Triller

We teased that it was coming and KGW never lets a friend, client or fan down! When Leonard Triller found out he was drafted by the San Diego Marlins we knew he would have some amazing ideas for how he wanted to represent his new team. He was in contact immediately and we had a great chat about what he was looking for. First and foremost, he wanted to represent his teammates, AGM and GM by putting their names directly on the stick. The players he started the season with as well as those who joined after the season began, are all represented. "I have a great set of teammates here in San Diego and I wouldn't be where I am this year without them. Our LR is great and everyone is focused on one thing, the cup!" - Leonard Triller To help bring the stick to life we went with a bubble filled background overlaid with a team color gradient from knob to blade as well as provided Leonard with matching, yellow stick tape. Too flashy? We like to help our partners stand out and be unique. We then added a deconstructed Marlins Logo and the VHLM logo to top it all off. Working with Leonard continues to be an extreme pleasure and with his career just getting started we look forward to further collaboration when he makes his way to Geneva next season! We work hard here at KGW and continue to help you, "Play Like You!"

Claiming for 12/18

Hey @qripll! Nice graphic you got here! I like the throwback theme with the more desaturated colors as if it has been aged. You swapped the logo well and matched the style to the old, worn look. I like details so it is very cool that you worked up the sign in the background! Again, the logos on the sign for right in. I really like this layout of the graphic. Looks like a photo of a printed off image. The first gen text is simple but really works with your theme. These are some nitpicky things but the Bogden text on the sign doesn't match that hand drawn look of the poster and it would be awesome to see the NHL collar logo be replaced. Last thing, that kids hat is ripe for a logo swap as well! Overall, 8/10! I like the old school look and I think you came up with something extra cool with the illusion of a photo of a printed image. Keep up the good work!

All my various VHL related graphics.

