Time to take a crack at the Cackalacka Cats...

[tBBP]

Hello all...and welcome back to bucco_B's NFL Re-do Concept Series!

I know I been gone from the Concept boards for a hot minute. I'm about a month and a half from graduating college here, and I got some REAL BIG senior projects upcoming, so I ain't really had much extra time to concoct anything new. (By the way, for those who are interested, one of those senior projects is my digital portfolio, and as soon as it's completed it's going online. In it will be all my concepts you've seen here in this community, as well as most everything else I've done at school. Keep an eye out for it!!!)

Before I get to going with this newest concept, here's a quick look at the previous concepts in this series:

Cleveland Browns

Tennessee Titans

Philadelphia Eagles

St. Louis Rams

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks SHOCKERS!

New York Jets

Washington Redskins

Okay...lets get going with this!

(By the way...has anyone figured out what team will be featured in this concept presentation? Nice spiffy title, huh???)

The "Cackalacka Cats." Like how that sounds. (THAT'S MY PHRASE--I COINED IT!!!) For those not up on regional slanguistics, this latest concept presentation features the Carolina Panthers. This is actually one of the first ones I started on, but kept getting stuck on how to execute. What I have now is STILL not exactly finalized (but then, what concept really is?), but I liked how this particular draft (out of about SIX) came out, so here it is.

Two things I kept in mind when concocting this: the basic idea of a panther (read:BLACK--more on that in a bit), and the connection of the color palette to the original sponsor of this team's stadium. I've mentioned it several times, and this time I REALLY got to play with it..."Ericcson cellphone blue".

To start with, the first thing you all should know is I axed silver out of this altogether. I wanted to tighten up the color palette and to me, the black, white, and Ericcson cellphone blue makes a VERY CLEAN combo when used the right way. (That's my aim with this concept, by the way.) The second thing you all should know is I kept the idea of my old Kyocera cellphone in my head (it was backlit in that bright cellphone blue color) while I was doing this--that reference may reveal itself to some of you.

Okay, to the concept:

Since I axed the silver, the helmet is now BLACK on this set. Actually, there's a lot more black used in this concept overall. Now, before I go any further, I know overusage of black has been a serious hot-button topic amongst us uni-watcher types, but really...when one thinks "panther", more than likely they think a BLACK panther (and no, i ain't talkin about the extremist group of yesteryear here ), and so that's my reasoning for the (seemingly) overindulgence of the black. Also, on the helmets, the stripes are pretty much the same as the Panthers employ now, except they're solid Ericcson cellphone blue. And oh by the way, I outlined the Panther logo on the helmet in white to make it stand out. (And for all those who may not exactly like the idea of a black logo on a black helmet, see the Atlanta Falcons of the '90s. Plus, with the overall "stealth" look I was going for here, I think it fits.)

To the sets now. On the home sets (this set includes two home and two away sets as well as that 3rd/alt), the shirts are black--as they are now--but with Ericcson cellphone blue trim and white numbers. Now, about the trim. What I wanted to do was do a solid stripe of E/C blue sorta akin to the Panther's current pants stripe, but I also wanted to make it so that it would look good on different color pants, as well. Well...I think what I've done here may not exactly take too well to some, but I think the idea of a "silhouetted" side stripe looks pretty cool here--and adds to the "image" one gets of a panther (that being "stealthy"). The primary pants are white with black stripe outlined in E/C blue, to match the trim that continues up the side panels of the black shirts; the secondary home pants are black with the same style stripe. (YES THAT CREATES AN ALL-BLACK SET...but in this instance, I think it's pretty cool. After all, most panthers ARE all-black--and in this instance, I think it works better than the Cincinnati Bengals all-black.) For the roads, the primary pants are white (thus creating the same all-white roadie look the Panthers currently use), and the secondary pants are black (which I know treads a little too much into Jaguar territory--but I think this looks better because of the color trim.) To avoid the leotard look, the secondary roadies also include the E/C blue socks. (The other three sets include black socks.) On the sleeves of all these sets, I replaced the primary Panther logo with the alt logo of the panther's face. I like how that looks, and I think it looks pretty good on the sleeves--but I'll let you all decide that.

