Kevin W.'s sports art emporium

[Kevin W.]

One of my hobbies, on par with science fiction, is sports uniform design. I can't draw a logo for shit but what I can do is whip up a uniform using existing logos, and it's something I like to do a lot. I'm posting this here, of course, instead of the Fan Art forum since that forum does say it's specifically devoted to Star Trek-related art.

My most recent project, which I've started in celebration of the NHL's lockout being over, is a conversion of the entire league into a Nike league. For those of you unaware, the NHL has an exclusive contract with Reebok through which Reebok manufactures the uniforms for every team in the NHL.

While some teams have made out pretty well under the Reebok license, some have not. Observe:

Good:

Montreal Canadiens

Bad:

St. Louis Blues

And thus, I have decided to Nike-fy the entire NHL. Some teams will feature significant changes, while others will be minor. With each team, I'll include their current uniforms for comparison.

First up, my team, the Chicago Blackhawks.





The changes to the Blackhawks are not particularly significant since (for those of you unaware) the Blackhawks' uniforms are widely considered to be one of the best in North American sports, period. I figured I'd get one of the easy ones out of the way first.

All thanks to The (unofficial) NHL Uniform Database for the RL images.

 

[B.J.]

Nice work. Did you replace the black with gray, or is this a case of dark gray for black to make the lines stand out more?

Do you also post over at Sportslogos.net (CCSLC)? I only lurk there, but I look in there quite a bit.

 

[Kevin W.]

I was a member at the CCSLC but I was banned a couple of years ago. It's a long story.

 

[Kevin W.]

Also, that is the Blackhawks' official Pantone black, while the lines of the jersey are standard #000000 black.

 

[Kevin W.]

Here are teams #2 and #3, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks.





What I've done is taken their current alternate uniform, which is a 1967 throwback, and made it the primary, and then added the away variation. The '67 uniform is the one they wore the last time they won the Stanley Cup and it's much better than their current uniform.





Next is the Canucks. I've made some subtle adjustments to their current uniforms, including standardizing the striping, adding a bit more green and adding the V in the sleeve stripes from their original uniforms, which I always thought was a cool feature.