NFL ProCombat

[BlueSky]

These have gotten too NFL Europe for me.

Well it's a "pro combat" series. The college pro combat unis were anything but traditional, so what were you expecting here?

I'm a little late replying here but there's a pretty big gap between 'anything but traditional' and this:

Were any of the college Pro Combat unis even close to this?

[Lights Out]

Sorry, I wasn't aware all football uniforms were only allowed to look like this or this.

I'm really getting tired of having to defend creativity and imaginative design on here. Would you rather I make a bunch of solid colored, barely-different "concepts" for every team?

[dmhtfld]

yes these are creative but just because they are creative doesnt mean the are good, these uniforms are far to overdone

[Lights Out]

They might be a tad overdone, but it's Pro Combat. I was always intending to go crazy with it.

[TornadoGTS]

Sorry, I wasn't aware all football uniforms were only allowed to look like this or this.

I'm really getting tired of having to defend creativity and imaginative design on here. Would you rather I make a bunch of solid colored, barely-different "concepts" for every team?

There is a difference between creativity and execution. You can be creative all you want but if its not executed well, its gonna be judged badly. That Cardinals one, I like the idea behind it, I know what you were going for, but it wasnt executed well. You need to spend more time on execution instead of just slapping colors and designs on there.

[Lights Out]

All right, well, how would you suggest improving the execution?

[phlash]

Lights Out,

I appreciate the sense of rogue design and creativity you bring. I have poured over each of these and I really enjoy taking a look at something I have never seen before. I'd rather see just one of your ideas instead of the countless "concepts" that change a piping pattern on a jersey that some defunct team wore during the Carter administration.

And remember just because people say it isn't very good, doesn't mean that it's not very good. Not to say there isn't plenty of helpful criticism to be found here.

[Lights Out]

Thanks so much for the compliment, and I totally agree that a lot of the concepts on here lately have been little tweaks like piping pattern changes as opposed to sweeping changes - and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing if it looks good, I wish there were more out-of-the-box concepts here.

[BBTV]

For the record, I think that Arizona jersey is fantastic. Not sure I'd ever want to see it in the NFL, but as a concept, I think it's excellent work.

As for the hypercolor, there certainly is a way to do it - the early '90s (or late '80s?) Nets had hypercolor road jerseys - light blue that turned white when touched (kind of like a tie-die effect.)

I'm pretty sure that's not simply a sublimated pattern, but a hypercolor-esque effect.

[lenardo]

Jacksonville Jaguars

Remember when I said I would use the idea of Hypercolor in a new concept in my Rays thread? This is it. I figured the Jaguars would be the perfect team for this, as they already have the two-tone helmets going on. I figured I would go with a black jersey with a teal color change to match the black helmet with hints of teal. I made some pretty sweeping changes to the overall identity here, as well. I replaced the ugly swoosh stripes on the front of the uniform with straight sleeve stripes. I changed the number font. I moved the TV numbers to the sides of the uniform and added Jaguars logos to the shoulders. I also added a gold stripe to the helmet. And of course, I added the concept of heat-activation.

The idea behind it is, as players get hit or pushed, the uniforms slowly begin to turn teal, and by the end of the game, they are almost fully teal.

NOTE: The blurred teal handprints are NOT an actual part of the design - they are meant to be a demonstration of the Hypercolor-like effect that would happen during the game.

Now, I realize there's probably no way to add this technology to a uniform, but this was really just one of those "wouldn't it be cool if..." moments. Now, feel free to bash it mercilessly, as it's not traditional at all!

woah! theres handprints on that jags jersey

[RedRenesis]

deleted

[9erssteve]

For the record, I think that Arizona jersey is fantastic. Not sure I'd ever want to see it in the NFL, but as a concept, I think it's excellent work.

As for the hypercolor, there certainly is a way to do it - the early '90s (or late '80s?) Nets had hypercolor road jerseys - light blue that turned white when touched (kind of like a tie-die effect.)

I'm pretty sure that's not simply a sublimated pattern, but a hypercolor-esque effect.

Gotta disagree, I know nothing about basketball so could very well be wrong but if I am the Nets are demonstrating a kind of team unity never before seen in the history of mankind - synchronised sweating! Check the uniform in the background compared to the one in the foreground and you'll see the shorts are identical and what can be seen of the shirt to my eye is to similar to be coincidence. They may well have been hypercolor jerseys that changed but the light strips across the two ini's are in my opinion part of a printed design as they are just to close to be caused by a random factor such as heat, doesn't mean they maybe didn't become a different colour when heated but I think the light areas in the pics are print.