And now to the 3rd/alt. The shirt is E/C blue, of course, with white numbers trimmed in black. The striping/trim is still the same, except where the trim was E/C blue on the other sets, it's white on this one. I wanted to keep the "pop-out" look going. The socks for this set are also E/C blue.

Now, there is one thing I haven't mentioned about this set yet. I changed the font. For some reason, every sketch I drafted of this set, I kept seeing Serpentine in my mind for the Panthers, so I ran with it. (YES--SERPENTINE. I know some folks don't necessarily like that font.) I created a new wordmark outta that (it really isn't too elaborate, but it gets the job done), and I also sorta re-created the panther/swoopy text mark the Panthers used to use from '96 to like '98 I think--with serpentine, of course. I also created a third logo utilizing the outline of the shape of North Cackalacka with that Panther face inside it. (What is it with teams in NC shaping their logos in a rough silhouette of the state itself??? ) I wasn't going to include it originally, since the Carolina Panthers are supposed to represent BOTH Carolinas, but still--I think everyone knows that team, along with every other major-league team using the locale "Carolina", is in either Charlotte or Raleigh, North Carolina.

Overall, I think this looks pretty cool...but there are some things about this I ain't too sold on yet. (Oh--one more thing: for the name and number, I used Fred Lane, a former Carolina Panther who was pretty good before his tragic death some years ago. I think it's cool that his last name was "Lane" and that the school he went to was Lane University.) I think one might be able to see the "stealth" and "cellphone" influene in this concept, which I will also now stop yapping about...

Here it is (one version anyway)...the Carolina Panthers!

C&C...come with it!

[Raven52]

I think the logos really bring it down. The uniform concept isn't that bad. The eye and whisker thing looks akward on the sleeves without a border of some sort, and the mouth just kind of hangs out there. The Carolina logo is too detailed and it's isn't shaped all that great. Love the ideas and effort though.

[OB33]

Love this set. I wasn't sure how dropping silver would work, but this looks verrry nice. My only suggestions would be to use the blue socks with the all black and make the face mask black. Outside of those minor details, this is a great set.

I'm assuming Lane would be in reference to Fred Lane right?

[tj4eck]

sexy just plain and simple....sexy

[Eye]

Sick work bucco! I'm totally feelin' this man. I like the helmets. At first I was iffy with a black helmet because I like their silver, but like you said, look at the 90's Falcons. You pulled off the helmets very well with the black and Ericcson cellphone blue stripes. I'm lovin' the number font on the jerseys. They're a font I like that I think would work well in football and deviate from the standard block font that most teams sport. The shoulder and pants striping are very nice, especially on the E/C blue alt. I like the use of the secondary logo on the sleeves. That logo should be used by the Panthers in at least some capacity today IMO. And that tertiary logo is beyond cool. Awesome work.

[whitedawg22]

I really like this set except for one thing... while the silhouetting is a cool touch, I don't think the black panther logo looks right on the black helmet (and is there any way to make the facemask black on this template?). I think it's becaue the helmet stripes are still EC blue and are highly visible, while the panther blends in to the helmet.

Basically, the eye is drawn to the stripes on the helmet rather than the logo, which probably isn't your intent. This effect would probably be even more pronounced on TV, which is primarily filmed from a high angle and reduces contrast and detail, at least for those of us who can't afford HD. I like the black helmet, though, and obviously the panther has to be black. So I think the solution would be either to silhouette the helmet stripes or to eliminate them altogether, Jax-style.

The only other thing I would be curious about is to see what the black jersey would look like with blue pants... although, on second thought, that would probably lead to calls for a blue on blue set, which would be awful. Never mind.

Keep up the sick concepts, and congrats on your upcoming graduation.

[Discrim]

the panther face as a logo makes a lot of sense on the black jersey, but I think on both teh whites and blues it loses something. This'd be one of those times where I'd suggest a different logo on the latter two, maybe that NC map version.

Otherwise, you done did good, B.