Sorry, I am New Here! After seeing an ad read on a YouTube video that autoplayed, I ended up here at the VHL. I had never been a part of any sim league before but I figured I would check it out! I joined up but didn't create a player right away as I wanted to lurk and see what people were creating and to see if I could bring anything exciting to the table. With my skill set in 3D cinematics, I thought I could do something pretty cool that maybe hadn't been seen before on this site. Even before creating my player, I did a quick test to see if I could come up with something in 3D that could work going forward. That was my profile banner and avatar image! Once my test worked, I created Leonard Triller and began the (maybe) overly ambitious plan of two graphics a week. Still going strong! Now that I had my player it was time to figure out who to sign with, how the site worked and how to earn more TPE, once I figured out what TPE was. After browsing the teams initially, I decided I would sign with Saskatoon if they offered. Luckily, @Bulduray_1 posted for the Wild. I chose the Wild because I lived in S'toon for about 2 years and really enjoyed it and thought it would be an extra cool layer of immersion. @Bulduray_1 was kind enough to answer all of my questions and set me off in the right direction as well as always reacting to my content. It was very much appreciated! I worked on my graphics and also made some to help pick up waiver players in a system which is now obsolete! Death of the hashtags! I was using the forums often trying to draw some attention to my contributions while also recognizing others. Unfortunately, some turmoil was going on and a lot of attention was given’ to posts that were fueling controversy. It was a bit disheartening to see these things dealt with so publicly while those putting in a lot of effort to make the forum content fun were falling by the wayside. Bans were handed out and things moved on, as they always do. After the season in Saskatoon I got to experience some of the off-season tournaments like the JST. It was nice to see that the off-season events helped keep newer people engaged and still earning TPE. @RElblein drafted my player to the Royals where I got more involved in Discord and the LR. I am not a big fan of all the Discords but if I focus on only a couple, I can manage! Everyone seemed to get along and it made for a good experience which was in large part due to @RElblein. Next up was the draft. This was a more exciting event than I thought it would be! Having all the GMs reach out for interviews was an awesome way to meet some new people or at least chat with them. I had a good chat with @Enorama and he filled me in about the streams and got me to tune in! It was great to see, and I want to thank all of you involved for the time and effort put in. By this point, my graphics were getting more attention and my player had some recognition. It was awesome to be picked though it seems I caused some confusion by wanting a full season in the VHLM after hitting 200 TPE in the offseason. A big thanks to @jacobcarson877 of my current team, the Marlins and my future teams, Geneva Rush with @MexicanCow123 and @Dil with London United for having no issues with how I wanted to make my players transition into each league. I look forward to playing with Geneva next season and hopefully London for the seasons after! This season has been great with the Marlins. @jacobcarson877 keeps an active LR and it is a great place to get involved. Very helpful with TPE advice and making sure everyone gets good play time in the sims. The playoffs are going to get crazy! So far, every conversation I have had on the forums and in Discord has been very positive! I appreciate everyone who has reached out about my graphics just to let me know it is being seen and is enjoyed. I get TPE for doing it but the comments and reactions really fuel me to keep going. It has pushed me to engage further with others on the forum to make sure they know their work is being seen as well. In this regard, I want to shout out @BOOM for always being active on my posts, along with @Pifferfish and all the current and even former Marlins for showing their support! There are many others who have reached out to chat on the forums and discord and I appreciate it! Same to everyone who reacts or even just takes a look at what I do. So that is my experience with the VHL so far and now that I have had some time here, I have a few concerns moving forward. I fear burnout and I need to start considering a more leveled approach to my earning if I am going to last 8 seasons! It takes a lot to make 3D graphics and doing it twice each week is going to be too much. I need to work on tossing in writing tasks that I can claim for multiple weeks though I don't really like that as it means I am less engaged on a week to week basis and just popping in to claim on an old post. I have a couple large ideas that would take a few weeks to create but I wouldn't be able to max earn while working on them. What I want to do is worth more than a 6 TPE graphic or media spot and could be claimed for weeks afterwards but wouldn't make up for the lost weeks spent working on it since you can't claim back weeks. I am also not a fan of claiming the same post for too many weeks after as it just lowers my engagement with the forums. That's just me though and I need to adjust my thinking there. What should I do with these bigger ideas? Another concern, is the most exciting part of my players career over? The draft! The draft was fun and engaging but is done so quickly. After this season, I head to Geneva then to London which will be fun but will anything be as exciting? I hope to win some championships and feel that rush if it comes! Review tasks. This is how I max out every week at the end but it is getting very repetitive. I try to sincerely review and give advice where I can but there are only so many users who post graphics and I am going to be quite annoying after reviewing the same persons work over and over again for 8 seasons. Some things that could be better but I haven't thought too hard or long about? The forum is what it is and as someone who is a bit older, I am used to navigating through forums. Stating that, it will definitely be a bit convoluted for younger members and depending on what you are looking for, complicated for everyone. I don't dare dip a toe into trivia. Fixing this would involve an overhaul in my opinion as building on a flawed base creates the same instabilities as before but reorganizing and better highlighting the most important places is a must. Character builds and the "proper" distribution of TPE needs to just be locked down. If there are attributes that seemingly do nothing and everyone has universally agreed that no points should go to them, have them automatically maxed out and made invisible. No need then to tell every new member to redo their build because they made a wrong choice without knowing it. I made the wrong choice early on but will not re-roll. I'm not concerned about my player but I am a bit disappointed in the lack of unique builds that this creates. Point Tasks are next. There was recently a bit of a change with career point tasks which was nice but after only a couple seasons, the repetitive nature of the point tasks are becoming quite evident. I am attempting to be a max earner and love doing graphics but I am starting to struggle with different ideas to keep things fresh and without other significant task options, I need to do my best to try not to fall into a bare minimum slump and to mix things up where I can. This may be just me but I wish the VHL stats were more comprehensive. I want to know who my player plays best with. The most points I have while playing with certain players or against. What my point production is when playing on different lines. I think these kinds of stats could create a very fun way for GMs to plan matchups and line chemistry that could create natural rivalries between players or help a GM to possibly trade for players who had good chemistry on other teams with other players. I am still bad at using the index so if this is a thing, please point me in the right direction. If it sounds like this was put together through multiple 4am baby feedings then you'd be eerily correct, but I would like to thank everyone involved that keeps this place running and engaging. It can be a thankless task you do and at times it likely ruins your day, but know that you are appreciated and that this first gen is thankful for the time you put in! Let's see how long I will last! (1500+ Words) Weeks Ending: 12/11, 12/18, 12/25

I'm there with yah.

Good article and congrats on the new baby! I have a month old myself so I am feeling the new dad vibes!

This would have been awesome when I started! Even to adjust for differing starter TPE it could be percentage based to cover everything. I wish though that attributes that have been widely called "useless" would just be maxed at 99 for everyone or just locked at 0 and hidden.

1. I'd give Leonard a solid 7. Hard to tell with line jumping how he would be if he was locked in but he is moving at the same pace as he was last season it looks like. 2. Simon is never pleased. He will continue to require prayers and sacrifices till the end of days, all the while torturing those who worship him with tiny morsels of reciprocation that come nowhere to equaling the prayers and sacrifices offered. 3. I have no idea. I want to do something different than most but I will probably end up writing about my experience as a first gen to the site. I was hoping for something that I could do graphically, but this theme does not lend itself to that really. 4. We will definitely hold the top spot! 5. My first season was with S'toon. Leonard played 55 games with a quick playoff exit but it was fun tuning in every game and seeing if he got involved. Learning the ropes of the forums took a bit but it allowed me to work on some sweet graphics and try to get Leonard recognized! It was fun enough that I am still here! lol 6. I have not been to San Diego. I haven't even been to California!

