Creating Vintage Mascot Logos (UPDATE: Lipscomb)

[hettinger_rl 1,137]

Hey all, I started a thread in the Sport Logos forum about vintage college mascots (http://boards.sports...e-mascot-logos/) and it inspired me to take a look at a few colleges that didn't have that style of logo.

I started with my alma mater South Dakota State University; their previous logo was taken straight from Warner Bros. and in 2006 had to abandon it. This is the concept sketch that I came up with:


The body position was borrowed from NCSU, but the rest was either researched from SDSU or developed myself.


Next I turned my attention to SDSU's rival, USD. The coyotes had a Warner Bros. inspired mascot logo too. This is USD's concept sketch;


Again the body position was borrwed, this time from Navy, and the rest I came up with.

[pianoknight 2,778]

This is fantastic. One critique - it feels redundant with both the SD on his sweater and the SDSU on the hat. Maybe put "Jacks" on the hat?

Also, much respect to the SDSU program. You guys came and played in Lincoln a couple years ago and BROUGHT IT. Most Husker fans thought the game would be a cakewalk, but the Jackrabbits gave us a great game and played their hearts out, even though they ultimately lost.

[illwauk 422]

I'd choose one or the other monograms for the Coyote... preferably the USD one. Either way though... these are amazing! Can't wait to see them in color.

EDIT: By any chance, are you taking requests?

[TShaw528 28]

These are really cool!

[mattb6 577]

these are pretty sweet. And hand drawn! how long does it take you to finish these?

[pianoknight 2,778]

These pictures are a great source of inspiration, BTW: http://boards.sports...mily-portraits/

I love that old-timey feel. I'm not sure if you're limiting yourself to cartoony animal figures, but if you're up for a human mascot, I'd love to see your take on Herbie Husker.

[Spearhead 54]

Superb work hettinger! These have a definite retro look, particularly the Coyote leaning on the South Dakota U monogram. You should work these into real graphics shape.

Do more, I INSIST!

[lettercult 0]

good start on these. Looking forward to seeing them develop.

[Totems!! 56]

grew up in south dakota and your sdsu logo is fantastic. have always thought both state schools lacked decent logos and now that they're in the big leagues (division 1) they deserve better logos. good work

[hettinger_rl 1,137]

I'd choose one or the other monograms for the Coyote... preferably the USD one. Either way though... these are amazing! Can't wait to see them in color.

EDIT: By any chance, are you taking requests?

These pictures are a great source of inspiration, BTW: http://boards.sports...mily-portraits/

I love that old-timey feel. I'm not sure if you're limiting yourself to cartoony animal figures, but if you're up for a human mascot, I'd love to see your take on Herbie Husker.

these are pretty sweet. And hand drawn! how long does it take you to finish these?

I might do requests, but I'm trying to add an old-time logo to schools that don't or haven't had a decent one. I'm a middle school art teacher by trade, so I do these with the little spare time I have during the day. If I were to estimate the time spent on each; SDSU- 3.5 hrs, USD- 4 hrs, CU- 2 hrs.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

[jakemon08 8]

grew up in south dakota and your sdsu logo is fantastic. have always thought both state schools lacked decent logos and now that they're in the big leagues (division 1) they deserve better logos. good work

I don't know if you've seen them recently but they both do have good logos now. At least in my opinion.

[pianoknight 2,778]

Are you doing this JUST for teams that have a pre-existing "retro" feel, or any team?

Schools like Pitt, Notre Dame, Army, Ivy Leagues, have sort of that old school vibe already, and lots of history to drawn on. Schools with "Uber-modern" marketing images like Miami might be harder to pull off, but I think it could work.

[Spearhead 54]

hettinger, have you ever seen this South Dakota logo?

[Totems!! 56]

grew up in south dakota and your sdsu logo is fantastic. have always thought both state schools lacked decent logos and now that they're in the big leagues (division 1) they deserve better logos. good work

I don't know if you've seen them recently but they both do have good logos now. At least in my opinion.

[Totems!! 56]

ya guess i spoke out of place on sdsu's current logo as it is pretty good but the coyotes paw logo and current mascot logo are definitely lacking originality imo, this jacks concept is good though.

[hettinger_rl 1,137]

hettinger, have you ever seen this South Dakota logo?

Yes, but only on matchbooks. I also based my 1st try at USD off of this image:

[hettinger_rl 1,137]

Here's one I'm working on:

[hettinger_rl 1,137]

So I shifted my Jackrabbit a bit. Made him a bit more cheerful. I did use OSU's old beaver (you know the one that didn't look like a sweet potato) as a reference, but did the final product come out too close to Benny?

[hettinger_rl 1,137]

A vintage style wolf.

[hettinger_rl 1,137]

Since I had no opposition to the Jack head I went ahead and attached it to my previous jack's body. This is the result.