[Brendan]

sorry im not feeling this, to much black.

but i love the current panther stuff so you would proboly never be able to make a panther concepts i like

[sideshowbob]

if they ever change, this is exactly what they should wear, great job

[Rachel]

I have one word and one word only for you: WOW.

The set looks amazing. Keep up the great work.

[TNT44]

I like this concept, except for the North Carolina logo. Although the team plays in Charlotte, the team does represent both Carolinas. That's why they considered Columbia, SC as a location to play at one point in time and why they played their first season in Clemson, SC while they were building the stadium in Charlotte.

But I do like the new wordmark and uniform fonts. Much better than what they have now.

[fkaKrock5cent]

bucco i'm not a big fan of the alternate logos you made. Also (I think this just might be me) you just had an outline insted of accual stripes on the sides of the pants and jersies which really bugged me.

but other than that its a good idea just needs to be fixed up abit in my opinion

but those are just my thoughts alone

[averyj]

Love this set. I wasn't sure how dropping silver would work, but this looks verrry nice. My only suggestions would be to use the blue socks with the all black and make the face mask black. Outside of those minor details, this is a great set.

I'm assuming Lane would be in reference to Fred Lane right?

If you read the explenation, you would know.

[BigShoop]

i've never liked the primary panther logo, so that kinda gets in the way of my thoughts on this concept. the changes you made: getting rid of silver, the overall addition of black, the new fonts and striping...i love all of them.

But when it comes down to it, i still hate the primary logo. I dont think it's necessary to have half the panther "body" as the logo. Maybe just the head, ala jacksonville.

i like the 2ndary, but i think it may be a little too "progressive" for the NFL.....

[andymorrison13]

Another enjoyable set. Keep up the good work. I don't like the all blacks, I understand the idea from your intro I just don't like them. Everything else works though.

[OB33]

Love this set. I wasn't sure how dropping silver would work, but this looks verrry nice. My only suggestions would be to use the blue socks with the all black and make the face mask black. Outside of those minor details, this is a great set.

I'm assuming Lane would be in reference to Fred Lane right?

If you read the explenation, you would know.

It figures that I would only paragraph I skip had the answer. Oh well, not the first time I missed something.

[Epiphanic]

Great work. I love the secondary and tertiary logos. Very clever. TNT mentioned his concern about the lack of South Carolina in that logo. While I'm not turned off by that fact, I wonder what it would look like if you made the panther face out of both Carolina silhouettes (combined, not on North and one South).

[tBBP]

I'm starting to think this may be one of my better concepts I've done. It's because of the colors. One can really have some fun playing with colors you'll find on a cellphone and drafting them onto a football uniform...

I myself, when I was drafting these, was wanting to find a way to incorporate more of the E/C blue myself into the set, but the only issue with that would have been in matching the striping with the different tops and bottoms, not to mention the 3rd/alt. Had I gone with E/C blue striping, the silhouetted striping you see now would have all been solid E/C blue with no offset--and that looked way too "NCAA"ish for me. So I stuck with the "silhouette" which to me just seemed to fit better with the Panthers.

Speaking of that silhouetted striping, I was originally going to use the same treatment with the helmet stripes, and it seems whitedawg22 had the same idea according to his C&C, so I went with it on this revision. Also, in order to incorporate more E/C blue and nothave so much of a black overload, I took another suggestion and included E/C blue socks on the all-black home set and made the surname/numbers on the road sets E/C blue, as well. The 3rd/alt remains unchanged, except for the helmet.

Also, epiphanic, I had the idea of doing an outline of both Carolinas with the panther face the first time, but never actually did it. This time, however, I have. I guess it looks alright...but, as is always the case, I'll let you all decide that with the C&C.

Here's my revision according to previous C&C thus far...

Lemme know whatchy'all thankin' bout this one here...

[Epiphanic]

The new tertiary looks good. Good work. I also like the silohuetted striping is slick on those helmets, a definate improvement.

[tBBP]

The new tertiary looks good. Good work. I also like the silohuetted striping is slick on those helmets, a definate improvement.

Yeah...it's definitely grown on me...the silhouetting. It all may be a bit too, uh, "progressive" for the mundane NFL, but hey--that's the fun of making fantasy concepts!