Okay, so, Illinois football uniforms. This wasn’t some quick project, let me tell you. It started with a simple enough idea: I wanted to design some concept uniforms for the Fighting Illini. I’m a huge college football fan, and Illinois… well, let’s just say their uniforms haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire lately. I figured I could do better.
First, I had to gather reference material. I spent a solid week just scouring the internet, looking at old Illinois uniforms, their current ones, and even uniforms from other schools. I was looking for inspiration, you know? Things that worked, things that didn’t. I ended up with a massive folder full of images. Seriously, my computer almost crashed.
Next, I had to choose a software. I’m not a professional graphic designer, so I went with something relatively user-friendly. I messed around with a few different programs before settling on one that seemed to have a good balance of features and ease of use. It took a few tutorials and a lot of trial and error, but I finally got a handle on it.
Then came the actual design process. This is where things got really fun, and also really frustrating. I went through, like, a dozen different concepts. Some were way too out there, others were too boring. I kept tweaking and changing things, adding and removing elements. I even scrapped a whole set because the pants looked like something out of a clown show. It was a lot of back and forth.
Once I finally landed on a design I liked, the real work began. I had to meticulously recreate the details. I’m talking tiny stitching details, logos, numbers… everything. It was painstaking, and there were days when I just wanted to throw my laptop out the window. But I persevered. I’m stubborn like that.
Finally, after weeks of work, I had it. A full set of concept uniforms: home, away, and alternate. I was pretty proud of myself. They weren’t perfect, but they were a hell of a lot better than the current ones, at least in my opinion. I even did some mock-ups of the uniforms on actual players, which was a whole other level of detail work. Let me tell you, getting the proportions right was a nightmare.
The last step was rendering and presentation. I made sure everything looked sharp and clean. Then I put together a little presentation showcasing my designs. I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty nervous showing them off. But overall, I was happy with how they turned out. And, yes, I did get some pretty positive feedback. It was a really rewarding experience. And, honestly? I’m already thinking about my next project. Maybe some concepts for the Northwestern Wildcats? We’ll see.