Couldn't let him ruin the illusion! Lol

Lookin pretty good! I like the logo replacement you did! I think the shoulder logo lends itself to a replacement as well but it's not necessary! Like you said, the Oslo logo in the text is really cool! I think the only thing causing some issues with it is the background graphic. It looks to add some confusion and muddy the logo in the text. A more subtle BG might work well for this to help both the player and text pop a bit more. Good luck with the next one! You are definitely starting to build a library of ideas and techniques that will only get better as you use them! 7/10!

I decided to stray from my usual 3D and try my hand at some 2D logo replacement! I usually do my reviews on the graphics everyone posts so I decided I should give everyone something to shoot at as well. I went for a photoreal replacement to try to get something as close to real looking as I could. I added a gif so that everyone can see what I started with to get to my end image. I used our teams players names and numbers to replace the OG ones as well as gave the coaches a little embroidered pocket tag to shout out our GMs! Replaced the boards ads with my KGW stick company and the VHLM logo. Replaced the ads on the glass behind the bench as well. I wanted to make it so you couldn't tell what team it used to be in any way even though I am providing the original too!

I agree with this. I like doing graphics and already put myself in a time constraint doing 2 a week. When theme week rolls in, it is tough to pivot and try to wedge it in without prior notice of what the theme actually is. That is likely on me and maybe I just pull back on the quality for theme week to get by but that isn't really my style.

I've not tried a review of a media spot but lets give it a go! I think the best parts of the league are the draft and anything that has to do with prospects. New players are always happy to see others writing about them and their careers. I appreciate you taking the time to do the research on each player and really going in depth on how they play and when we might see their debut in the big times! Only thing I could suggest would be to @ the users mentioned in the article to let them know their player is on your radar. Frank did it below but it is always fun to see your player mentioned! Maybe add some color in the text as well. It would be cool to see each VHL team do this as it would help drafted players know what their team might look like before they make the jump! 9/10!

No worries, but yes, you never know!

I appreciate the review! Thanks for checking out my stuff! Unless you know something I don't, I am off to Geneva next season, then to London in the VHL after that!

This is a very cool layout for a graphic! The vertical text makes a great center border and allows for the faded team logo in the BG to still stand out. Your logo swap on the left cutout is really well done! Much harder to do on a profiled angle but you nailed it. I like the desaturation on the players face but it does add a bit of confusion with the jersey as it is also grey. Keeping the face saturated might make the grey on the jersey look more intentional. The hdr contrast on the right render looks nice but it does make the overall graphic not as cohesive in its style. Only thing I would have done on the right render would have been to swap out the NHL collar logo with the VHL logo. I like the small details! Overall I give this a 9/10. The layout is very cool and the logo swap difficulty bumps it up! Good stuff! I look forward to more!

You'll be swimmin with the fishes!

With the Marlins playing like they are, away crowds are silenced more often than not! Shhhhhhhh! (I am aware he is in a home jersey... maybe I am working on an away jersey?)

Great change to allow the Bio to be completed whenever!

1. Feeling really good with our position in the standings! Should finish on top of the league with an amazing record if the trend continues! 2. I think if the line matchups keep working, we should be good! Even with our backup getting some reps, we can hold our own. 3. No surprise there. This league is volatile and their last season success seemed to come from some late waiver signings rather than a well drafted team. 4. Mexico City I'd say! Lost to them twice and they are second in or conference. Strong team! 5. With how much movement there is with the lines, I am happy with what Leonard has done so far. Either way, he is already drafted lol 6. Flat and if it is thick, I am the weirdo that will use a fork. I don't like getting messy while I eat!

I'm so confused! Lol Was this a make your own mad lib or generated by an AI?

Very nicely done! Love the giant smile of the player. Seems like you'd only get this from an All Star game image or something like that. Small details always steal the show and the collar replacement of adding the VHL logo is done perfectly! I really like that. The color composition is muted well using the grunge overlay. The signature is simple so it doesn't steal too much attention. Very cool background! If I am not mistaken that is the "Fibonacci Spiral", often used as the mathematical visualization of the "golden rule" of photography composition. Awesome stuff! 10/10 for me! Achieves its goal!

Praise be to Simon