University of Maine Black Bears Logo Update: Update #5 (2/10/15)

[MDGP]

As a Mainer, I'm a huge fan of U Maine Black Bears hockey. While I do like their logo, I do admit that it is a tad bit outdated. Unlike my UMass Lowell rebrand, I wanted to keep the logo pretty much the same.

Here's the original:

And the updated version:

and for those of you who will point out that it isn't Black:

And here's what it looks like on different backgrounds:

Hit me with some C+C!

[kbaker19]

I like the bear looks much better black than the dual blues. Nice, simple update. I like it.

[drdougfresh]

I would revisit the eye/cheek coloring. White for the pupils works okay, but I'd change the rest of the eye/cheek color -- there's not a clear visual break between the contours of the face and the eyes, so it's lacking some definition, IMO. Definitely a nice start, though!

[roldy54]

Great start! The shape of the logo looks miles better than the original. I do think the eyes/nose outline could use some work, though

[jaha32]

Maine has truly one of the most atrocious logos any college could have, so it is in definite need of an upgrade. Style-wise, you are on the right track but, the snout looks more like a mustache than anything else to me. I don't know if it's the snout or the round head shape, but certain things about this look more cat-like than bear-like. Also, the ears seem to be too far to the side of the head. Like Dr.Doug said, the eyes need reworked. The white part around the eyes is throwing off the entire logo, so try getting rid of that white and add a darker color around the eyes. I would suggest not even using the real Maine logo as a reference, because it is truly that bad.

If you put in a little more time making some edits to this, you could end of with something that would make a nice bear logo. You already have a nice vicious expression on the face, which beats the somewhat sleepy eyed bear in the real Maine logo.

[ujju2]

The white outlines for the eyes need to be thinner. Looks great otherwise.

[dunbar]

Current UMaine student here, and I really like the work. I think the shape of the head is perfect, though I prefer the colors and shading of the current bear head better. Maybe it's the eyes and nose, otherwise a great start. As long as you don't touch this...

...you'll be fine. Fill the Steins to you...

[FUNKAFIED]

I like the black one, but negative-space eyes don't work for me. That has to change. Maybe try light blue irises? I like the shorter block "MAINE" also.

Go Blue.

[Big A HG]

I really like your UML update, but I prefer the original Maine logo.

[MDGP]

Hey, guys. Thank you so much for the comments! They've been extremely helpful. I've gone back and made some edits based on the C+C, so without further ado, here's the second round of logos.

CHANGES:

-Fixed the eyes. As all of you guys said, it didn't look right. I wasn't really a fan when I posted it, and the comments helped me figure out the direction I wanted to go in with those. Eyes maintain the same shape, but don't connect to the cheek stripe.

-Removed the cheek stripe. Simply put, it was unnecessary, and cluttered things up.

-Head shape. Special thanks to Jaha on this one. I went back and made it less circular, and accented the jaw more. The snout is also made taller (and the actual mouth slightly smaller) so it won't look like a mustache anymore (that was another issue I thought would arise). The ears are also higher up on the head, to more accurately reflect the ears of an actual black bear. Also sharpened the teeth

-General cleaning of the stripes. I originally had the patterning being more jagged throughout the head, but I decided to go back and clean it up to make it a bit less visually jarring.

Here's the black version as well as non-wordmark versions.

EDIT: Here's my updated script as well.

...And the original for comparison.

Let me know what you guys think of the updates! Go Blue! (but not Michigan, they suck)

[FUNKAFIED]

Updated black version = very yes. I would add a fourth hockey jersey to my collection with this logo.

[Jake88]

Yeah, it looks a LOT better. My only problem with it is that I wish the Dark blue eyes and light blue nose were switched, so the eyes would pop more and the nose be more subtle.

[MDGP]

A bump with a concept of the hockey jerseys with the updated script and both versions of the logo on the shoulder

HOME

ROAD

[MDGP]

Well, after examining the second version of the logo, I wasn't entirely happy with how it turned out, so I went back and made some more edits that were somewhat major.

(click to zoom)

UPDATED FEATURES:

-Wider Head

- Snout raised

-Snout is now asymmetric

-Major eye alterations

-Angrier overall look

-Jaw opened and widened

-Shaggier fur returned

It's a little rough at the moment mostly due to my problem:

The issue is in the eyes. I'm having a bit of trouble getting the pupils to right. Whenever I do it, the bear either looks like it is looking up, or they no longer look like eyes. I'm not really looking to go for the look I have right now, and I was hoping someone might have some general tips for animal pupils that might help me figure out the direction to go in.

As always, C+C is encouraged.

[jdp]

Maybe just one big pupil (or iris, however you prefer to look at it). I would leave about 25 percent of the sclera (whites of the eyes).

Bears have relatively small eyes and round pupils, but I feel like the pupils here need to be disproportionately larger.

[NH4]

You're doing a great job. The problem is just the eyes. Maybe see how pupils would work.

[TheOneAndOnlyMau]

This is pretty nice man. The recent edits youve made are definitely an improvement. Id experiment with adding some slight definition to the ears as well, they seem a little flat. Im also digging the black/gray version more than the two toned blue. The eyes, however, still need some work. Right now it looks like a zombie bear - which is kinda badass but also weird at the same time. Mess around with the eyes and youve got a really great logo here.

BTW saw youre at PSU too. Good luck finishing up the semester

[FUNKAFIED]

The black version of the new bear head is still the best. I wish I could help you with the eyes. Have you looked at the Houston Thunderbears logo? Kind of an unusual eye design but..

[MDGP]

After months of tweaking and failing, and tabling this, I'm back with my newest update to the logo. There are two versions, with the only difference being pupil/ sclera size.

The first is the larger pupil/smaller sclera. This one is only in black because the eye didn't work with the double blue bear. This one seems a bit more passive to me.

Version 2 has a smaller pupil, and makes the double blue bear an option (I still like having it as an option at this stage). I feel like this makes the bear look a bit more angry than in the first one.

(Click to enlarge)

Changes from Update #3:

- Added Pupils

- Added Ear detail

- Fur tweak

- Eye shape tweak

You guys know how it works, C+C it up.

[derschwigg]

The contrast in the fur is great, but you've got a touch too much detail in the eyes - which are already a bit too big to begin with. It comes across more bearcub than bear.

It could be the overall shape, too. Adult bears have a bit of extra "fluff" near the jaw line.

If I were you, I'd:

1) shrink the eyes, and move them down (or move the snout up) to be about the same level.

2) beef up the lower cheek/jowl area (you can make an illusion of this by shrinking the mouth down a little bit)

3) straighten the teeth a tad. They're a bit too arch-like right now.