Help Design a Coat of Arms for Every Pod!

[malinghi]

When the system of pods was first created, I envisioned them being larger and more active, and I'd hoped they could lead to local gatherings and even small conventions. While they have had some success thus far, I'd really love to see them achieve more of their potential. To do this I want all of them to have a coat of arms, a mascot, and official colors. These with then be used to promote the pods more, and to give each pod its own facebook groups. I'd also like to start a cafepress store with merchandise so people can show some mer-pride and we can raise some money to help with the costs of operating the website.


So here's the plan- Everyone who's interested is invited to help make coats of arms for all the pods. You can draw an entire design and submit it, or just discuss ideas and share your ideas on what you might like it to look like. Multiple designs will be decided upon by voting. And yes, the coats of arms I already made are fair game. Feel free to submit ideas to replace them.


Some rules:
1. They should be some kind of coat of arms. I'm not super strict on what a coat of arms is, but it shouldn't look like a corporate logo or something.
2. It can't have a mermaid or merman in it. The coats of arms are all supposed to be different, and it wouldn't be fair to the rest for one pod to have a mermaid on theirs.
3. Try to give your pod unique colors. It's tempting to use aquatic colors, but I don't want them all to have the same ones, so please try to use colors besides blue and azure.
4. The mascot should be a fish that is native to your region. Please don't use an aquatic mammal as it wouldn't be fair to everyone else if one pod had a dolphin for their mascot.
5. Be aware that I do have some creative control over the designs. I don't think I'm going to veto anything, but if I do I want to make sure I give fair warning that I'm able to.
6. Also for fair warning, these coats of arms are going to be used by the pods, and they might appear on merchandise and in advertisements. If you'd like exclusive control over something then please do not submit.


If you have any questions let me know! I'm really psyched for this!

[Mermaid Hamant]

I suppose for the Texas pod - my pod - the Guadalupe Bass could be considered in the design. It is the Texas state fish. The only problem is it is freshwater. But it could still work. Just as an idea.
http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Texas/Fish_Guadalupe_Bass.html
Also, the Texas State shell is the Lightning Whelk.
http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Texas/Lightning_Whelk_Shell.html
Just a couple of ideas! :)

[Mermaid Jewel]

I love the seashell, i'll play a little with that

[malinghi]

I suppose for the Texas pod - my pod - the Guadalupe Bass could be considered in the design. It is the Texas state fish. The only problem is it is freshwater. But it could still work. Just as an idea.
http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Texas/Fish_Guadalupe_Bass.html
Also, the Texas State shell is the Lightning Whelk.
http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Texas/Lightning_Whelk_Shell.html
Just a couple of ideas! :)


Originally I tried to make coats of arms for all the pods, and I completed coats of arms for five of them. Texas is one of the coats I completed. You're totally welcome to make a new coat of arms, but if you want this is the one that I made already. Its based on the Texas flag, except that the colors are a little different, the star is replaced with a starfish, and I incorporated the diver down flag into the red section. The mascot pictured to either side is Guadalupe Bass.

http://mernetwork.com/index/images/pods/podfs_texas.png

[Mermaid Hamant]

I actually love that one that you made Malinghi! It would be cool though to be able to have the shell somewhere on it but I have no idea where it would fit.
Also, I had an idea for a pice of merchandise you could create with these coat-of-arms designs. You could make either pins or buttons for us to buy. We could wear them to future mer-conventions and gatherings. Just an idea.

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

The Chesapeake pod has actually been discussing ideas for our coat of arms already. I've been looking through lists of Chesapeake Bay (and, to a lesser extent, Mid-Atlantic Atlantic) wildlife for ideas. I had a cool idea for a variation of the Pennsylvania flag (navy blue with black horses framing the shield) that replaced the horses with black seahorses, but Pennsylvania (aside from the Delaware River) is entirely landlocked, so it's not the best choice. Does Pennsylvania even fall under the Pod of the Chesapeake? It was somewhat difficult to tell.

Anyway, the Delaware Flag is rather full, the Maryland flag is fairly stylized with few natural or water-based features, and the New Jersey Flag does have some workable features, but emphasizes farming.

[malinghi]

Does Pennsylvania even fall under the Pod of the Chesapeake? It was somewhat difficult to tell.

Yeah, it is a little hard to tell, especially since the pod borders don't always follow state borders. Here's a really big map. You can see that eastern PA is in the Chesapeake pod. Western PA is in the Great Lakes pod. Also, this map is slightly different that other maps I've made because I decided what to do with some of the areas that didn't have a pod. Kentucky and Tennessee have been included in the pod of the midwest, and the Rocky Mountain pod extends further north to the Canadian border, thus including Montana. And I added one new pod to the map, though they don't have a forum yet- the pod of Dakota.
http://mernetwork.com/imgs/pods_map001.png

[Aquatarian]

When the mernetwork first started, I was actually super excited about this. I imagined people wearing tshirts with the crests on them and so forth. Anyway since I kind of the only member of my pod who is consistently active on here I'm going to post my ideas and a quick sketch in the proper thread.

