New Fictional Logos

[hurricanekevin]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Thanks for your graphics journey... you have gained some valuable knowledge... thanks for comparing the various software... that is very helpful to me.

I would love to learn Gimp or Inkscape, but have tried to learn it on-line, but the videos are too much for me to follow... I have a tough time with computer technology... the videos assume you already have the basic knowledge... and that is exactly what I want -- just the basic knowledge.

So far all of the graphics software is overwhelming to me and I give up on them... I use justafan's great software, but I only create borderline average and basic work... not good enough for me, so I have to depend on the good graphics designers for my fictional leagues... in the last year or two, very few people will do personal requests, so I now just check for already-creative teams and use them for my fictional leagues... but this means I have to use their team names, nicknames and their colors... this is not bad, actually, I end up with some standout logos, jerseys and caps, but just can't use my own creativity, designs and colors.

We all learn different ways and bring out prior experience to the table, that said we are all still learning. I'm a college professor so I'm convinced anybody can learn pretty much anything.

I moved from the justafan program to GIMP with a few moves. Little things I liked doing and just did it a lot. Now I'm just adding new moves, that's where I'm at right now, just doing it a lot. I'm not even totally worried about my logos being good or bad right now. I like sharing the ones I like here, but I've got a ton that aren't that great.

I've made 194 logos since I started this thread, they are all posted in my google drive. There's some real trash in there lol but once I hit my goal of 435 I'll go back and redo some of the ones that bug me the most.

When I use videos I tend to listen to them one or two times through to get used to the lingo and see where things are going. Then I run through it with GIMP or Inkscape running and follow along. Try figuring out one or two moves. When I was using justafan's creator I'd use GIMP to remove backgrounds from images I liked and learned how to use the color controls. Now I'm building off that.

If you have any direct questions or anything feel free to PM me.

[hurricanekevin]

Santa Ana (CA) Adventurers
Plano (TX) Feral
Miami (FL) Riptide

[hurricanekevin]

Laredo (TX) Blazers
Madison (WI) Orange Bears
Ithaca (NY) Hummingbirds

[hurricanekevin]

Tempe (AZ) Desert Rats
New Orleans (LA) Delta
Minneapolis (MN) Cosmopolitan

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by hurricanekevin

We all learn different ways and bring out prior experience to the table, that said we are all still learning. I'm a college professor so I'm convinced anybody can learn pretty much anything.

I moved from the justafan program to GIMP with a few moves. Little things I liked doing and just did it a lot. Now I'm just adding new moves, that's where I'm at right now, just doing it a lot. I'm not even totally worried about my logos being good or bad right now. I like sharing the ones I like here, but I've got a ton that aren't that great.

I've made 194 logos since I started this thread, they are all posted in my google drive. There's some real trash in there lol but once I hit my goal of 435 I'll go back and redo some of the ones that bug me the most.

When I use videos I tend to listen to them one or two times through to get used to the lingo and see where things are going. Then I run through it with GIMP or Inkscape running and follow along. Try figuring out one or two moves. When I was using justafan's creator I'd use GIMP to remove backgrounds from images I liked and learned how to use the color controls. Now I'm building off that.

If you have any direct questions or anything feel free to PM me.

Thanks for the offer to help.

[Eugene Church]

hurricanekevin, don't go to any trouble to get this for me, but if you can easily do it, post the fonts for the Tampa Bay Firebirds and the Paradise Jackrabbits.

[hurricanekevin]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

hurricanekevin, don't to to any trouble to get this for me, but if you can easily do it, post the fonts for the Tampa Bay Firebirds and the Paradise Jackrabbits.

The Firebirds one is "Magneto Bold Semi-Expanded" One of my favorite ones right now.

The Paradise one is tougher. It (might) be one I purchased. As I work I'll keep an eye out and let you know if I figure that one out.

Ideally I'd go slower and take note of everything I'm using (especially if I wanted to make secondary logos) but for now I'm just throwing things together and trying to see what works and what doesn't.

[cephasjames]

I'm going to offer the same unasked for advice (I've turned into my dad!! ) that I offered up to milli in his thread. Which you can take or leave.