@Lightsout - Personally I dont have to much of an issue with this series, as some have said the huge logos on some look a little NFLE, but I loved NFLE attended every claymores home game there was a few away ones, worked sidelines during Worldbowls and have a good few game used jerseys that look very similar and I think they're great. With that said I can also appreciate why the NLE scrapped them. From a practical standpoint they were a pain in the hoop, it made identifying players a nightmare for commentators, fans and most importantly referees as the numbers were so small on the front and the shoulder ones surrounded by stripes and other "creativity".

If all your looking to do is have a bit of fun and produce the most outlandish "football" uniforms you can, and there is NOTHING wrong with that at all it's as valid a reason for producing a concept as any, then your series is a success. If however you're looking to produce designs that could or would be used in the real world then I think you're gonna struggle to find many teams who would take your designs to production. I've always been a firm believer that form should follow function, the function of a uniform is to make the wearer instantly recognisable, while yours would get them instantly noticed I think it would, in the same way it was with early NFLE uni's, be pretty difficult to identify individuals wearing some of your designs.

With that said you should continue the series for two reasons, one: you seem to be having fun doing them and as I said that's the most important thing, and two: while the designs you produce here might be over the top and never see the light of day once finished you can go back and take a look at what you've done and see if there are any that could be simplified slightly to fit more conventional templates and what you would have then is a design that was both creative and functional and certainly more than just a piping tweak, which you are right is what a lot of "concepts" on here seem to be.

9erssteve

[BlueSky]

Sorry, I wasn't aware all football uniforms were only allowed to look like this or this.

I'm really getting tired of having to defend creativity and imaginative design on here. Would you rather I make a bunch of solid colored, barely-different "concepts" for every team?

You don't have to defend it. All you have to do is accept the same burden any artist - painter, musician, author, photographer, designer, you name it - must accept: that some people will like a certain work and some will not. Any opinion reflects only the tastes of the opiner; it's not a judgement on the true value or competency of the work. Of course, if your career is involved, obviously it helps if your work has enough appeal to make sense commercially.

To my point, people worship Pink Floyd and Conan O'Brien - I don't get why. And don't get me started on the "genius" of Bob Dylan. Fine, we're all unique and while we can agree or disagree, no one has to justify his or her likes and dislikes. And my disdain aside, all of those people have made a nice living out of their talents.

Go back to my posts and you'll that in general, I like the series and think you have fresh and interesting ideas that often work very well. It wasn't until the Cardinals design that I said these were getting too NFL Europe for me.

My opinion is the same of the current Broncos and Falcons designs, but that doesn't mean everything I like has to be Bears/Packers traditional. For instance, I liked the Bengals back in the Esiason era. And I like your Jags concept. The only things I'd suggest would be to move the TV numbers to the shoulders, make the undershirt sleeves black and replace the stripes with the Jags logo.

Bottom line: it's not personal. Take what you will from the C&C and keep going.

[Lights Out]

As for the hypercolor, there certainly is a way to do it - the early '90s (or late '80s?) Nets had hypercolor road jerseys - light blue that turned white when touched (kind of like a tie-die effect.)

Wow, I forgot all about those! They were my favorite jerseys in the NBA when they came out, other than the Clippers'.

woah! theres handprints on that jags jersey

Woah! The sky is blue!

If all your looking to do is have a bit of fun and produce the most outlandish "football" uniforms you can, and there is NOTHING wrong with that at all it's as valid a reason for producing a concept as any, then your series is a success. If however you're looking to produce designs that could or would be used in the real world then I think you're gonna struggle to find many teams who would take your designs to production.

I disagree... I mean, pro and college teams/leagues actually used designs like these:

I think my ideas are the next logical step from the more crazy uniforms like those.

I've always been a firm believer that form should follow function, the function of a uniform is to make the wearer instantly recognisable, while yours would get them instantly noticed I think it would, in the same way it was with early NFLE uni's, be pretty difficult to identify individuals wearing some of your designs.

Yeah, the number is a bit too small on the Cardinals one, but for the others, the front numbers are large enough to make individuals easily-identified.

With that said you should continue the series for two reasons, one: you seem to be having fun doing them and as I said that's the most important thing, and two: while the designs you produce here might be over the top and never see the light of day once finished you can go back and take a look at what you've done and see if there are any that could be simplified slightly to fit more conventional templates and what you would have then is a design that was both creative and functional and certainly more than just a piping tweak, which you are right is what a lot of "concepts" on here seem to be.

I will definitely go back after I'm done here and redo some of them. The Bears one in particular could use a few more tweaks, IMO.

To my point, people worship Pink Floyd and Conan O'Brien - I don't get why. And don't get me started on the "genius" of Bob Dylan. Fine, we're all unique and while we can agree or disagree, no one has to justify his or her likes and dislikes. And my disdain aside, all of those people have made a nice living out of their talents.

Conan is funny! That's why people worship him. His style didn't mesh well with the staid culture of the Tonight Show anyway.

Bottom line: it's not personal. Take what you will from the C&C and keep going.

