Battle of the Blades
Competition VS Tournaments
Figure skating and hockey are very different when it comes to performances. I am going to start off with figure skating. When one starts to figure skate they start in basic skills classes which they move up through the basics by passing tests every five weeks. There are 8 basic skills classes which you must pass before joining a club. Once in a club you can start competing. To know what level you can compete at you take tests during schedule testing sessions with judges. You are tested are certain skills and also perform a freestyle session. Once you pass a test you move up to a new level and so on so forth. Single competition can be very competitive depending on the level you are in. There are different types of competitions; singles, doubles, groups, interpretive, showcase and more. As of now I am going to focus on singles since it is the most common. Depending on your level you will be skating a normal length program or a short and a long program. Even though you are going against others during the competition you are also competing against yourself, pushing yourself to new levels and to beat your old score. You have fans and your club in the stands and your coach on the edge of the boards but you are alone on the ice in front of your fans, coach, competitors and judges. It is nerve racking, hand work and dedication to not skate off the ice without finishing your routine. But, the most amazing feeling is skating off the ice after finishing your program knowing you accomplished what you have been working so hard for no matter what the outcome is. The medal at the end is just a bonus.
Hockey on the other hand is completely different. Hockey is a team sport. You have tournaments that your team signs up for and you play 3 or 4 hour games throughout the whole weekend. You have 5 players and 1 goalie on the ice at a time going against your opponents attempting to score a goal. You work try out plays that you have been practicing in hopes that you can beat the opponent and win the game. Depending on how many times you win your team can win the tournament. There are different levels in hockey tournaments some include; novice, lower intermediate, intermediate, higher intermediate, and advanced. Even though you are playing with a team you also need to work on your own skills if you want to improve in the sport. As you can see figure skating and hockey are very different when it comes to competition and tournaments.
This draft was very difficult for me. Mostly trying to make the heart and the blades connect together. I started with making a heart; I made one half of the heart using the line tool and then copy and pasted a new one and rotated it to make the full heart. I then made two other layers, added a photo of my sketch with the figure skating and hockey skate and cut out each blade. I then rotated them to fit on the outside of the hearts. I then added the words and the color by using text and color swatches. Here is my rough draft, let me know what you think!
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I decided to make a self-critique before the rest of the group because I can see every flaw in my logo. I cannot wait to hear what my peers had to say. These tutorials were the hardest ones I had to do so far so this draft was difficult for me. I like that I used the color blue because to me it represents winter and figure skating and hockey is cold and in the winter. The hardest part was outlining the two blades. I think I might be able to do a little better at making both blades the same size. I originally wanted my logo to be black and blue. I am tempted to making both blades grey and making them little gradient using a lighter and darker grey, in the hopes in making it look more like a blade. Lastly I want to try to round the corners of my heart to make it a little more connected. Overall I think my logo looks okay, I just wish I was a little better at this but I know it will come in time! Cannot wait to hear the feedback.
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Hello,
As soon as I viewed your logo in was easy to tell what it was. I Like the way you used the blades as part of a heart as it shows your passion for hockey. One thing I would say to change though would use a more eye-catching font. One other critique I have which I already know you know is that the blades don’t perfectly flow into the heart which I know is hard to do in illustrator but maybe try to fill in some of the gaps in the connections. Also possibly think about Only having the inside of the heart blue And make the perimeter of the blade the perimeter of the logo. Overall your logo Is unique and creative and with a few changes and a little more detail and it will be perfect.
-Adam
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I really like the draft idea and what you have so far. I know a little about hockey and occasionally watch it, mainly for titles and cups, but your logo represents your topic very well and it was easy to realize what you’re talking about. I like the blade because it looks pretty defining and realistic, kind of like a shading of it. The first thing I would recommend is maybe adding a background to give it some balanced symmetry. I could imagine this as a cool patch for a t-shirt or something. The next thing is maybe outlining actual shoes and kind of crossing them into each other and center them over the heart so just the top of the heart is showing. I think it will bring a better visualization of the sport. The idea is there and I know the outcome will be awesome, and one other little thing may be some color changes. But other than that, great idea!
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The idea of this logo is really good and I like the direction you are taking the logo. When first viewing the logo it was easy to tell that the logo is dealing with hockey and figure skating. The blades in the logo is one of your best elements of this logo giving the logo a clear direction and you’ve also done a great job of making the blades look like the real deal. I as well really enjoy the color choice for the logo, it makes the blades and heart shape really stand out with will be good for those viewing your logo. A few improvements you could possibly make could be trying to connect the heart and blades a little better so the logo as a whole blends together more and have the heart come to more of point at the bottom instead of just touching the corners. Overall your logo is a good start and I’m excited to see your final of the logo.
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