DustDevil61's NHL

[jkrdevil]

Carolina Blue might not be a good idea for a team that plays next to NC State.

[DustDevil61]

OK, this was supposed to be up on Saturday, but because of one of those damn server/driver errors, it apparently wasn't put up.

When will those stop?

Anyways, here is my next concept--the Dallas Stars.

What's the same--The colors are virtually the same, as is the primary logo.

What's different--The green is a little lighter than before, and the gold is now more of a yellow-gold, hoping to give a little more pop when compared to the black. When doing the primary redesigns for the Stars, I had the late 1990s/early-mid 2000s jerseys in mind.

I used the "Dallas" script found on the current uniforms (I believe that another concept has done this, as well), and are straight, not arched. I also essentially put a star on each side of the jersey, as if hanging down from the "racing" stripe on the sleeves. Those racing stripes, if you haven't noticed, were based on the late Minnesota North Stars/early Dallas Stars home look.

I played with the helmets and their connection to the uniforms; that's why I made the stars on the jerseys to appear a little cut off at the top, thus making it as though the helmet was the top of the star. While not present in the home (the racing stripe on the sleeve is green, as is the star), this is especially apparent on the white road uniforms. The sleeve stripes are also green on both the home and the road uniforms, as the green stripe on the road uniform emphasizes the white a bit more.

The alternate is, what I would call in the truest sense of the term, a "faux-back:" A uniform based on an earlier design, but with some modifications. Again bringing up the initial Dallas Stars look, I made the body gold, with all the spaces in the stripes and numbers white. The number/stripe patterns on the alt. are (inside to out) black/white/green. The racing stripe's green trim has an additional, smaller white stripe for consistency with the rest of the uniform.

The main logo is the same, though the colors are flipped, as stars are far more likely to be yellow/gold/white than green (in fact, being a physics major that's into astronomy, no real star can actually be green, though that's besides the point), and there is a small white border on the script and logo. The alternate logo is an outline of Texas, with the pattern of the state flag inside, in the same color scheme as the Stars. The star on the Lone Star design is the same as that of the main logo, recolored to white. The logo on the alt. is colored black, with a white star and green trim.

The helmets have just a star on them, and not the logo. The pants are all plain black, though I wished that I put something on there. This is the finalized version of my first concept, but there could be some re-tooling and a second concept soon.

C+C, please!

[DustDevil61]

Double post, please disregard.

EDIT: Here's a question: Has there been any team in the recent NHL to have a helmet color for a non-white/non-white-equivalent (think Canucks' gold in that case) that's different from their pants color? I'm thinking about turning that home helmet green.

[Morgan33]

I'd say this is a good start. The Stars Pre-Edge jerseys were among the best in franchise history so Im glad your basing your design off them. That being said the striping along the shoulder yolk looks strange. It just cuts off the star outline for no reason. Consider revising this and you got a great set. Im not usually a fan of Gold jerseys but the alternate looks spot on.

[hockey week]

I see what you're getting at, combining all of the Dallas Stars jerseys, the shoulder stripes and the star stripes, but this one might be one of those "looks good on paper only" ideas. I think you should model this on a player (not that hard to do, find a decent photo and draw it overtop the player's jersey) to really get a good idea of what it looks like with the arms down and whatnot. Solid idea, just might need more presentation to really grasp how good this concept is.

[DustDevil61]

OK, the second concept is up, and here's the rundown:

What's the same--The basic design of the first, the color scheme, the logos, and the road and alternate's color patterns are both the same (the alt. jersey hasn't been changed at all).

What's different--I did what Morgo said, and dropped the extraneous sleeve stripes on both the home and the roads. I also recolored the home to better match the road's pattern; in other words, the sleeve stripe is black, as the road's is green.

I went against the traditional NHL grain and made the home helmet green (helmet being the same color as the home pants), to follow the road's (and my original) pattern in "topping" off the star on the jersey with a same-colored helmet.

