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Really interested in this league, super excited for another baseball series here on the board! Super intrigued about how you're going to incorporate Japanese and American baseball customs, as well as the general national cultures, into this fictional country.
As for the teams....
The Senators look is extemely weak. The logo is far too similar to the league logo (which I understand that both are based off of the flag, but the Washington Senators in our own timeline created their own visual identity distinct from the country.) The fact that both the league and team use the rising sun shows a lot of favoritism in the league, and insinuates something a little shady going on (I'm here for it if you're going to make that a storyline, but if not then that's something that needs to be fixed). Dark Royal on an almost Cardinal is never a good idea, as the colors bleed together from far distances. The "The Senators" wordmark is extremely weak and is historically inaccurate, as a letter is cut in half from laying over top of the overlapping layers. Because that's a poor explanation, here's what is mean
Which one of those is not like the other?
The number font is also not era-appropriate, but it's also bad. Replace it with a standard block, McAuliffe, or the Dodgers front number font. Sidenote: The template you're using comes with a vest option Right now the uniform just looks like a set-in jersey cut with colored sleeves.
The Carp are better, but two things stick out to me. The first is how unbalanced the logo is when single color, and the second is how bright everything is. There were simply not the innovations necessary to produce that saturated a uniform color (the blue, I mean. The orange is fine, i guess). I'd see at maybe changing that blue to a sky or something else entirely, and also toying with the CA logo a bit.
Super excited to see how this progresses, however! Can't wait for the next team!
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Everyone, thank you for your comments. I absolutely agree on all fronts, the Sens and Carp will receive changes soon. The Carp in particular will begin to use white on the away jersey.
H-Town, I'd like to go a little more in-depth on your comment because you took the time to explain. I wanted to use some national imagery and as of now only I really only have the rising sun (which I should rectify soon), so both the team and the league leaning into it made sense to me. I don't see myself changing it, with all things said, most likely the league's logo will be revised. I hadn't thought about potential league/team collaborations, but that's a clever idea and I might utilize it later. As for the overlap, you're 100% correct and it completely slipped my mind. I'd done some work to try and make this close to historically accurate and managed to screw up one of the most basic things! That'll be fixed really soon. As for the number font, again, you're correct, I'll find some new block fonts to work with for now. As for the vest, I'm actually using the vest option, maybe I wasn't doing it properly? I'll take a look at that as I make the updates. With the Carp, I think I'm gonna have to keep it that color despite historical inaccuracy. The color is important to the province and I think it looks awesome. The logo will also see some touch-ups over time, but it's another thing I like and will stay around in some for or another. Thanks for the comments and I'll get started on some updates that should fix these issues!
Quick Edit: If you have suggestions for specific fonts, I'd love to hear them. I don't have the money to buy certain fonts, but for whatever reason I'm having trouble finding new classic block fonts. Thanks in advance!
That said, I do have another team for you guys while I update the Sens and review my other teams to fix some issues. The "Second City" of Robin Island, Shinōsaka!
About Shinōsaka:
Shinōsaka is the second-most populous city in the country (after Shinkyō) and is the center of Japanese culture in Robin Island. Shrines and torii gates dot the landscape and often one can see people in kimono headed to a festival to play games and decompress after a long work day. Many Robin Island movies are filmed in studios found in and around Shinōsaka and it hosts Universal Studios Robin Island. Every sport is popular in Shinōsaka and it hosts the league headquarters of the Kurotorijima Pro Football Association (KPFA), the highest league of soccer in the country.
About the Identity:
Formerly known as Shrike Baseball Club (after the auto company Shrike which owned the team), when the team relocated to Shinōsaka for the RIBF, they took on the new name "Shinosaka Shrikes" to comply with the government's request that teams take their name from the city. The logo itself is a colored version of the auto company's crest, with colors taken straight from a shrike. As the only other team to utilize pinstripes, Shinosaka is unique even then by placing them on the away jersey as well. The home uses black pinstripes and the logo on the chest, similar to Aorin. The away jersey is tan (also with black stripes) with "Shinosaka" in arched text across the chest. The cap is tan with a black bill (like a shrike) with a solid-color version of the logo. The pants are a clean white with black stripes and the socks are tan stirrups.
