Missouri Fighting Trumans

[knnhrvy16]

Hey guys!

I sketched out a logo and script yesterday for a fictional baseball team, and thought I should share and get some feedback. Had alot of downtime yesterday because of canceled class, so I got to work on an idea that'd been brewing in my head for some time.

If you know your American history, you're well aware of 'ol Harry S. Truman. The President of the United States from 1945-1953, he was a proud Missouran (Missourian?). Known for his strong will and tell-it-like-it-is personality, Truman gained a reputation as a leader who would "fight" for what he believed was right.

Thus, the idea of the Missouri Fighting Trumans was born.

As for now, the logo and script are only sketches. I haven't decided on a color scheme quite yet (I'm leaning towards a double blue, in homage to Truman's affiliation with the Democratic party), and I'm still brainstorming the rest of the package. For now, I just wanted to show you guys what I have so far, just so you all get a feel for what I'm working towards.

Without further ado, here it is:

Pretty simple, it's Truman with boxing gloves. I was going to do a full-body version, but I found that the logo as it is now is well balanced and works as it is. There was no real inspiration to the script, it just kind of formed itself as I drew it.

A note on the eyes, I made them much bigger than normal on purpose, to replicate the appearance of Truman's eyes when he wore his thick glasses (he had terrible eyesight).

Here's the picture I used for loose inspiration:

I'm really excited about this one. I don't recall ever posting any of my sketches before, so I'm excited to show you all what I can really do with a pencil and notepad, rather than just a computer.

I'd love to hear all of your thoughts on this one! C&C is much appreciated, and thanks for viewing!

[undead]

I'm so excited to see this idea develop. I love zany ideas like this one. Really nice sketch and corresponding wordmark. Double blue would work good for the Dems.

Thanks for sharing.

[rcb05]

Love this! I honestly don't have any criticism. Shockingly, the head/gloves totally works without the body.

You've got some talent man. Make sure to post the final product when it's complete.

[CJworks]

Really diggin' the style here, seems to mimic Plan B.'s work. Very nice rendering. The only things I could suggest is to keep your line weight relatively even: your lines on the glasses are super thin compared to the gloves, for example. They could settle as a solid line.

Otherwise, you've got this down, man. Love where it's going. It would make an excellent portfolio piece if you do consider to go that route.

[nash61]

Red should be part of the colour scheme in some form, because that's the colour that your gloves will be (or brown)

For an alternate mark, think hanging Red Sox, and do something similar with the gloves.

[knnhrvy16]

Thanks so much for the comments guys!

Undead - Thanks for the input! Glad you enjoyed it.

rcb05 - I'll definitely be sure to post the final product. Thanks!

CJ - I appreciate the input regarding the lines, that was something giving me a little bit of trouble. And Plan B is actually one of my biggest inspirations regarding my most recent work, so good catch! Thanks for the comments.

Nash - I really like that suggestion a lot. I'll have to get to work on sketching something like that. Thanks!

Alright everyone, I've got some color scheme options to ask your opinion on. Now, these aren't what I've narrowed it down to by any means, as I'm totally open to new ideas. These are just a few I had in my head:

- Navy/Powder

- Navy/Royal

- Royal/Powder

- Navy/Red

- Royal/Red

- Royal/Red/Navy

And if you have any other ideas, please, by all means, feel free to suggest them.

Thanks again guys!

[UnclearInitial]

Love the logo, didn't think the gloves would work, but they do. While I like the idea for the script, but I hate how the underline sprouts from the S. Something like the Brewers script would look better, with the end of the S going around and forming the underline.

For an alt, maybe a Dewey Defeats Truman newspaper?

[LEWJ]

This is beautiful.

I would, as CJWorks suggests, keep the line weight relatively consistent.

Also, right now it looks as though he is posed to fight, not actually fighting. I would either add something to make it appear as though he is fighting/boxing, or rotate the gloves to mimic a boxer's hands while in a boxer's stance.

[Gfonk04]

That's pretty rad! It'll be fun to see this develop.

So far as using blue for the Democrats, while that's true now, it's not historically accurate, prior to 2000, the Dems were generally depicted in red and the GOP in blue, but there really wasn't a rule. Generally left-leaning parties were red and right wing parties were blue before the 2000 election, but really it was up to whoever was drawing the electoral map to color the parties as they saw fit.

I think red would be a good primary color for a couple of reasons, politics aside. The boxing gloves, obviously, lend themselves to red, but also Truman was an officer in the field artillery, and the official color of the artillery is scarlet. Red with tan and some navy blue would look fairly martial and fit with both the team name and an unofficial Truman motto: "Give 'em Hell, Harry!"

Here's the battle flag of the aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman, which incorporates some imagery from his days in the Army and the Give 'em Hell motto:

So far as the wordmark goes, think about maybe looping the bottom of the "s" to then run out and underline the name.

Quick aside: Shouldn't the team name be the "Fightin' Trumen?" Grammar and all that.

[floydnimrod]

Love those old cartoon character-style eyes. Makes it great.

I'd love to see either Navy/Powder or Navy'Red, with some off white mixed in, to give it that old cartoon feel.

Can't wait to see the finished product.

[oaklandhusker]

That's pretty rad! It'll be fun to see this develop.

So far as using blue for the Democrats, while that's true now, it's not historically accurate, prior to 2000, the Dems were generally depicted in red and the GOP in blue, but there really wasn't a rule. Generally left-leaning parties were red and right wing parties were blue before the 2000 election, but really it was up to whoever was drawing the electoral map to color the parties as they saw fit.

I think red would be a good primary color for a couple of reasons, politics aside. The boxing gloves, obviously, lend themselves to red, but also Truman was an officer in the field artillery, and the official color of the artillery is scarlet. Red with tan and some navy blue would look fairly martial and fit with both the team name and an unofficial Truman motto: "Give 'em Hell, Harry!"

But think about the average American. Imagine this were going to be a real team. Putting a team named after Truman in red uniforms would leave Joe Schmo scratching his head, thinking, "but I thought Truman was a DEMOCRAT!"

Therefore, even if red makes more sense historically, I would say use blues, and use red as a logo-only color on the gloves.

[oaklandhusker]

Aw, . Double post.

[nash61]

I'd actually suggest using brown for the gloves and as your secondary colour. Blue and Red and Blue and Powder are way too overused. Consider this for colouring and your secondary logo.

[Somppi]

amazing sketch, can't wait to see a colored version

I'd like to see more of your work, you obviously have a lot of talent

[pianoknight]

This is fantastic.

Random factoid - during the Bush elections, a bunch of friends wore shirts that read:

GEORGE * W * BUSH

With star logos where the asterisks are. Missouri-born and the wise-ass that I am, I had a shirt made that reads:

HARRY * S * TRUMAN

It was pretty funny.

[CAB]

I love this. There's nothing I can really add anything else that hasn't been said. Make the glasses one stroke and flip the gloves around and I'd say you have a winner. Can't wait to see how this translates onto the computer. Great work here.

[jaha32]

This has a lot of potential. I like the font a lot too. The boxing gloves might need some work so they dont just look like big blobs, but we'll have to wait and see once you make this sketch into a logo.

[KCScout76]

I agree there is a lot of potential - our high school got beat in football this year by Truman Patriots of Independence, MO.