Main > The Campaign
Creating a society/order?
Sir James A:
--- Quote from: SirNathanQ on 2010-11-13, 13:36:48 ---Hey, this might sound a bit stupid but how does one go about making a coat of arms? I understand purposes of heraldry and such, and I have a few ideas that I like, but how do you get your coat of arms on the computer? Because I'd really like a shield by my name on that roster ;D
--- End quote ---
I used (http://www.inkwellideas.com/coat_of_arms/free_coads.shtml) to make the shield that is my avatar.
Sir William:
Blazons, tinctures, it is a lot to absorb!
Sir Edward:
One thing to keep in mind, IMHO, is to avoid falling into some of the traps that the SCA heralds complain about. Such as working in overly-modern charges (such as ice cream cones), or getting carried away with an overly complex design. There's what's referred to as "resumé heraldry", where people try to fit in a large number of charges at once (such as "well, I'm a blacksmith so I want an anvil, and I fight so I want a sword, and I was born during a full moon so I need a moon on there").
I'm guilty of the latter to a certain extent. I had 3 main charges I wanted to use, though I considered designs with only one or two of them before settling on what I'm using now.
But what a symbol means to you might differ from their historical heraldic meaning, so that's another angle to approach it from if you're lacking in ideas. You can start with a meaning and pick an animal or object to use accordingly.
But also keep in mind that whatever you come up with, you may wish to paint into shields or stitch onto fabric. Animals are hard to do. Multiple animals makes that harder. Though of course, stencils can be an option here to make that a lot easier.
Historically, particularly in the earlier parts of the period, heraldry was often more geometric with maybe only one or two charges.
Take a look at the Dering Roll of Arms (circa 1270-1280) below:
Sir William:
Huh...so I could go with 'quarterly sable and azure' and leave it at that? Then it'd match my black/blue surcoat you see in my avatar pic. Thought of adding 'a dragon sejant gardant' smack in the middle of it, countercharged to stand out.
Its like learning a new language, all this terminology. LOL
Sir Edward:
Yep, you could. Just know that "quarterly" (or "per cross") is extremely common. If you want to register your arms in the SCA, it has to have several points of difference from any other registered arms. If it's too simple, it will be hard to get it to pass. But it's a common misconception that it has to be complex. Simple is good. :)
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