About the Team:
Ryota Fujimori is the son of Masato Fujimori, the owner of Shrike, the foremost auto company in Robin Island. He's received his father's blessing to invest in the team and league and is passionate about the team. They will play in Shinosaka Memorial Field, a 27,650-seat stadium built to help revitalize the economy after World War II. It was opened in 1948 and is one of the larger stadiums in the league. The two top players on the Shrikes are CF Michito Suzuki and P Kiyoshi Abe. Shinosaka is expect to be average this year, with preseason predictions placing them at an even .500.
Last edited by QCS (6/09/2020 7:36 pm)
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After several complaints about visibility and production issues, both the Shinkyō Senators and Aorin Carp have quickly updated their jerseys. These early prototypes will become incredibly rare collector's items in 60 years.
The Senators fixed their home wordmark and added a white outline around the road jersey wordmark and number, as well the cap. The number font was changed as well.
After the in-house uniform supplier complained about the shade of blue the Carp had planned on using, it was darkened to make production less expensive. Officially, the bright blue is still used and is planned on being the official jersey color as soon as possible. Additionally, anytime the logo is on a blue background the "A" becomes white and a white outline is placed around the "C" as well as the numbers on the away.
The league itself has come under fire for its own logo's resemblance to the Shinkyo Senators' logo. Commissioner Aoyama stated that while no changes would be taking place yet, the league is committed to revising it in the offseason to help assuage fears that the Sens would be receiving preferential treatment. He apologized for the inconveniences created by the problematic first identity reveals and thanked fans for their comments and help in correcting the mistakes. "These mistakes will not be made again!", proclaimed Aoyama.
In the meantime, Joestar finally was able to unveil their uniforms.
About Joestar:
Joestar isn't very large compared to other Robin Island cities, but it's larger than Toramoto-shi (by about 10,000 people) and that's all that matters to the citizens of Joestar. The two cities have been rivals even before the provinces of Araki and Toramoto existed, due to their opposing natures and position on the river delta. Joestar and Toramoto-shi, like Daishinkyō and Koshinkyō, often fight over who gets funding and control of bridges over the river and the federal government usually has to step in. Joestar and Toramoto-shi might be the two most passionate cities for sports in the entire country, with ownership groups from one often demanding that a team from the other city be created so that the two can square off. The resulting viewership and attendance is gangbusters for sports leagues and so they usually create the two in pairs. Joestar's citizens don't what sport they watch as long as they're beating Toramoto-shi.
About the Identity:
Crusaders was selected by owner Hikari Mizuno because of its powerful meaning and because of how easy it is to say in Japanese (「クルセイダーズ」, Kuruseidaazu). The color scheme is Araki Purple and White, included to refer to the holy nature of crusaders. It also perfectly counters Toramoto's Toramoto Orange and Black, just another reason for the two to clash. The jerseys are clean and simple, with a white and purple shirt reading "Crusaders" and "Joestar", respectively. The pants feature a purple stripe running down them while the stirrups are plain purple. The cap features the primary logo with an extra white outline.
About the Team:
Hikari Mizuno, as part of energy company Golden Power, actually has business ties in San Moriuchi, but is a Joestar native and adores the city and its rivalry with Toramoto-shi. The team will play in Joestar Memorial Stadium, completed in 1949 and seating 23,121 (one more than Toramoto's stadium does). The two players to look for on the Crusaders are RF Yutaka Inouye and P Hisanori Furukawa. The team is projected to finish 3rd in the SBL, just under .500 (and fittingly tying Toramoto).