If you don't already do so, make sure to test your logos out in game.

The maximum size logo in the game is 150x150. What looks good on a 300x300 logo might not look so good on a 150x150. For instance, for your Santa Ana (CA) Adventurers logo, the word California may end up looking like a fuzzy blob. Or most of the wonderful detail on the airship might get blurred together.

The more detail there is on a large logo the less likely you are to see it on a small logo.

Ultimately though, you are the judge of what looks good to you. So, if you like it, more power to you.

[hurricanekevin]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

I'm going to offer the same unasked for advice (I've turned into my dad!! ) that I offered up to milli in his thread. Which you can take or leave.

If you don't already do so, make sure to test your logos out in game.

The maximum size logo in the game is 150x150. What looks good on a 300x300 logo might not look so good on a 150x150. For instance, for your Santa Ana (CA) Adventurers logo, the word California may end up looking like a fuzzy blob. Or most of the wonderful detail on the airship might get blurred together.

The more detail there is on a large logo the less likely you are to see it on a small logo.

Ultimately though, you are the judge of what looks good to you. So, if you like it, more power to you.

I can't hear that advice enough. I know it, and yet sitting here creating I can't help but want to add those little details. You are totally right and the more I hear it (and see it) then more it will stick.

I'm using these logos in Football Manager as well OOTP & FHM, one of their menus takes the logo down to 50x50 so that advice could be multiplied so to speak.

Thanks for the advice!

[hurricanekevin]

Clarksville (TN) Crickets

After I designed the first version of this I couldn't figure out if I'd designed a label for a box of cricket repellant or maybe for a box of edible crickets?

So I added some baseballs, did some with soccer balls too that is in my drive.

[Clovidequano Dovatha]

I really like the Phoenix Coyotes logo you did. Very nice work, and a very interesting take on the team name that most people who have done items for Phoenix Coyotes teams probably haven't thought of so far, if at all, I think.

Might I make a suggestion on the logo for the Buffalo Old Gate team, perhaps? It might look better if you put Old Gate where New York is. I suggest this simply because how you have it now, it looks like your entire team name is pretty much all smushed together into one or two words, at most, and I don't think that's what you intend to have here for that logo.

So far, your work is much better than I could even hope to do at the present time, if at all, I think. I may soon try Inkscape and/or Gimp, if I haven't already on another computer. Not sure if I have before, but this work so far is very high quality, for sure, in my opinion.

I eagerly look forwards to seeing what you can do in the future, Lord willing, hk, and I have high hopes for the four teams in the earlier request thread I created, logos-wise, whether you do logos for them all or not. I can't wait to see what you come up with for secondary logos for the Bethlehem Bards, for instance. Take whatever time you need to do the requested remaining logos for any or all of those four teams, and I'll try to be as patient waiting for them as I can, for sure. CD out.

[Clovidequano Dovatha]

A great place to get free fonts is fontspace dot com, too, hk. I go there quite often to get many fonts, and I find many of the fonts quite useful, when used properly with certain text on designs, like on uniforms, for example. Just thought you should know, you see. CD out.

[Clovidequano Dovatha]

Information and/or graphics related to the Unvuldaal Moonbeams can be found in posts 432, 454, and 653 of my SBC thread and post 131 of my primary graphics thread, for your information, hk. Just in case you were interested in such information, that's all. CD out.

[hurricanekevin]

Originally Posted by Clovidequano Dovatha

I really like the Phoenix Coyotes logo you did. Very nice work, and a very interesting take on the team name that most people who have done items for Phoenix Coyotes teams probably haven't thought of so far, if at all, I think.

Might I make a suggestion on the logo for the Buffalo Old Gate team, perhaps? It might look better if you put Old Gate where New York is. I suggest this simply because how you have it now, it looks like your entire team name is pretty much all smushed together into one or two words, at most, and I don't think that's what you intend to have here for that logo.

So far, your work is much better than I could even hope to do at the present time, if at all, I think. I may soon try Inkscape and/or Gimp, if I haven't already on another computer. Not sure if I have before, but this work so far is very high quality, for sure, in my opinion.