I put a side stripe, not unlike the late Minnesota/early Dallas pants design, though it is simply green, and does not carry either stars or "Dallas" within them. I tried some variations to better match the road and alternate, but settled on keeping the same color scheme/pattern as the home in all cases.

C+C, please!

[JayLo1112]

I'd like to see the flag portion of the alt logo be straightened out, maybe coming down from the square portion of Texas at the top? and dumb down the size of that star too, that things huge and make it straight as well. other than that I don't really have too many complaints. I'm liking these two so far. The Hurricanes came out lookin' pretty sweet as well by the way.

[BrianVlietDesign]

I really like where you're going with this. Both the home and away uniforms are extremely unique and I don't think could be improved anymore. And even the third uniform looks pretty slick. Love what you did with the Texas flag in the state outline, by the way.

[Bigboy1083]

I was just wonder if you used the Hurricans new AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, as a reference for the alt.

[ChuckDownfield]

I was just wonder if you used the Hurricans new AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, as a reference for the alt.

Because they are both Carolina Blue?

Anyway, as far as the Stars concept goes, I really like it. There is only a couple things that I think could be improved. Mainly, I think there is too much green on the road jersey. I'm not sure how to fix it, it could be as simple as making the top sleeves white. Also, I think the pant stripes clash a bit with the side detail on the jersey. If I were you I would leave the pants without a stripe.

[DustDevil61]

Here is, what should be, one of the final modifications to the Stars design.

What's the same--Pretty much everything. The home and roads still hold the star pattern; the alt. hasn't been changed, either.

What's different--The pants striping has been changed to just have the bottom stripe. The star patterns have both been "stretched" to allow more green and white (home and road, respectively) on their respective jerseys. The side panels have been changed to give an idea of what the sides would look like (think if the sleeve was held up and was coming at you; I'm not too concerned to make it look too 3-D); the first 2 seemed to have a "slanting toward the middle" effect.

I also cleaned up my latest Hurricanes concept. The alt. logo now has square hurricanes flags, and also has a negative H, not unlike the Whalers logo. The fact that this H is Carolina Blue is not coincidental, either.

[DustDevil61]

==BUMP==

Well, I've already posted this Lightning concept over in the Lightning Concept Emporium, but I'll be shameless and plug it here:

What's the same--The colors Blue, Black, and White remain the Lightning's colors. The bolt on the pants is there, though there are likely small differences. The lightning-in-a-circle logo remains the primary logo. Victory stripes are right where they need to be--in the armpits of the jerseys, except the alternate.

What's different--First of all, I dropped the silver. Not that it makes the look bad, but to me, it clutters up the uniform colors just enough that I could do without it; if you ask me, a simple blue, black, and white scheme could stand on its own for Tampa Bay. Blue is the main color, as it will be next year, and this blue appears just a little bit "frostier" than the current blue the Lightning don. Don't worry, however; there is plenty of black to go around, as the pants are black in all cases, while the helmets are, except for the road, where they're white.

The home logo is more of a simple circle with a bolt coming out of it. It has the appearance of a rock band (super hero?) logo for some reason, but I feel that it gels well with the more traditional-looking design that I wanted the Lightning to sport. There's a big, black ring with s small blue ring that the blue "shadow" of the bolt extends to, while the white goes out to the innermost white ring.

As much as I love the actual upcoming shoulder patch logo (with black in there, of course), I felt that it was too redundant with this set, so I went with a variation of the TBL logo (upper left, here) for the alternate, threw a triangle on it vertex to match the bolt behind it, and got rid of the "L" portion of the logo, as I felt that the "TB" with the bolt on the "T" stood on its own better. I also flattened the top of the "T," as well.

The home is blue, but has the white shoulder portion as a call-back to the traditional Lightning look, with some black trim to it. The "TB" alt. logo is in black, trimmed in blue, there. The hem and sleeve stripes are a simple white/black/white/black/white, with the emphasis on white, to avoid looking a bit too much like the San Jose Sharks' current homes.

