Washington Nationals Concept

[nafsder2003]

For the Logolympiad Event 1, I created an alternate logo for the Potomac Nationals. I kept it very simple, and needless to say, didn't make the second round. That entry can be seen here:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/naf...tionalscopy.jpg

So from there, I thought, what if I used that to make a Washington Nationals alternate logo? Modeling my concept off of the Yankees primary, entry 29 of the Logolympiad Event 1 ( http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v702/log...nt1_entry29.gif ), and a logo I swear I've seen in the past, but was not able to find, I threw an Uncle Sam hat onto the concept. After playing around a little bit, I narrowed it down to these two looks:

This is a simpler, cleaner look. There is no gold in the concept (which I kind of like...I'm not a fan of the gold in the Nationals logos). Also missing are the 9 stars at the bottom (anybody know what those stand for? Nine players maybe? I would have thought they would include 13 for a corny reference to the 13 colonies, but I guess not).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/naf...3/nationals.jpg

And this is a more complex one drawing more from the Yankees concept. That hat is tilted, and stretched out (when tilted, it looked too short and stubby). The stars are added, but I didn't do the greatest job (they are thicker than the origional and not rotated at the right angles...actually, they are not rotated at all). I also changed the grey outline to gold (the Potomac Nats use grey, the Washington Nats use gold, once again, I like Potomac more here.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/naf.../nationals2.jpg

So, C & C welcome. Which one do you like more? What would you change? Unfortunately, I am doing these in Photoshop, so they are a little more difficult to edit. But I have the origional psd saved, so I can always redraw certain things if suggested. Also, does anybody who is good with perspective and that shading and what not know a good way to make the hat stripes appear as if they are an even size and evenly spaced. And if I add a tilt to the hat, which way should it be tilting to get the shadow that is on the ball (which needs to stay since that is where it is in the actual Nats logo)? Thanks.

[redsfan39]

i like the second one the most, with the hat titled. dont know why but i think it looks better. i dont think these would look to good on a hat, but on a sleeve patch or stadium wall or tickets this would look great. good work.

btw you a potomac nationals fan? ive been going to their games since they were owned by the cardinals and called the cannons.

[sscrunner06]

Wow, these are great. I especially love the last one with the tilted hat and the gold outline. Excellent job!!

[nafsder2003]

i like the second one the most, with the hat titled. dont know why but i think it looks better. i dont think these would look to good on a hat, but on a sleeve patch or stadium wall or tickets this would look great. good work.

btw you a potomac nationals fan? ive been going to their games since they were owned by the cardinals and called the cannons.

Nope. I'm an Indianapolis Indians fan (got to go with the home town team...and I still remember watching players like Aaron Boone going through the system). I wasn't thinking along the lines of a primary or a cap logo. Just another logo to compliment their current set.

[ltravisjr]

The tilted one with the gold is definitely the best. For the red hat stripes, I'd just switch the width of the center and left one so the middle one is thickest (because it is closest to your eye). For the shading on the ball, I would add a shadow under the hat and taper it like you did with the other shadow, but so the narrow part is on the right side and the thicker part on the left where it will then merge with the first shadow. That would reinforce the look of the light coming from the upper right. But remember, it isn't science here - you don't need to be perfectly exact. Just believable.

LT

[cyandlux]

OK....no more bowing dudes if the logo is not complete and not looking right at all.

It needs more work...but its a good start.

I like what you have in the Canadians logo, but that element is lacking in the Nationals.

Not sure what that is, maybe something larger in the bckgrnd that keeps the hat/ball

grounded. Maybe eliminate the stars and put one as bckgrnd, it might help a bit. Plus... is

this ball a cartoon person? On the Canadians the expression the ball gives is great, and that

sensability isnt showing up here.

Like I said, its a good start.

[nafsder2003]

OK....no more bowing dudes if the logo is not complete and not looking right at all.

It needs more work...but its a good start.

I like what you have in the Canadians logo, but that element is lacking in the Nationals.

Not sure what that is, maybe something larger in the bckgrnd that keeps the hat/ball

grounded. Maybe eliminate the stars and put one as bckgrnd, it might help a bit. Plus... is

this ball a cartoon person? On the Canadians the expression the ball gives is great, and that

sensability isnt showing up here.

Like I said, its a good start.

The Canadians logo is not mine. I only used it as a starting point for a ball with a hat. Actually, I don't know who it belongs to since the entries to the contest were anonymous. I included the stars because they are in the actual Washington Nationals logo, but I really don't like them there. As we speak, I'm working on editing the existing Nats logo to eliminate gold and to change the font, and I might end up taking the stars out as well. The ball itself is not meant to be a cartoon person. I was thinking something along the lines of the Yankees logo, with a hat on the bat to give it a more...I don't know, complex, detailed, patriotic look instead of the bland simple baseball I posted with the top link.

[VitaminD]

Another thing about the hat in your 2nd Nats concept: given the perspective effects you've put in the design - especially the degree of tilt imparted by the brim - you should be able to see the top of the hat. In fact, it is the exact opposite of how the Yankees' hat is perched on the bat in their logo; that hat is tilted backwards, so you can see the underside of the brim as well as the inside of the top hat.

On yours, you can't see the flat top of the hat, and you should be able to, based on the tilt of the brim.

[nafsder2003]

Another thing about the hat in your 2nd Nats concept: given the perspective effects you've put in the design - especially the degree of tilt imparted by the brim - you should be able to see the top of the hat.  In fact, it is the exact opposite of how the Yankees' hat is perched on the bat in their logo; that hat is tilted backwards, so you can see the underside of the brim as well as the inside of the top hat.

On yours, you can't see the flat top of the hat, and you should be able to, based on the tilt of the brim.

Wow...I can't believe I didn't catch that in the first place. Looking at them without that fixed, they just look...stupid. So here it is with that fixed. I also included the primary logo, and turned the current alternate into a cap logo, and elminated gold from both of them. I don't really see why gold is in there. The colors should be Red, White, and Blue, and then the silverish grey color for shading and detailing and stuff. While many of you seem to like the tilted hat, I am a fan of the normal one. I fixed the 9 stars to mirror the stars on the primary (same rotation and stuff...but I still don't know what the stars stand for...). I did a little bit of a better job with the hat striping, but something still looks a little off. I wasn't sure what to color the top of the hat, but I figured Red was best because without it, it didn't seem to be used nearly enough in the alternate in comparison to the primary. I also changed the colors slightly (turned out the colors the Potomac logo had weren't identical to the Washington logo). So, C & C please. I'm going to get a uniform concept out with these eventually.