Sunday, March 16, 2008

At Work On Goalie Masks

You thought I was going to go a whole weekend without a single post didn't you? Gotcha!

No but seriously I have been hard at work on things relevant to the blog, actually. I've been designing graphics for the upcoming NHL Tournament of Goalie Masks. Indeed, this isn't something I'm just throwing together. Just like I did with all the logo graphics, I'm putting my own spin on the helmets.

Check out some of what I have done so far.





Those guys are among the top vote-getters right now in the sidebar poll so obviously there's no need for me to explain who they are.

My goal was to make you look only at the mask and nothing else in the photo — that's why everything else has been grayed out. That said, all the photos I'm using are game action photos and I'm still looking for better pictures of some goalies. I'll post a list here when I get a chance if anyone wants to help out.

Apologies for the small images. You'll be able to click through to larger versions when the tournament actually begins.

Let me know what you guys think of these graphics. I encourage feedback!

22 comments:

Stephen said...

Wow, they look absolutely amazing. I have been wanting a tournament for goalie masks for a long time, and now its here!

Unknown said...

i think they kick ass.
i really like the effect.

awildermode said...

great way to separate the art from the athlete. i simply cannot wait for this tournament to begin.

awildermode said...

oh, one more thing. if possible, try to keep the cage in tact. Turco, Roloson and others have either coloured, chromed, and/or metallic finish. i think that is essential to the look of the complete mask. Thanks

iBun said...

Here's a cool link I came across for masks.

http://www.therinkrat.com/labels/mask.html

You should add Curtis Sanford to the list also.

The Daily Jew said...

I can't believe Ryan Miller is getting so many votes, his mask is completely unoriginal.

Tony Q said...

Chris! Look at Cristobal Huet's new helmet

Compared to the one he was wearing with Habs, the new one is KICKASS

Nice eagle, nice colors

Reminds me Ed Belfour:p

Darryl said...

roloson has a surprisingly sexy mask

wozniak said...

to cryorex...


have you looked at Brodures mask? there an unoriginal overly simple design thats getting more votes then it deserves.



i do kind of see your point, but the design is fairly complex.

awildermode said...

great link, ivan.

nice images and back story to the designs.

StarsFanForever said...

Awsome job on the graphics!

By the way, here is a place with pics of all 60 NHL goalie masks, you may want to use some of these instead;
Eastern Conference Goalies:
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=MediaGalleryPlayer&galleryId=3645

Western Conference Goalies:
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=MediaGalleryPlayer&galleryId=3747

Hope this helps. Awsome tourney by the way, go Turks!

Chris said...

if possible, try to keep the cage in tact. Turco, Roloson and others have either coloured, chromed, and/or metallic finish. i think that is essential to the look of the complete mask.

Interesting you point that out. That's been very important to me in working on these. If you look close at Luongo's mask in this post, you'll see he's got a blue cage.

Turco simply has a chrome finish but Roloson's is copper — very cool! Emery, Hedberg and Lalime all have gold. Others have different colors as well. But no worries, I'm definitely keeping the colored cages intact.

Thanks for all the compliments. Glad you like what I've come up with.

Unknown said...

turco has two masks does he not.. the home one is gold and road is silver both very sharp masks

Anonymous said...

NICE!!!!!! those are the coolest pics ive ever seen!!!

Olivier said...

Why i can't vote for Jaroslav Halak ?

Mike said...

Here are a couple links for a gallery NHL.com used to showcase the goalie masks and a brief description of why those chose what is on it. Posting the reason might be a cool feature to include when you start this tournament.

Western:
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=MediaGalleryPlayer&galleryId=3747

Eastern:
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=MediaGalleryPlayer&galleryId=3645

Eric said...

To echo Ivan's comment: you really need to add Sanford's mask to the list--his is certainly one of the most interesting.

Ditto for Toivonen, actually.

Looking through the page Ivan linked to, I'm really amazed at just how many bad masks there are in the NHL these days... so many careless collages of disparate imagery (why do goalies want to have a picture of the arena on their masks) and odd pop-culture references.

But I'm looking forward to the tournament!

Unknown said...

roli's mask is pretty sweet with the copper cage.

Dandy said...

Long time reader, first time poster (I've always wanted to say that).

Great poll! I look forward to it. I've been collecting pics of goal masks for a long time since I want to paint up my own this summer. Getty Images is a great spot for them.

I agree with previous posters, having the cage color definitely makes a difference.

I also recommend leaving their skin colors for the face and neck as flesh. I find it easier to see the mask and it will be less work for you to mask out the cages for 20+ goalies. Grey skin tends to make them feel dead.

Anonymous said...

chris i think winter classic helmets should not count if you do cont conkins then put millers in then or ask the public about it

The Daily Jew said...

to wozniak...

Brodeur's helmet is classic, been around for years. I know it's pretty simple and just uses the three colors, but the devil logo is really screwed up and has always interested me.

All I'm saying is that that the NHL has tons of great masks, way better than the generic monster head that miller dons.

Olivier said...

Jaroslav Halak :D :

http://i.cnn.net/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0707/gallery.nhl.goalie.masks/images/halak.jpg