Thanks so much for bringing this idea into the light again. :)

[malinghi]

I actually love that one that you made Malinghi! It would be cool though to be able to have the shell somewhere on it but I have no idea where it would fit.
Also, I had an idea for a pice of merchandise you could create with these coat-of-arms designs. You could make either pins or buttons for us to buy. We could wear them to future mer-conventions and gatherings. Just an idea.


I made a post in the subforum for the Pod of Texas, but I wanted to put it here too, that I just made a facebook page for the Pod of Texas. Here's the link:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pod-of-Texas/145201722262019

Also in case you're wondering the coat of arms is never set in stone, you guys are allowed to make a new one if you want.

About the merchandise, that would be really cool. I hope to make stuff like that eventually. It would be really awesome if people could show off where they're from when they see each other at conventions.

[RêveD'eau]

I will be drawing one up for the Rocky Mountain Pod as well :) How exciting.

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

Also, does anyone else picture malinghi in his tail and wearing an Uncle Sam hat and pointing at us when they read the words "Your pod needs you"? :)

[ShyMer]

I was thinking about making a "your pod needs you" image... beat me to it :)

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

Oh, or maybe one of those American star-spangled red and blue tails from one of the shows on the weeki wachee website! :)

[Little_Orca]

Working on one for the North Pacific!

[Little_Orca]

So here is my submission and a list of the items in the coat and why they are there:

Kelp: We have some great kelp forests up here.
Octopus: Giant pacific... My sister's favorite and a frequent sighting when she scubas.
Orca: Hello.... Pacific Northwest! lol.
Teal background: The waters up here are not a true blue... more of a green blue.
Sun: Well, I wanted to put in a sea anemone there, since they are everywhere up here in tidal pools, but it did not look as good as a sea star and I did not want to take Mal's idea away from the Texas coat of arms, so I made it a sun. I still wanted a flowing image though, so I looked to one of my favorite films for help. :) That part will probably have to be changed if you will use it for something other than what is on here, but feel free to. This was just an idea.


http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff176/Little_Orca/NorthPacificPodCOA.jpg

[Mermaid Jewel]

For the texas one, do you mind if I take yours Malinghi and just add the shell and some minor things to it?

[Maple]

So here is my submission and a list of the items in the coat and why they are there:

Kelp: We have some great kelp forests up here.
Octopus: Giant pacific... My sister's favorite and a frequent sighting when she scubas.
Orca: Hello.... Pacific Northwest! lol.
Teal background: The waters up here are not a true blue... more of a green blue.
Sun: Well, I wanted to put in a sea anemone there, since they are everywhere up here in tidal pools, but it did not look as good as a sea star and I did not want to take Mal's idea away from the Texas coat of arms, so I made it a sun. I still wanted a flowing image though, so I looked to one of my favorite films for help. :) That part will probably have to be changed if you will use it for something other than what is on here, but feel free to. This was just an idea.


http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff176/Little_Orca/NorthPacificPodCOA.jpg

Melissa - this is completely wonderful! I was about to comment on the NP Pod forum - so glad I popped over here first.

I was thinking about bringing many things together for the North Pacific, which includes BC and probably the Yukon as well. I love the sun as BC's flag has a sun on it, even though we're mostly known as our rain, lol!

[Psychic Tideborn]

Orca I LOVE THE CREST! It's awesome! I used to live up that way, and I think you captured te essence very well! Job well done!

[malinghi]

So here is my submission and a list of the items in the coat and why they are there:

Kelp: We have some great kelp forests up here.
Octopus: Giant pacific... My sister's favorite and a frequent sighting when she scubas.
Orca: Hello.... Pacific Northwest! lol.
Teal background: The waters up here are not a true blue... more of a green blue.
Sun: Well, I wanted to put in a sea anemone there, since they are everywhere up here in tidal pools, but it did not look as good as a sea star and I did not want to take Mal's idea away from the Texas coat of arms, so I made it a sun. I still wanted a flowing image though, so I looked to one of my favorite films for help. :) That part will probably have to be changed if you will use it for something other than what is on here, but feel free to. This was just an idea.


http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff176/Little_Orca/NorthPacificPodCOA.jpg



This looks great! Some feedback: I'd like the supporters on each side of the coat of arms to be the official mascot for the pod, and I'd like all the pods to have a fish for their mascot (the chinook salmon is the proposed mascot of the Pod of the North Pacific). I love the orcas on the coat of arms, but could they be somewhere on the shield of the coat of arms, and could the salmon be on the sides? Also, do you have any opinion on what you would like the official colors for the pod to be?

I'm going to make a thread for this in the pod of the North Pacific forum for people to discuss this and give feedback. If anyone else submits a design then people can talk about merging them or vote on their favorite.

