‘Tis the season, I’d love to do some more team logos for your baseball, softball, or soccer team. I really enjoy doing this type of work and I’m currently available to crank them out quickly and relatively inexpensive. Please contact me if I can help your team or organization!

Also see my Howlers bike team logo from last year for another example…

Play ball!

The band members had said they wanted a mischievous kid type character, akin to Dennis the Menace, a red headed problem child, slingshot in hand. Possessing a strong background in drawing cartoon type characters but having done little professional work in that area, needless to say I was pretty excited about this direction and felt it was right in my wheelhouse.

First step (as in any illustrative logo project) was to hit the sketchbook and start banging out some early concepts (in red pen no less). Once those were roughly complete I scanned them in, and the creative process moved into Illustrator.

Since the primary usage for the logo was on a bass drum head, I quickly determined that a full illustration of a kid pulling back on a slingshot wouldn’t work well in that space. I instead focused on just the head of the character, maximizing my space usage on the drum head. By doing so in a classic skull and crossbones arrangement I could create something that would work well in a circular format while projecting the fun (yet bad ass) image the band was looking for.

I ultimately coupled the character with some bold cartoon-style typography and soon it was soon ready for a first draft review with the client. That first draft was circulated amongst the band members who soon returned with feedback that they liked it, but would prefer it to be a bit darker, dirtier, less juvenile.

I went back to the drawing board and brought out a darker palette. Gone was the red hair and freckles in favor of a raven black head of hair, the gnarled tooth was replaced with a lit cigarette. The blue disappeared in favour of a goth crimson (scary red eyes), and the background got a hit of grungy texture. Revisions complete I presented the second option to the band, which also happened to be the final which is in use today:

In the end both the band and I were thrilled with the outcome. We worked well together in creating an identity and mascot fitting to a party/cover band with just the right combination of party fun and rock ‘n’ roll attitude. I was extremely happy with the way it turned out and simply loved the opportunity to work in this style.

I’m certain by now there’s probably more than a few groupies rocking Trouble Maker mascot tramp stamps. If you do see one in the club, make sure you snap a pic for my portfolio – and if you ever are in Calgary and have a chance to see Trouble Maker, check them out – always good times with some good tunes.