USA Hockey - a debut

[wedgius]

I've been lurking for a couple of years and decided it was time to give a little something back. Hopefully you like it.

This particular concept was inspired by the new US basketball uniforms -- okay, more like I aped the crest -- and a heavy dose of past USA Hockey jerseys. I went with Reebok instead of Nike for various reasons, mostly that I didn't want to attempt to repurpose a Swift jersey with a colored, old-school shoulder yoke and I had already started on the Edge "retro" template.

Though I've had a couple of ideas for alternate logos, I haven't been able to draw anything I'm happy with. If I happen upon anything good, it will be placed on the right shoulder.

Otherwise, this is virtually complete. Let me know what you think.

[LEWJ]

Nice.

The arched lettering on the front looks kind of odd, and incomplete, maybe that's because I'm use to the huge stripes towards the bottom like this.

I think if you're going to have an arched wordmark on the front it could look more complete to have numbers centered right below, see Dallas Stars.

Altogether, I really, really like this. It's very classy, and very clean. Great job, and I'm glad you got to posting something.

[Shumway]

Wow. That's one gorgeous looking uniform. Simple? Yes. Bland? Perhaps. Sometimes, that's all it takes.

A few thoughts:

- The stripe on the jersey....perhaps a blue one on white, and blue one on the red as well?

- I'm kinda wanting to see some pant stripes, or maybe some stars.

- I'm curious to see what a star would look like on the shoulders, like in '80. I like them as-is, but a little retro-flair might go a long way here.

[kewp80]

I think a star or flag on the shoulder would look a lot better, but other than that this looks really nice. Great job!

[wedgius]

Thanks for the praise so far. I'll get on your comments in a bit.

Before I go to sleep, here's a shield that doesn't completely suck. I have a few concerns about it, the biggest being its simplicity, but first I want to see if you guys feel the same way I do. It's supposed to be based from the shield used on the 2004 World Cup alternate jerseys, but I didn't feel like adding the additional curve on the sides.

[wedgius]

I'll post an updated spread in a few hours with some responses and some surprises, but look-ee what I did here son!

I decided to round off the bevel corners on the wordmark, because counting its font, the letter font (called "BigNoodleTitling" if you're curious) and the number font (a thinner, blocked-off version of the Texans' font), well, that's three separate fonts; and one of them, the wordmark font (good ol' SF Collegiate Solid, I'm sure that's gotten some traction around here over the years), is substantially different in its motif than the other two being beveled instead of rounded. This fixes that problem and brings things together a bit better.

[ColeJ]

where can i buy the red one?

[wedgius]

Here's an update, with a more accurate template and the new USA mark:

On to comments:

• I didn't get to try the 1980-style stars on the shoulders, but it's on my mind. I don't think that will work on the red though. The shield didn't really tickle my fancy, either, so maybe I'll just have to whip up my own eagle crest.
  
• Some (not just you guys here) are clamoring for pant stripes, so that will be the next thing I try (red inside of white, like the blue jersey). Stars are going too far there.
  
• Two reasons I don't want to do front numbers. 1) These uniforms are actually meant for the PC version of NHL 08 (aka the same game EA Sports has been putting out for the last half decade), and front numbers are not supported. Some of the addons for EDGE jerseys have static front "08" numbers but I find that really tacky. 2) They didn't need them in 1980. I feel that the USA mark is tall enough in the final product to compensate for the lack of "real" bottom stripes.
  
• On that note, the hem colors. Blame Cole for that one; he brought up a point that blue hems on both the white and red jerseys would essentially cut the jersey short when worn on a fully dressed player, blending in with the pants. On the red jersey, especially, the white hem creates a "red-white-blue" effect. If anything I may remove the white hem on the blue jersey.
  

As a sidenote, the users featured on this spread are myself, DawgPacPBH, and Cole respectively, in case you're wondering why the hell they don't say DiPietro, Kane, or Drury.

[ColeJ]

i still think a red hem on the white jersey, and no hem on the blue jersey would be best.

that way the black jersey has like a dallas stars effect where dark blends in with dark, and doesn't cause a contrast problem, where the white jersey/blue pants transition would match the sleeve stripes... same as the red jersey/blue pants combo matching that jersey's sleeve stripes.

and if the 2 jerseys with a hem, and 1 without causes a problem, keeping the white hem wouldn't hurt my feelings on the blue jersey, even though i don't think it's really needed as much as it is on the other 2 sweaters.

either way, you know i love these.

[DawgPacPBH]

Wyatt, I love these. Too many people want too many crazy things or too little awesomeness blah blah blah plain tradition.

that.

these are awesome.

plus SCHWADEL 93 for the win!

[CMUBrent]

Simple and to the point. I like this set!