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

This looks great! Some feedback: I'd like the supporters on each side of the coat of arms to be the official mascot for the pod, and I'd like all the pods to have a fish for their mascot (the chinook salmon is the proposed mascot of the Pod of the North Pacific). I love the orcas on the coat of arms, but could they be somewhere on the shield of the coat of arms, and could the salmon be on the sides? Also, do you have any opinion on what you would like the official colors for the pod to be?

I'm going to make a thread for this in the pod of the North Pacific forum for people to discuss this and give feedback. If anyone else submits a design then people can talk about merging them or vote on their favorite.

What if, instead of teal, you made the background of the shield black and white in orca patterns? It would definitely make it stand out from the other pods, and would give space for fish supporters. As for a flowing center image, I do prefer the idea of the sea anemone to the sun... the sun is a bit too worldwide and not really an emblem of the north pacific, so much... I'll see if I can come up with any good designs for one. On the other hand, a pair of orcas circling each other like a yin yang or an orca leaping out of the water with its body in a circular shape might solve both concerns (providing a flowing center image and making orcas central to the coat of arms). There are a number of really beautiful fish in the north pacific, too, from what I've looked up online.

[Mermaid Saphira]

I want to make one but I'm not good with graphic designs...unfortunatley I can't take a class for it until next year!! Can I sketch it?

[Marinus Mortimer]

Is there a pod that includes Puerto Rico?

[Mermaid Saphira]

It will have crabs and a boat
on it later but this is just a draft...
1477
Please feel free to critic my work as well as suggestion! :)

[malinghi]

Is there a pod that includes Puerto Rico?

I'm in the process of adding more pods for other regions. I haven't created a pod that includes Puerto Rico yet. I'm considering adding a Pod of the Caribbean Sea, that would include all of the caribbean and central america.




It will have crabs and a boat on it later but this is just a draft...

It's cool, but it doesn't really look like a coat of arms yet. Could you put it on a shield and add some more stuff to it?

[New York Mermaid]

im going to make an attempat the Pod of New england, Im trying to figure out some animals for this COA- I know i would like a shark on there, maybe a fish as well.. Iknow we have in our waters, makos, threshers ad basking sharks in our waters..

[SweeteSiren]

We can actually work the lightning whelk into the existing design - replace the crest at the top with 2 shells back to back. They have a beautiful tapered silhouette that would mimic the design already created.

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

Here is my draft of the Chesapeake pod crest... things I want to change include the following:
Replace the two seahorses up top with a seagull flying towards the viewer (so as not to be confused with the hollister logo), particularly since gulls are far more prevalent to the area than the one species of seahorse (even if I do love seahorses).
More work on the sea robbins to either side (my original idea was to make them flow in the same motion as the Moon/Sea spirit koi from Avatar: The Last Airbender, but they would probably look better if they both faced towards the top of the coat of arms with their "wings" spread out to either side, maybe with one wing behind the coat of arms and the other outstretched to make the coat of arms as a whole appear winged. I also need to center the moon jelly and frame the crab and the cownose ray better, and I need to shrink the shipwreck and lower it a bit, so that the shield portion doesn't look like it's balancing on top of it. And, of course, I have to stretch Chesapeake Pod out along the entirety of the banner. What do you guys think?
http://un1c0rny.deviantart.com/art/First-Draft-of-Chesapeake-Pod-Crest-283798877

[Marinus Mortimer]

Thanks cuz i could not find it and pod of Caribbean Sea sounds good

[Marinus Mortimer]

have u guys made a pod for Caribbean Sea yet?

[Rain Hauger]

no ones thrwon in for southwest yet I will get started on it!

[Nykur]

Malinghi, can I create a coat of arms for South-Africa.
Our national fish is a Galjoen, think it's possible?

[Demi]

The euro pod could be a problem, because it is rather big and there is so many different nationalities :P

[Spindrift]

Man, Hawaii has got to represent. :| *steps up*

[Marinus Mortimer]

SO for the Caribbean Sea nothing yet :(

[XMermaidMarinaX]

I'm not quite sure, but does the South here have a crest?

[Aziara]

Hmm... I'm south pod too... What's some common fish in the Gulf of Mexico? All the states in pod of the south have the gulf in common... I shall have to do some thinking.

[Taniira]

Not all! Georgia/the Carolinas don't border the Gulf. I can't remember if Tennessee is considered such or not here.

Also, there is a crest. The only spot I could find it was on the Mernetwork store: http://www.cafepress.com/mernetwork/8456052

[Aziara]

Oops, my bad. That is hilarious that I was actually thinking of a marlin though :P

[Vala Luna]

Is this idea still going ahead?

[Mer-Mage Mallora]

If this is still a thing, do you think it's possible that you help me out with the Essex Mermaid pod?
~Mallora
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190102/83c53dc86cf61be0c4cdc09e0be3989c.jpg