NEXT: Toramoto
Last edited by QCS (6/10/2020 11:47 am)
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Hell yea on the updates! I love how you created in-character explanations as to why you made these changes, and the changes you made were extremely solid. The new shade of blue is great and doesn't compromise design while also being probably a color closer to real-life production standards of the time period.
Shinosaka is really great, and although I'd hope for a bird more aligned with the birds on uniforms at the time (Orioles and Cardinals), the current look will suffice. I would say that the cream/sand/whatever color away uniform is good, but would be much better with corresponding color pants.
I see where you've run into the problem of "not enough block fonts" with Joestar. My suggestion: just make em up and hand align them! This process, although more tedious, allows for a more classic feel. You can use a current NOB font as the base and play with it from there, or just start with a modified grid type thing and go from there. Hell, you could just use an NOB font for just about any MLB team (there are a bunch made from the mid aughts easily downloadable online, but you know that. I can share a file I got from SFG58 is you need it.) As for the design itself, I once again think the color is too saturated, I'd suggest something like either #443384 or something extremely dark. It's more realistic to the types of purples produced during the period without becoming extremely desaturated or bleh. Also, if you have the time or energy, I strongly suggest working on script logos by hand instead of just going to a font. It takes practice, but right now I have a bunch of concepts for my Association project that look so much better because I drew them out first and cleaned em up in a vector program.
Last edited by H-Town1141 (6/10/2020 1:22 am)
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All the updates look great, the Carp somehow got even better.
Joestar looks good, I like the bright color scheme and the logo has a classic feel to it.
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Excellent updates, particularly to the Carp. I still think the Senators script could be thickened, but the Yankees vibe is still there so it works.
I like the Shrikes. Very unique color scheme. I think the logo could use a black outline, and I wished the full logo was on the cap instead of the single color version. Could be future changes.
Joestar looks good. I tend to agree with H-Town on the color hue. I think it's too bright. Something a little softer and darker might lend more toward the era.
Nice work!
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Directly after receiving heat for two botched unveilings, the RIBF has once again come under heat for jersey production issues. This time it was Joestar, who put out a press statement claiming that the issue was caused by a low-level worker selecting the wrong shade of purple from the internal style guide. They assured the press that the worker had been fired for their transgression and once again reiterated that this wouldn't happen again.
The Crusaders have put out a corrected statement, with the purple darkened on all counts. Other than that, no changes were made.
While the Crusaders were feeling some heat for their mistake, their rival in Toramoto-shi took the opportunity to present their own jerseys.
About Toramoto-shi:
Toramoto-shi and Joestar share a lot of charact eristics. Both cities are home to plenty of landmarks, often built in an attempt to out-do the other city. Joestar was home to the largest Buddhist temple in the country until Toramoto-shi built a larger one about ten years later. Despite the many petty squabbles that Joestar and Toramoto-shi get in to, they both exercise massive control over the Sugiyama River delta, with shipping empires living and dying based on how well they can play both sides of the river. Fortunately, both Toramoto-shi and Joestar use this power for good to ensure fair shipping rates and excellent pay for the workers living in the cities. Toramoto-shi adores any team that's able to beat Joestar, especially their own.
About the Identity:
The name of "Tigers" came about from the province/city's own name, which means "Tiger Origin" in English. The colors were obviously selected to represent a tiger, with the logo taking a "T" and embellishing it with the three tiger stripes of the Toramoto flag. The jerseys are something unique in the league with their split-color design. The home jersey uses orange and black on alternating sides of the shirt, while the away is orange with white and black alternating. The pants are the same, with orange on one side and black on the other. The socks and cap are the only thing that aren't split, with both using all-orange. The orange was darkened on the jerseys out of concern for production, however the official orange can be seen in the logo.