I eagerly look forwards to seeing what you can do in the future, Lord willing, hk, and I have high hopes for the four teams in the earlier request thread I created, logos-wise, whether you do logos for them all or not. I can't wait to see what you come up with for secondary logos for the Bethlehem Bards, for instance. Take whatever time you need to do the requested remaining logos for any or all of those four teams, and I'll try to be as patient waiting for them as I can, for sure. CD out.

Thank you for your comments and thoughts Clovidequano Dovatha.
Maybe a bit of explanation is in order since I just threw this post on here a few weeks ago without much context.

I'm in the midst of a league build and training exercise to create 435 original teams to use in Football Manager 22 and OOTP 23 when it comes out. The 435 number is derived from how the US House of Representatives is organized. I took the number of reps for each state and gave them a team for each rep. I halved the number California has since they have too many and spread them out across some of the smaller states, Native American reservations, US territorial islands, and two overseas military bases.

So while I'm trying to make good logos for each team, I'm also just doing a lot to see what works and what doesn't. Once I hit 435 (but probably more) I'll go back and fix the ones that I don't think work in the game or just aren't what I wanted them to be.

The technique is something I learned in a college drawing course and have applied to my own work in higher education. My college drawing teacher had us draw 100 hands over the course of the semester. Don't worry about how good they are, just keep drawing. By the end of the semester I got pretty good at drawing hands actually. So I don't really obsess with the details. That said, all of the feedback I've gotten is helping me so much as I move forward!

By sharing them here I'm hopeful that someone might see something that fits into their league. Much the same way my first leagues were cobbled together with the stuff I was able to find on this site made by all the great designers here.

I also don't want to project the idea that I'm not interested in making good logos. I know all the imperfections and the spots where frames and words bump or where I've left an obnoxious amount of blank space. They all glow in the dark to me. There are a few I can't wait to fix! That said, by creating and moving on I'm not spending an hour obsessing about a corner of a logo where the lines don't merge right. My method means that I'll learn more from creating 435+ imperfect logos instead of obsessing about about 5 which I'm not even talented enough to make perfect anyways.

Maybe it makes sense, maybe it doesn't, but I thought it might be helpful to understand my goals here.

Maybe this is an overshare and I just dumped out my purse for you all? Anyways, thanks for listening.

That said, Clovidequano Dovatha or Eugene Church... If you all have some logos you'd like made from a team you have that shares a real life city in the US (No matter how small or obscure) maybe that could be a compromise. I could keep working towards my goal, but also help you all out. I can take a bit of extra time on those and remember the color codes, fonts, and send along any assets. It is hard to go back and find that stuff after the fact, but if I know ahead of time I don't mind at all.

[Clovidequano Dovatha]

Ok, I'll PM you later, periodically, then, so as not to potentially dominate this thread every so often when I shouldn't and don't need to, et cetera. Keep up the great work, I hope, hk. CD out.

[hurricanekevin]

Originally Posted by Clovidequano Dovatha

Ok, I'll PM you later, periodically, then, so as not to potentially dominate this thread every so often when I shouldn't and don't need to, et cetera. Keep up the great work, I hope, hk. CD out.

So I responded and you either didn't get it or you got three of the same email. Either way, thanks for the ideas, I'm getting to work on some now!

[Eugene Church]

Thanks for the offer to do some logos for me, hurricanekevin.

You have enough to do with your own projects... I don't want to take advantage of your good nature.

It is still very nice of you to offer to help.

Thanks anyway.

[hurricanekevin]

Portland (ME) Icebergs
Hood River (OR) Sturgeon
Augusta (GA) Centurion

[hurricanekevin]

Chesapeake (VA) Union
St. Petersburg (FL) Pandas
Montpelier (VT) Phantoms

Sure, two panda bear themed teams... If you aren't playing with as many panda themed teams as possible, why are you even playing?

[Bottom Of The Sixth]

You have some really nice looking logos, hurricanekevin. The majority of the images you have chosen to use, I have never seen before!

My favorites so far are the images used in the Charleston Centaurs, Hoover (AL) Alley Cats, and the Amarillo (TX) Justice.


Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work!