Mutant Fish Plate

[BradB]

Certainly this is an issue near and dear to all on this site. DNR has announced its new plate and, per this article "The stylized fish does not represent a specific species".

Have a look at it. Is it a bass, is it a walleye? I don't get how they could pick a fake fish?

[iffwalleyes]

Man that stinks the walleye on the rock one was way better at least it was realistic. I have never seen a walleye come out of the water like that but it sure doesn't look like a bass either.

[nluchau]

Yeah thats nuts. Walleye don't jump Bass do. Wonder how many Minnesotan's will be sportin this plate.

[cliffy]

The colors are nice....but whats up with the fish? I cant believe this design won.

[Scrod]

Booo that is horrible!

[Ryan_V]

the article I read also stated that it was designed to not look like a certain species of MN fish. Just a general fish is all they were going for, but I agree, it doesn't look very good. I certainly don't see why they could not have put an accurate representation of our great state fish on the state plate???!!! guess that's politics.

[hanson]

Quote:

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the article I read also stated that it was designed to not look like a certain species of MN fish. Just a general fish is all they were going for, but I agree, it doesn't look very good. guess that's politics.

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'General' fish? Hmmmm....

Guess these monies are going to support the 'General' fund, eh?

[pathogen]

What do we have to look forward to in a future plate? Maybe some kind if generic bird representation? Or we could change our beloved Loon plate to something all-encompassing: Turkey head, Bald Eagle claws, Pheasant tail, Chickadee body, and maybe Goldfinch/Blue Jay/Wood Duck colors....?? yecch!

[cold one sd]

Who chose the winning plate? Politicians? They probably wouldn't know the difference anyway.

[Hooked On a Feeling]

It makes you wonder who's running the show at Minnesota DNR... Last season they had Ski-Doo snowmobliles on the front cover of the sled regulation book, how about promoting Polaris or Arctic Cat? Someone needs to lose their job over there!

[Fish&Fowl]

Gotta agree with everyone on this one, that is one pathetic license plate. Sure makes you wonder.

[Weed Shark]

I requested rules for the license plate contest. The winner receives a flat fee, I think it was $500 or less. That's not nearly enough to draw out all the great artists in this state. An extremely fast artist could do an entry in one week. A normal artist would take two weeks or more. Would you take a pro bono job that pays $500 in two weeks, minus half a month of of expenses, only if you get it? I read my entry forms and trashed them (I have a family to feed). They got what they paid for. Unfortunately our state pride and habitat program suffers because of them. If Wells Fargo paid that much, they would have lizards pulling a stagecoach, too.

[BradB]

Here is the one they should have picked:

[Weed Shark]

This plate would have been an improvement. However, it looks like blue sky behind the fish. Also, the back row of rocks should be softened into the background more (softer edges and less contrast). An underwater image should at least hint of murkiness.

[schweady]

Yeah, but there's a limit to the background detail, colors, etc allowed so the numbers can still be read. A buddy of mine in law enforcement says that he's got to get right up on top of some of these decorative plates to make out the numbers.

[Weed Shark]

That's good point. Backgrounds should be kept light and simple. As much as I like to look at decorative plates, they have lost a lot of function with the lack of ledgibility. The numbers are smaller than standard plates, backgrounds are cluteered, and trailer hitches often obscure the middle number because the spacing is different. Our "Support our Troops" plate is hard to read with the dark red stripe behind the dark blue numbers.

I still like the idea of decorative plates (and its a good cause), its just not a job for amateurs. They need to either hire professionals or have a contest that might attract some professionals.

I wonder what Minnesota's complete expenses are to produce these plates? You'd think they could spend a little more up-front.

[Hoffer]

It looks like the body of a walleye - with the mouth and colorings of a trout. I dont really see any bass in that picture at all...except for that the fish is jumping like a bass - but certainly doesnt look like one!