It is perfect timing to add this new version of my USA soccer ball design, since the US team pulled out a surprise tie in their World Cup match. Soccer is not at the top of all American sports, but the US Soccer fans are filled with pride.

In the spirit of USA soccer, I took the stars and stripes of the flag and made it so that they appear to be painted onto the surface of that classic soccer ball shape that we are all used to. The usual branding is slightly visible at the bottom. Let’s see if US Soccer will be the last one standing once the 2010 World Cup championship has ended.

Once I was completed with my new soccer ball flag design, I started working on a version for the Brazilians. Players like Ronaldinho are very popular around the world. The dominance of the Brazilian team has made it popular around the world. Brazilian soccer has been a frequent champion of the FIFA World Cup. The last time around I remember the very interesting displays of the nation’s flag on very interesting pieces of clothing. It’s a common practice for Brazil soccer fans.

Well I took that Brazil soccer pride, wrapped the flag around the contours of the classic soccer ball and made it appear to be wrapped onto each patch of the ball. The branding took it’s usual place and blended in. I immediately added the finished product to my Zazzle store Brazil Soccer section. The Cafepress section followed.

Around the time of the last World Cup, I started working on soccer designs. I used to play the game, so it was a little sports flashback for me. Italy was one of the first teams that I created a design for. Back then, I used the newer ball design that was the official ball of the FIFA World Cup for my first Italian soccer ball design.

Starting off with Italy soccer, I wanted to update the designs in time for the next world championship. This time I wanted to use the classic ball design. Having won the whole thing last time around, Italy was the natural first choice. I also enjoyed the Jersey Shore on MTV, so the Italian flags were on my mind. The flag was simple enough to get into a ball shape, as I had done it before.

When it came time to prepare the ball itself, I had a hard time working around the opposing black patches. It finally came down to using an all white ball. I found a way to get the stitches implemented into the design. It wasn’t too hard to get the flag to blend in. The brand was seamlessly added towards the bottom of the ball and I almost immediately added it to my Italy Soccer section at Zazzle. I followed it up again by adding it to my main domain store (linked to by the picture above).

Opening Day for Major League Baseball is creeping up fast and I felt it was time to add another country to my set of baseball flags. The Japanese baseball design did really well for me in the past and Hideki Matsui was a big part of the latest Yankees World Series win, so I thought it was time to update the Japan Baseball design.

For the Japanese Baseball design, I took a higher quality version of the flag of Japan to wrap around the gritty baseball. The land of the rising sun has a simple flag, but that red dot was tough to position correctly. The rest of the design fell into place nicely and I slapped the logo on it.

The design is now ready for each fan of the land of Nippon to enjoy. It’s also been added to the Japanese Baseball section of my secondary store.

Well I originally had the intention of donating a design to my T-Shirt vendor’s relief fund, but I didn’t like all the fine print that was associated with it. I’ve definitely been a fan of donating clothes and toys to charities, as it is much more likely that those things will reach the intended people.

Haiti graffiti, I figured, would be a great urban style piece of pride. The earthquake in Haiti did come as a huge shock, so I can’t imagine actually being there. It’s a very scary thought to have the earth moving below your feet while debris is falling form the sky. I’m glad that our country has shown the amount of support that is has, but there is that lingering shady feeling.

There was a minute that it felt like the semi quick response was almost an attempt of trying to make up for the whole Katrina debacle in a way. You probably know someone that feels the same way, or maybe you also feel that way. There is still much to be done in Louisiana, but it’s hard to argue against the fact that Haiti is in much greater need at this moment.

Despite the small questions that we all have, I have no question that you should definitely try to donate a little something. Yes, I know that part of our relief efforts come from your taxes, but a few more dollars from you can go a long way. You can go to UNICEF USA and donate what you can spare. There’s also a way for you to shop for gifts while helping out. Check out the Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort shop to find out more.

Getting back to the design, I have a whole shop devoted to my version of the graffiti style. The goal is to eventually have every State, Country, Ethnicity, etc., in graffiti style lettering. I’m always wondering which design I will do next, but Haiti has obviously been on the mind. I took the red from the Haitian flag to be the main color of the design and gave it the shadow/beveled effects.

The image above will take you to the products on my website, but I’ve also added this design to the Haiti graffiti section of my secondary shop.

I earned my PADI Open Water Diver certification when I was around 14 years old and followed up with the Advanced certification. The first time breathing under the water was a bit nerve racking, but quickly became an experience that I could never forget. Scuba truly is like diving into another world.

The scuba world is very big, but my best dives were off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. I’ve always dreamed of diving the great spots around the globe. It would really be great to go to the Great Barrier reef or dive a famous wreck. There are so many other great locations under the see around the Scuba World. My love for scuba is no secret and it was necessary to put my own spin on the dive flag.

This design wraps the red and white international diver flag around a bump mapped globe. Maybe wrapped is the wrong way to say it, because it looks more like it’s painted on. The idea behind the design is simple, but it took much longer to master than I previously thought. I’m not sure how long it took, but it was a test of patience getting the globe and flag integrated correctly. This newer version masks the brand name much better to avoid taking away from design. I’m more than confident that any fellow scuba diver will enjoy this design as much as I have.

Not all of the people of Cuba agree with the political climate that Fidel Castro has created on the island. Many of their best ball players use the game of baseball as a way out of the oppression they feel. I knew that Cuban pride was fierce, but I had originally decided to create a Cuban baseball design back when Jose Contreras was picked up by the Yankees. That pick up didn’t work so well, but the design became very popular.

There are so many nations that I plan on adding to the baseball flag theme, but Cuba was near the top of the list. The flag was a little tricky due to the length, but I finally got it to work correctly with the more detailed version. I think it’s now worthy of every National defector from the Communist island that is a fan of the Major League. It’s amazing how many Cubans have traveled from Havana to Miami. Not everyone is a fan of this type of immigration, but that’s a whole other subject.

Hopefully every Cuban will enjoy this design as much as I have come to.

The Dominican Republic is a part of a long list of great baseball nations and was definitely next in line to get the flag covering a baseball treatment. Many great Major League players come from places like Santiago and Santo Domingo. My favorite of the Dominicans would be Alex Rodriguez, but Big Papi is also a great player (definitely don’t like his team though).

This is one of the teams that you will find in many World Baseball Classics to come. The Dominican Republic Baseball has that unique banner that true fans of the Country’s team wave in support of each game.

This version of my flag covering a baseball design set gives the Dominican people a chance to celebrate their team in style.

The MLB playoffs have been on my mind lately and it was the perfect time to give the ole USA baseball design a makeover.

It’s still the same basic concept of the US flag appearing to cover a classic hardball, but the detail has been raised a few notches. This American baseball will help you stand out better than the usual player jersey (those jerseys aren’t very unique).

With the postseason so close, I have so many other flags that I want to give the baseball treatment too, but there are also other sports that need some attention. I would say the graphic only designs have become my specialty and definitely have a decent following. You can definitely expect more to come.