Pittsburgh Robots

[BostonBlazer]

I had this idea for months, and finally, I was able to do this concept.

I wanted to do a concept relating to robots since I have a thing for them. I chose to put this team in Pittsburgh because it was one of three major areas for robotics, IIRC. The other two areas are Boston and Silicon Valley. But I've already did concepts for teams in those locations.

Primary logo

Alternate logo

Wordmark

Any C + C is appreciated.

[Hballer]

I like it

[undead]

I also dig robots. I wanted to do something like this for a long time. Yours looks really cool. Maybe you could add a little shading/highlights to make the logo not look so flat. Also fix the hand so he holds the stick better. Right now it's just thumb and forefinger. Other than that, I like it a lot. I didn't know that Pittsburgh was a big robotics area. Thanks for the lesson.

[BostonBlazer]

Doing the hand was the hardest part of this concept. But I'll fix that along with seeing what I can do with shading and stuff.

[BostonBlazer]

I apologize for the long wait.

How I was going to do lighting and shading on this concept and make it work might be a challenge for me. Here's the next variation of the primary logo with lighting and shading made from gradient meshes. To be honest, I don't think this might be an upgrade from the previous variation. But I'll let you decide.

[CAB]

Gradients normally look horrible on logos (see: old Tampa Bay Rays logos) but this definitely makes it look better than the first. The original logo was kinda static and the gradients give it more definition.

[undead]

I been looking at this for a while, trying to figure out what to say. I figured it out, you need thick outlines on all the parts of this logo. You have it on the face and really nowhere else. You did a really good job on the gradient. You understand where the light source is and where the shadows are. Study some of the logos on Chris' site. Look at how the professionals depict light and shadow. Good logos are a collection of shapes. The highlights are shapes and the shadows are really extensions of the outline. What logos do you like? What about them makes you like them?

I hope you stick with this. It looks really good and could be great with some development.

[Hballer]

The stick doesnt really fit with the rest of the logo, but other than that this is great.

[sergeimakarenkov44]

This is good, but the way the black parts of the arms are drawn makes it look a little awkward. The ends need to be rounded where the arm is supposed to look like it's protruding from the ball. So, on the robot's right shoulder it should be rounded and on the forearm where it connects to the elbow it should be rounded. That should bring out the design a bit more.

[jaha32]

The second one is a huge huge downgrade in my mind and I didnt even like the first one although it had potential. It doesnt even look like a logo anymore. there is no consistency to the different elements in here or thickness of outlines or shading technique. The helmet now looks like a photograph thrown onto a South Park drawing. I think you should slide the robot guy to the left more so his body is more near the center of the word.Right now his head is in the way top right which looks awkward. On the word "ROBOTS", why is there more space below the word and the box outline that on top? The word 'Pittsburgh" is a little crammed and hard to read. this is probably the most critical I have been on this site and I apoligize for that, but once I started I couldnt stop, there is just so much wrong with it.

[sparkychewbarky]

Why do I like this logo so much? Jaha and undead are right; there's a lot "wrong" with it... and yet, I'm diggin' it. It's like a campy "B" movie. Sometimes, in spite of the spacing being wrong, and the line weights being inconsistent, and so on; it just works. I wouldn't change a thing.

[jaha32]

i just returned from beer league kickball and a 6 pack of the beast and this still isnt improving. maybe i shouldve had a 12 pack. if everyone does the same then this logo has a chance but until then....

[BostonBlazer]

i just returned from beer league kickball and a 6 pack of the beast and this still isnt improving. maybe i shouldve had a 12 pack. if everyone does the same then this logo has a chance but until then....

If you're not going to be helpful about this, but rather be a total dick about it, then don't post here. I posted this concept for constructive criticism and info on what I can do to improve this. I know you don't like it. But I'm trying my best.

The third variation is currently in the works. I'm taking Undead's advice on bringing back the stroke (outline). If it's still not a satisfying concept, I'm going to keep working at it until I (and others) feel it works.

[BostonBlazer]

Okay. This should do it.

[9erssteve]

Okay, some people like the gradients, some people dont. I'm in the dont category. In print media or in images to go online they're fine but for sports logos that will often need to be stitched they are an almost positive no-no. Due to the very nature of a gradient (it getting lighter or darker gradually) they are almost impossible to render well with threads which are a constant colour and so the end up looking bad. In order to combat that you can use solid colours grey for the background areas and then pick out solid areas to highlight in white or a lighter grey to achieve a similar outcome.

You can also vary your line weights. Make them thinner round highlighted areas and thicker round the darker areas, it's dead easy to do, if your working in a program that allows you to work in layers, take a copy of the whole logo paste it on a new layer behind the original, fill the whole thing black then outline as you did before then nudge the whole layer a couple of clicks in one direction and down depending on the direction of your light source to achieve the effect. Right now all the lines you have are exactly the same width and it makes for a very static and clumsy look. You need to shade the stick as well, right now the whole thing looks transparent, compared to the robot it has not form at all.

And I'm sorry I hate (and that's a strong word I try not to use much) all the fonts. The Robots one is just dull and the Pittsburgh one well for some reason it reminds me of something you'd see on a "hello Kitty" bag or something I keep seeing a love heart in the counter of the R and it's not a terribly well drawn font, in fact I'm really struggling to find a single redeeming feature. I can understand why you chose it, it looks like an old-school computer font but there are much much better fonts out there than this one that have that look and feel.

I like the actual robot character himself he has a certain quirkiness, but imo for this to be a successful sports logo it still needs work.

9erssteve