The road jersey is white, with the shoulder portion black, and the alt. logo the way it is shown large, again calling back to the traditional (pre-Edge) look Tampa Bay wore. Also, the hem and sleeve stripes have an emphasis on black and it in the middle (black/blue/black/blue/black) to avoid looking too much like the Sharks' white roadies.

The alternate is based on the 1990s alternate, and here's where the black comes out. I'm not a huge fan of those "stormy bay" alternates, but they did surprisingly look better in action than just sitting around. The alternate logo is the crest here, appearing as it does in the display. The rain is the main part (and the best part) of those "stormy bay" alts. to make it here, though they are just on the torso of the jersey and not the sleeves, as I felt that it would clutter the overall look. The sleeve stripes (racing-style) have lighting bolts coming down from the shoulder, somewhat similar to the late 1990s alternates. The current setup doesn't do much justice to their look on this image, so I provided a view from the top (in the upper-right rectangle). I thought about doing some wave-like designs on the bottom, but I felt that it would look more consistent with the overall package if I had a simple stripe on the bottom. That, and I didn't have a whole ton of time to whip this entire concept together (being a college student and all).

As always, C+C is appreciated!!

P.S.: I do plan on continuing this series, once school is out; I plan to do Colorado, Anaheim, and maybe Calgary next.

[Bmac]

I'm liking the Lightning set. That shade of blue is great, it stands out from black much better than the current shade. The home and road are solid, very consistent. The striping provides the simple, classic feel, while the logos and bolts on the pants provide a modern twist. And the colors are very well balanced. The only thing that bugs me is the number of outlines around the logo. It appears to be (from the center out) black, white, black, blue, black. I think that could be toned down a little. Anyhow, that alternate jersey is awesome. At first I assumed is was going to be overdone, but that is not the case. Great work!

[DustDevil61]

All right, here's my latest crack at the Lightning...

What's the same--Pretty much everything, except the main logo

What's different--I knocked off the outer black ring, along with the thin blue ring. Now, the bolt on the home has a somewhat "Bolt from the blue" effect, extending out to the edge of the main logo. The only blue in the main logo is the "shade" beneath the white bolt.

P.S.: There's a slight nitpick with the sock stripe--it's reversed from the jersey stripes. I'll get that fixed soon, for those who do actually care.

EDIT: Sock stripe fixed!

[nash61]

On the alt, instead of having one big bolt, go with two, like on the pants.

[GMW79]

On the alt, instead of having one big bolt, go with two, like on the pants.

That was the very first thing that came to my mind, too.

[DustDevil61]

On the alt, instead of having one big bolt, go with two, like on the pants.

On the alt, instead of having one big bolt, go with two, like on the pants.

That was the very first thing that came to my mind, too.

Actually, there are supposed to be 2 bolts, each coming down from the neck down the sleeves. The back image just looks like there's only one. Now, the thing I was thinking was to make each lightning bolt face the same way as the pants bolt.

I'll edit it to help clarify things...here it is. All that's been changed is that the shoulder bolts have been properly swapped to match the direction the pants bolts are facing:

[DustDevil61]

All right, so I lied...school isn't out yet. However, I've put up my next concept...the Colorado Avalanche.

What's the same--Burgundy remains the Avalanche's main color. The A logo remains the team's main insignia, while the Yeti foot remains an alternate/shoulder patch. The number font on the home and away jerseys remains the same, as does the arched player name. The pre-Edge pattern on the home and away makes its return.

What's different--First off, black is gone, replaced by a deep navy blue. Silver has also been dropped; I felt as though the lighter blue would do a good enough job in filling in for it. The "Steel Blue" has been lightened slightly towards a more powder blue color. The oval around the Yeti foot logo has been done away with, as I feel that it could "stand" on its own (pun intended) , and the color of the fur depends on what's the background color the logo is on. I'll get to the navy Colorado "C" logo later.

