School Logo

[StPatty33]

*see below for some sketch updates to the logo

Hello, all!

As is quite often the case, I've been on a bit of a hiatus from CCSLC. I'm now going back to school for design and getting out of contact center management (blech!), so I should be frequenting here much more!

The reason I'm here today is for a bit of feedback in regards to a mascot design I'm working on. Through various contacts, an online, military-related school has asked me to present some mascot concepts (I'm pretty sure they're set on an Eagle for the mascot, for obvious reasons). This is a quick design of my initial thoughts. Some things to keep in mind when whipping up some feedback:

·The wings and the head are the only things I've spent much time on--hence the lack of legs and the quick tail thrown on there

·Are the wings too 'tribal'? I didn't want them to be plain--sort of a cross between real Eagles wings and the very stylized version of wings that the Air Force logo uses

·What about the head? To me it was the most finished looking portion--specifically the beak, eye, and overall shape of the head worked for me almost instantly

I'd greatly appreciate your feedback. It's early in the design phase for this one, I was just hoping for feedback on the overall idea and concept, to make sure it's worth refining

Thanks!

*Update 6.9.10*

[gordie_delini]

is that bird being put through a ringer? Way too narrow at the mid section, and your head is huge. Overall in general the proportions are off and the wings don't match the style of the head and tail. This one needs to go through some major sketching phases before being put into digital format.

[StPatty33]

Yeah I realized as soon as I posted this that the head was way too big--I hadn't seen it zoomed out enough to really notice that, haha. Point well taken!

[andrewharrington]

Honestly, it seems a little bit curvy and feminine for a military school. I would start over with a more rigid style, but that's just me.

[WNDUP FX]

I agree. It's overly rounded and not very rugged looking. I like the wings and the eagles head, but it doesn't say military school to me, more so a lovable cartoon character here to teach us about the benefits of wildlife preservation.

[rtrich11]

I don't have a problem with the curves, but do agree the wings need to be thicker where they hit the body.

But still, an online military school? Is that a joke? How is that possible?

[chestnutz]

I think from the head/wings up it looks great. Once you get to the bottom of the blue body though, it just needs some major reworking. Make it more rigid and, sharp, tough and I think you'd be well on yoru way.

Also, reminded me totally of this when I first saw it:

[Brave-Bird 08]

is that bird being put through a ringer? Way too narrow at the mid section, and your head is huge. Overall in general the proportions are off and the wings don't match the style of the head and tail. This one needs to go through some major sketching phases before being put into digital format.

I never ever try to make perverted comments on these boards...but...

THATS WHAT SHE SAID!

[StPatty33]

I appreciate the feedback, everyone! I agree that it's not nearly as rigid enough for a military-related school. To be honest I love working in Illustrator and have spent far less time over the last 6 or 7 years sketching than I should. I decided to take Gordie's advice and sketch more to get a more solid foundation. I've got another couple ideas to show you--scanning them now. I'll post them in a bit. Thanks again for your feedback!

[WNDUP FX]

I think from the head/wings up it looks great. Once you get to the bottom of the blue body though, it just needs some major reworking. Make it more rigid and, sharp, tough and I think you'd be well on yoru way.

Also, reminded me totally of this when I first saw it:

Yes! Thank you. The comparison to another logo was right there, but I couldn't place it. The head also reminds me of a cartoon eagle that I can see in my mind, but don't recall the name of.

[StPatty33]

Alright, here are some sketch updates I worked out, starting off with just an adjustment of the wing and tail:

I think this makes it a bit more angular and less feminine, not sold on the tail yet though--was just trying to see if I could make it a similar style to the wings.

This next one is more of a profile, which makes it more rigid as well, and with the head angle I could see just the head itself being a secondary logo or something:

I like the layout of this one. The tail folds and highlights are definitely not right as is, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what to do with the other foot.

This last one is a completely different pose, and I REALLY like as a logo, but I'm not sure if it's just right for a military-esque school mascot as is:

Again, the tail lowlights aren't right I know, the head seems a little smooth textured (I may go with the feather flips like on the other heads). I'm not sure exactly how to execute where the tail meets the body--to me it seems like the perspective is slightly from the side rather than profile when I look at the tail.

Anyway, again any and all feedback is appreciated. Each time I go to sketch something I plan to do just a tasteful silhouette, but I don't think a bird silhouette (without a white head) is an obvious enough 'eagle'. As for similar-looking logo's like DC United, that's a common pose for eagles and birds on coins and in armed services and other "national" things, which is why I chose the pose--so yeah, it'll have similarities but it's definitely not a rip-off of anything. I'm 99% sure I've never even seen the DC United logo, haha.\

Thanks again!

[StPatty33]

Vectored version of my favorite sketch from above. The head will probably have some gray shading like the tail has, some of the angles (like on the beak and the claw) are a bit rough, and I may still 'feather' the transition between the white head and blue body. Other feedback?

[StPatty33]

Hmm, your latest logo seems to be going through an identity crisis. It wants to be a modern logo, but looking more like a simplistic logo. The wings don't match the tail/ (soon to be) head shading. Also a thicker white outline around the wings might help the logo a tad bit more.

I see what you mean--the issue is that the white parts have to have outlines, simplistic logo or not, and when you add outlines, it looks like a cheesy blank white area if you don't add some highlights and lowlights. Like I said before, I'd love to make just like a silhouette logo, but it doesn't look like an eagle without the white head--once you make the head white it's not a silhouette. Thanks for your feedback.

[StPatty33]

Thanks again for the feedback everyone--I'm still working on trying to get a unifying style together for this. Any thoughts on which of the designs/sketches has the best form (which one I should focus on)?

[Davidson]

you want to take a look at some of the angles that the default illustrator outline has put on parts of the bird. on the inside of the beak it make a hard angle instead of a curve and there are some sharp edges on the feet. looks nice tho.