About the Team:
Trey Tachibana is the owner of Boreas, a defense company based in Ft. Hayakawa, Toramoto. He's not the richest owner in the league but he does enjoy the game and thinks that his investment will be worth it as long as he can build a winning team. The team will play in Toramoto Memorial Park, built in 1948 like other memorial stadiums. The capacity is 23120 (one less than Joestar). The team isn't predicted to win the SBL, but should be at last competitive and finish just under .500, fittingly tying Joestar. Two players to watch on the Tigers are 3B Toyo Nakajima and P Akira Yamaguchi.
NEXT: Shinkyo RBL
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H-Town1141 wrote:
Hell yea on the updates! I love how you created in-character explanations as to why you made these changes, and the changes you made were extremely solid. The new shade of blue is great and doesn't compromise design while also being probably a color closer to real-life production standards of the time period.
Shinosaka is really great, and although I'd hope for a bird more aligned with the birds on uniforms at the time (Orioles and Cardinals), the current look will suffice. I would say that the cream/sand/whatever color away uniform is good, but would be much better with corresponding color pants.
I see where you've run into the problem of "not enough block fonts" with Joestar. My suggestion: just make em up and hand align them! This process, although more tedious, allows for a more classic feel. You can use a current NOB font as the base and play with it from there, or just start with a modified grid type thing and go from there. Hell, you could just use an NOB font for just about any MLB team (there are a bunch made from the mid aughts easily downloadable online, but you know that. I can share a file I got from SFG58 is you need it.) As for the design itself, I once again think the color is too saturated, I'd suggest something like either #443384 or something extremely dark. It's more realistic to the types of purples produced during the period without becoming extremely desaturated or bleh. Also, if you have the time or energy, I strongly suggest working on script logos by hand instead of just going to a font. It takes practice, but right now I have a bunch of concepts for my Association project that look so much better because I drew them out first and cleaned em up in a vector program.
I'm glad you like the updates! Almost every "production issue" color will get changed back to its original shade later in the timeline, but for now realism wins out. The Shrikes will eventually get matching color pants (the color is tan, by the way) and the bird will also be touched up down the line as well. I just realized that the first 5 teams have all used the same NOB font, which is both a problem and also a little quirk I kinda like. The remaining 5 shouldn't have these issues. As for the MLB NOBs, I'd love to have those. It was common for Japanese teams to copy MLB teams and I think that would obviously translate to Robin Island as well. I'll PM you for them. You'll begin to see more scripts later on as well. The Carp in particular will receive a script mark, but I expect for most teams to utilize them eventually.
Section30 wrote:
All the updates look great, the Carp somehow got even better.
Joestar looks good, I like the bright color scheme and the logo has a classic feel to it.
Thanks! The changes to the Carp's logo applications really elevated the set in my opinion.
Steelman wrote:
Excellent updates, particularly to the Carp. I still think the Senators script could be thickened, but the Yankees vibe is still there so it works.
I like the Shrikes. Very unique color scheme. I think the logo could use a black outline, and I wished the full logo was on the cap instead of the single color version. Could be future changes.
Joestar looks good. I tend to agree with H-Town on the color hue. I think it's too bright. Something a little softer and darker might lend more toward the era.
Nice work!
Thanks! I'll definitely touch up the Sens' script. The Shrikes will be getting changes down the line to separate them from the car company, and that includes the logo. Hopefully the Joestar changes worked out.
Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I actually have every team done, but I wanted to space out the reveals a bit. However, the feedback I've been getting has made me go back and fix the rest of them, as well! These issues shouldn't happen again. I'm excited to keep this league going!
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I really like the updated to the Carp. They went from a "I like this team a lot" to "I REALLY like this team a lot".
I love the mismatched numbers on the Tigers. It's such a fun, unique thing. I can see it changing in the future to be all one color, but I'm all in on that look.
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Nice work so far! I'd say my favorite so far is the Crusaders, as the darkened purple really made the set for me (or the fact I appreciate the JJBA references )
The Tigers' mismatching wordmark and numbers are pretty unique. The only thing I have is that the logo kind of gets lost on the cap color-wise. Besides that minor thing it's a great look.