Kashima Kitsune (Explaining the Expansion) + Future of my fictional expansion

[Emi 229]

I promised this last week but my internet was not working.

It still is not but i do now have accesss to mobile date.

 

Now without further delay! Let's get onto the Kashima Kitsune!

 

So let's start with the first thing. Why Kashima, Saga and not Kashima, Ibaraki?

 

The main reason behind this is for two things really. First of all we have the fact i did not want to put a team in Tokyo. I decided that is what most people would think of if they wanted to a team in Japan. I decided that the best thing to do would be to make it be based on the slightly less known one in Saga. The second reason for this simply the fact the colours of the flags for both Saga and Kashima, Saga look beautiful in my opinion for a colour scheme. When i am creating these i decide to do a little research about each places flag as they tell a lot about what the area is supposed to mean.

 

 

Saga flag - White camphor tree flower with red stamen on dark green colour field. Camphor tree is the prefecture tree. White stands for sincerity and passion, dark green for hope and peace. - Nozomi Kariyasu, 6 May 1998

 

 

Kashima, Saga flag - The city emblem was adopted on Aug 25th 1954 by Instructions No 6 but there is no flag law. The white flag has a red city emblem in the center. The city emblem is a stylized hiragana か Ka of Kashima. The circle symbolizes a reconciliation and a solidarity, the point of the top does an eternal improvement. As a whole, it represents a development and a surge.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 25 October 2014

 

I decided to merge both these flags together to make the one used on the jersey. The reason for this is to show the connection between the two areas!

 

 

So after that why Kashima, Saga as an area?

 

Well it when i was looking for areas in Saga i found something that i thought would make a very good place to start for a team. In the area they have a big Inari shrine. I first came up with some ideas about making this the focus of the team as Inari's and Kitsune (Fox) are the similar however, Inari are mythological Yo-kai who are supposed to look over the area and shrine. I still managed to incorpirate this into my designs later!

 

 

 

 

Now we get onto the logos.

 

This team has three different unique logos and 2 concept logos that never made it.

 

 

 

 

First of all the two main logos are simple Kitsune on the jersey. They're done angular in shape to give it that agressive feel that a lot of sports teams have however, i did want to keep some of the composure that is seen in something like a fox. They're very timid creatures usually but can become agressive to protect their family. The reason i decided to make two different logos was so that it did not clash as much with the jerseys i was making.

 

Next we have the wordmark logos. These i honestly made as i was inspired with things that i have seen by some NHL teams and baseball teams. I have always been interested in trying to make something simple like that work. The one that looks like a K with a Kitsune tail around it was loosely inspired by the Colorado Avalance.

Now lets go onto the jerseys.

 

 

 

 

Home Jersey:

 

 

I decided to make the main colour the green colour as i thought it stood out the most and was the most unique of the colours i have seen around the VHL currently. I decided to use something similar to a real life team so it would be easy to actually make jersey edits and stuff easier for people. Now i know these are not perfect and i would remake them slightly to make the things stand out better but for a first attempt i am happy with what i got. Overall, i think they are an affective showing of what makes this team unique!

 

 

Example by @Zetterberg

 

Away Jersey:

 

 

This follows the same as before with most of the things i like and disliked honestly. I followed that design of the montreal canadians for similar reasons to stated before. I think of all the jersey's this is the one i like the least and i would remake this one so the name and number stands out better than it currently does. I think overall it is still visually appealing and something i would like to purchase in real life.

 

Alternative Jersey;

 

 

i didn't really have anything in mind for this one. I just knew i wanted to use the wordmark logo and i decided to play around with a few designs in the file i have. This was the best i was able to get with my limited Knowledge. I wanted to be a lot more adventerous with this one than i ended up being however i still like how it turned out overall. It was easier to read than the others due to the colours not clashing.

 

Finally, I'd like to speak about the mascot i created the background and story for but a @Riley_Couture drew.

 

Yutoku - Inari

 

 

As i mentioned earlier Inari are a yo-kai and are commely associated with shrines. The name Yutoku is taken from the name of the shrine that can be found within Kashima. I decided to do this to be another nod to the area. I decided to make the mascot an Inari instead of something like a Fox is due to the fact a mystical creature just seems more interesting to me personally. The colours of the mascot can be more creative if it is based on something like an Inari. The colours for the mascot are close to that of the team but not 100% the same. This was to make sure it did not clash while wearing the jersey.

 

 

Now onto what i'm doing next...

 

I have not had the time to do the research as much as i would have liked but i am pretty sure my next two teams are going to be based out in Korea. The next one will be in Seoul most likely but i do need to continue to explore and look into what i can do once my internet is fixed.

 

I have decided that going forward with these i will be making what i will call the Asian invasion of the VHL as i'll be highlighting teams that could exist with Asia!

 

Words:1157

 

Edited August 19, 2020 by Emi

[mattyIceman 1,230]

Now this is awesomesauce.

 

More delights from Emi

 

Much love

[SirRupertBarnes 220]

This is amazing emi! I really appreciate how much effort you put into just research and making sure the team actually makes sense for the area. 

[Emi 229]

2 hours ago, SirRupertBarnes said:

This is amazing emi! I really appreciate how much effort you put into just research and making sure the team actually makes sense for the area. 

I believe that having a solid foundation of research makes the actual creation easier most of the time. 

 

It's why I find it hard to make American teams. Most of the ones about culture and stuff have already been done xD. 

[Emi 229]

Week 2