For the category that is not reviewed, the points will be moved to another one of the categories and, logically, the final score will just be all of these scores added up.

Let's get on with the reviews then

After a quick google search I only found one good picture of a jersey the team has worn, so this must not be much of a hockey school

Creativity: (N/A/1)

Execution: Solid execution (2/2)

Realism: I could see this on the ice (1/1)

Pizazz: Doesn't have it unfortunately (0/1)

Other areas: A solid jersey set that has a lot of unity on the jerseys and between the two. The arm striping, side paneling, and shoulder yoke all use the same pattern. I would change the gold to blue on the white jersey though because that throws the color balance off. The name also blends into the gold yoke as the concept is now (4.5/6)

Overall: Pretty solid set (7.5/10)

Brooks F. - Florida Everblades

For those who may not know this is what the current set looks like.

Creativity: Hard to say. It looks creative yet it's also fairly similar to what they currently wear (0.5/1)

Execution: Vertical stitching needs to stop after the hem stripe, and the logo and numbers looks slightly too big, which also cramps the name on the back (1/2)

Realism: I could see this being worn by this team (1/1)

Pizazz: I don't think it has something that makes it stand out enough (0/1)

Other areas: This jersey looks pretty good and ties into their current set well. The teeth striping gives it a unique look, but I'm not sure that having it on the arms also would work. It may make the jersey too busy overall, but I'd have to see it on the ice to know that for sure (4.5/5)

Overall: Pretty solid set (7.5/10)

Brooks brings us an alternate for his set as well

Creativity: Definitely a more creative concept with the gradient and bringing back the teeth striping (1/1)

Execution: Maybe it's just the picture but the outlines on the name make it look unreadable (1.5/2)

Realism: I could see this on the ice with an ECHL team like this (1/1)

Pizazz: Not the type of concept you see every day (1/1)

Other areas: Pretty unique alternate for the Everblades. The gradient switches things up and since it's for the ECHL it could work. The hem looks a bit empty but then again putting the teeth striping there could make the jersey way to busy, so not sure what to do there. It could still work as it is though (4/5)

Overall: I think this would be a good jersey to add to the main set in the previous concept (8.5/10)

Colin M. - Chicago Cougars

Creativity: I think the idea of a WHA series is creative and since these aren't direct copies of the old ones or anything it earns the point (1/1)

Execution: Solid execution (2/2)

Realism: I could definitely see this on the ice (1/1)

Pizazz: I think its close but not quite (0.5/1)

Other areas: Definitely a solid look. I think the thin yellow stripes in the hem look really good, and going with a yellow dark jersey means the green can be the hem color for each jersey, which looks great. The only thing I would really do is add some white onto the yellow jersey, but it does work as it is too (4.5/5)

Overall: I really like these jerseys (9/10)

J3 - Utica Comets

J3 brings us yet another jersey from the Get Your Own Jersey competition

Creativity: Definitely unique from their current set while maintaining that identity (1/1)

Execution: Solid execution (2/2)

Realism: I think this could work for sure but it is a bit out there (1/1)

Pizazz: I'd say it has it (1/1)

Other areas: This jersey looks really good. I definitely like using green as the primary here and the blue and white compliments it really well. The stars in the side panels look good, and the arm striping and side panels use a similar striping pattern to the current set and changes it up a bit, which works really well. The only thing I would really change is the font, I'm not sure why but it's just bugging me the way it is. (4/5)

Overall: Another really good concept (7.5/10)

Nick B. - Toronto Maple Leafs

Our last 2 concepts of today come from Toronto, starting out with Nick's Maple Leafs jersey

Creativity: Ties into previous designs while using elements entirely new to the Leafs (1/1)

Execution: The TV and back numbers look slightly too large to me along with the Captain patch, and the name looks a tad small, but maybe that's just me (1.5/2)

Realism: Definitely could see this on the ice (1/1)

Pizazz: As with another concept today, I think its close but not quite (0.5/1)

Other areas: This jersey brings back an old striping pattern the Leafs had used and combines it with one of their old logos, white cuffs, and an element that has never been used on a Leafs jersey before (besides the Winter Classic), a white yoke on a blue jersey. The combination of all of those elements makes for a really good looking jersey (5/5)

Overall: Another really good looking concept today (9/10)

Scott G. - Toronto Marlies

The second from Toronto and the last for the day, Scott brings us a set for the Marlies

Creativity: Based on a quick Google, the Marlies have never used anything like this (1/1)

Execution: Maybe it's just me but the back number looks slightly too small. Also just a small nitpick in that the light blue outline on the blue jersey barely seems visible. Maybe it's just the image though (1.5/2)

Realism: Definitely could see this on the ice (1/1)

Pizazz: I think it earns the point (1/1)

Other areas: This is something that looks very unique for the Marlies. It utilizes the light blue as an accent color well, and also adds a unique look from the Leafs. The yokes also look really good on each jersey and make the concept look not as empty as it would have been. The only thing I don't like is the hem striping, I think it would look better if it matched the arm and sock stripes more. (4.5/5)

Overall: Yet another great concept and yet another score of: (9/10)

A lot of good concepts in today's post! This one is really hard for me to choose, but I'm going to nominate Nick's Leafs concept for COTW. It turns out my writing format barely changed besides adding a new category, but I like the ability of eliminating one of them if I feel I need to. Do you guys have any feedback for me or the concept artists? Did you disagree with my reviews? Then leave a comment! Well I hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys next Thursday!