While I'm personaly sick of DBFDBS (double blue for double blue's sake, as with Florida's and Columbus' 3rds), I felt that two shades of blue would work really well for a team named the Avalanche. However, they don't ever really take any precedence over the burgundy, which the Avalanche almost have an exclusive stake in nowadays (and that's considering whether or not you consider Phoenix's red maroon or not; they may not even be in Phoenix come next year, as we all know). The equipment (helmet and pant shells) are all deep navy (except for the white road helmet), just as the Avs have worn (as far as I know) black helmets and shells since they first took the ice in Denver in 1995.

The main color difference between this and the pre-Edge jerseys is that the deep navy is the next prominent color on the home jersey, behind the burgundy. I really liked how well the burgundy and the navy looked together, so I went with this home combo, putting as much light blue anywhere else that I reasonably could. In retrospect, the homes look a little like Vancouver's navy/maroon, and the main crest kind of fades into the home background, though I feel it is still noticeable enough. The numbers, and their outlines, go in a (from inside outward) White/Deep Navy/Powder blue pattern. The sleeve colors go (from the burgundy to the navy) Burgundy/White/Powder Blue/Navy on the homes.

The road jerseys look the most like the pre-Edge design, following roughly the same color pattern as the pre-Edge, except with the navy blue instead of black. The number's coloring pattern goes from Navy/White/Powder Blue, while the sleeve pattern goes White/Powder/Navy/Burgundy.

One thing I've noticed (and love) about the Avalanche's identity is that their third has always been a more old-school design, so I wanted to keep that tradition going. With that in mind, I wanted to do another fauxback (like I did with Dallas), though I originally intended to stick with the franchise's history and do the original Quebec Nordiques (1972) uniforms (which I still find very underrated), in Avalanche colors.

As I played with this design, the idea of sticking with Colorado's NHL history, i.e., the NHL Colorado Rockies, grew on me. So I decided to go with a fauxback of the NHL Colorado Rockies, in Avalanche colors. Well, actually, the alternate is more of a hybrid of the Rockies and the current Avs third, as far as the shoulders are concerned (and the shoulders have a white outline, too). There's also an additional outlining navy stripe on the hem and sleeve stripes. I also loved how the old Rockies logo looked in the Avs colors that I also decided to go all out and have the "C" found in the state's flag (and was also present on the Rockies jerseys) as the shoulder patch, and also replicate the placement of the numbers on the sleeves reflect that. I think that I even managed to replicate the alternate's socks, in that their pattern copied the hem stripes. The numbers are navy with a simple white outline, being another difference between these jerseys and the hockey Rockies' jerseys.

I don't know if there's anything else to say, except that there's a slight mistake in the lack of the left shoulder patch on the back of on all three sets (I changed the template around to avoid that). C+C is appreciated, as always!!

[hockey week]

Recoloring the Rockies' logo defeats the purpose of it. The logo is the Colorado state flag, which is why, despite it's rigidness, works so well. For a reference, this is the Colorado state flag

without those colors, what's the point?

Also not a fan of the light blue, but that's just personal preference in this context.

[DustDevil61]

All right, here's my next 2 attempts at the Avalanche...

What's the same--The colors remain the same, the "A" and Yeti foot logos remain.

What's different--For both of these concepts, I went away from the Rockies recolor and made a recolor of the last 2 Colorado alternates, with the hem and sock pattern based loosely on the first burgundy alternate (though in navy and not black) and the burgundy shoulder from the current blue alternate. Both versions of the alternate are primarily light blue, and have the same number font as the rest of the set.

For the first, I thought that it was about time for the Yeti foot to finally appear on the front of an Avs jersey, so with the right recoloring to balance out the rest of the uniform, I did that.

For the second, I went with the diagonal "Colorado" script found on both alternates that the Avs used.

As always, C+C is appreciated!!