I know it isn't personal, but I've just been a little sick of hearing "too crazy to work" or "too much." I post my concepts so I can get critiques on the actual concepts, not my personal style.

I updated the Jags concept, as well.

I was going to add the primary logo to the sleeves, but then I realized that the Jags used to use a secondary logo with a perfect striping pattern - the "claw in motion" one. With a few tweaks (removing the jaguar head, changing the color of the motion lines) I felt it was perfect to use as a non-traditional striping pattern. Comments?

[phlash]

Not a big fan of those latest tweaks. There's nothing really holding the whole uniform together. The pants look entirely separate from the jersey, create some continuity between the two with a shared stripe or pattern.

I almost just said to make the pants hypercolor before I got some really bad images in my head

And the Jags wordmark is really in no-mans land, I'm trying to think of a better way of incorporating it.

I think those partial secondary logos on the sleeves are cool, but they're superfluous and kind of break up the motion. I wonder why the guy has 4 arms. Would it look really stupid if you made those sleeves like the jaguar fur pattern?

[9erssteve]

I disagree... I mean, pro and college teams/leagues actually used designs like these:

I think my ideas are the next logical step from the more crazy uniforms like those.

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it, but the fact that you had to use the past tense when referencing those jerseys, all of which were nearly 15 years old or more, and we haven't seen anything like them since, says a whole lot to me.

Leagues especially pro ones have moved past designs like that because they didn't work for the reasons I stated earlier. Take for example the London Monarchs one you posted that's the 1996 version which was actually SIMPLER than the 95 shirts which were introduced the year the league was reinstated and had drop shadows on all the numbers and extra side panels, I know I own a game used Claymores one. The fact shirts of that style didn't last past season three (and the 97 variant was even simpler!) in NFLE a league which was designed for experimentation, (they had two point conversions before the NFL, they tested four point field goals for over 50 yards and had very different and far better if you ask me rules regarding overtime to name but a few of the experiments used in NFLE) I think speaks volumes for function over style. I mean if a league all about experimenting and taking risks systematically simplified it's uniforms over the entire course of it's history rather than pushing on and experimenting further there must have been a good reason for it.

Colleges might pick up on some of the more out there elements or opportunities afforded by a uniform style such as the procombat, but I dont see the NFL or any other big league using it for anything other than solving the ever shortening sleeve problem of modern uniforms. Hoops and TV numbers could easily be transfered to the under shirts in a similar manner to your Jags concept, but lets be honest the result will look incredibly similar to the long sleeved shirts of the Jim Brown era only achieved in two parts rather than one, so it's hardly that revolutionary.

From a concept and design point I like what you're doing I think it's fun, the only thing I really didn't like was the hypercolor part as I thought it wouldn't work in the way you envisaged. I doubt the NFL will ever produce uni's like them any time soon, but that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying your work.

Keep it up, it's fun.

9erssteve

[Lights Out]

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it, but the fact that you had to use the past tense when referencing those jerseys, all of which were nearly 15 years old or more, and we haven't seen anything like them since, says a whole lot to me.

While it's true that those examples are old, what Virginia Tech and Miami did with their ProCombat unis sets the stage for a crazy-uniform renaissance.

IMO, it's only a matter of time before crazier styles begin to spread to the pros again.

[9erssteve]

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it, but the fact that you had to use the past tense when referencing those jerseys, all of which were nearly 15 years old or more, and we haven't seen anything like them since, says a whole lot to me.

While it's true that those examples are old, what Virginia Tech and Miami did with their ProCombat unis sets the stage for a crazy-uniform renaissance.

IMO, it's only a matter of time before crazier styles begin to spread to the pros again.

College yeah I dont doubt it, like you said a few have already started. Lesser leagues (and I mean lesser in terms of attendance and budget not importance) such as Arena, sure they already have some pretty out there uni's compared to the NFL so provided they're cost effective with their lower budgets then I'm sure they'll appear there, but in the NFL where they actually have a second rule book specifically for uniforms and they have officials who police it, I'm sorry I just dont see a way where by seriously outlandish designs could be achieved and still conform to the current rules the NFL has. And before anyone says they could scrap the rules, this is the NFL we're talking about, they NEVER scrap rules they just continue adding new ones or sub-clauses to existing ones to make things more complex, so it will only get more difficult in future.

I doubt we'll see anything more out there in the NFL than the VT and Mimi examples you posted there (although in their current forms they don't comply with NFL regulations) and they're not that far removed from the Pro-bowl uni's so I'd hardly call them revolutionary.

Of course what has the power to swing it is money. If Nike were to win the next NFL merchandising contract (and it were to run as long as the Reebok one has) then they may be able to force the NFL's hand slightly but I still dont see them being able to push it very far.

[Trevis Meseroll]

Would like to see something for the Buccaneers...

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

i want some ugly designs for the eagles, redskins and giants. thanks you.