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Proportion and disposition of charges
It is when we come
to place charges on the shield that we have the greatest possibility
of producing something beautiful - or disastrous. The charges
themselves may be heraldic motifs, beasts and other so called living
things, trees and plants and, unfortunately, "pictorial" arms. Each
charge and its treatment would merit a paragraph of its own but, for
the present, the important criteria are that each should be
recognisable, properly positioned and well-proportioned in relation
to the rest of the shield.
A few Golden Rules concerning charges are:
Aim to achieve an
"equality" of metals and colours. If a blue shield with a white lion
looks very blue, the lion is too small. The corollary to this is
that charges should be spread until they fill the shield.
Use a certain
amount of distortion in order to fit the charges, especially beasts
and monsters, into the field.
When there are
three of the same charge, try the effect of making the one in base a
little bigger than the other two, but be careful.
Remember to use
exaggerations of the qualities of charges - the claws and teeth of a
lion, the beautiful curves of a fleur-de-lys, the prickles of a
thistle, the horns and ring of a bull (but not his teeth... !) The
fact that an inn-sign showing Warwick's bear and ragged staff gave
rise to the name "Pig-and-Whistle" is not a very good recommendation
for the heraldic artist concerned.
Colours, Metals and Furs
Depending upon the
medium in which we are working, there will be a choice of colours
available commercially. In fact, we shall normally need three
colours for each heraldic tincture; the basic colour itself, e.g.
cobalt blue for azure, and two others - a pastel version for
highlights and a darker e.g. Oxford blue for shading. How much
shading you employ is a matter of your own taste. On flags intended
for flying, I use none at all except where it is necessary to show,
for example, the face and mane of a lion guardant. A ceremonial
banner, however, merits a little more attention to the modelling of
the charges.
Many artists also
vary the basic colours according to the other tinctures in the
design, or in order to achieve a certain "atmosphere". For example,
a deeper red may seem appropriate in ecclesiastical armorial
bearings. A special case arises in those rare instances when the
heraldic rules have been bent by the granting authority and a colour
is placed on a colour, or when a field is divided and the result is
two adjacent colours. Here, we may partially overcome the problem by
selecting a darker shade of one of the colours and a lighter shade
of the other, thus increasing the contrast between the two.
As far as the
metals are concerned, most artists agree that silver is best treated
as white, whether one is working on paper, wood or stone. There are
few silver paints which give a good result, and reflections often
cause the shield to look odd. Imitation gold paints, on the other
hand, may give a pleasing appearance and gold leaf, especially on a
gesso base, can look superb.
It is my strong
opinion that a metallic effect should never be given to heraldic f
lags or banners of any kind; in fact, in many countries it is the
practice to blazon the same arms with gold for the arms and yellow
for the banner, or silver and white respectively. An exception is
found in Regimental colours, Girls' Life Brigade colours and their
like which may have battle-honours, badges or lettering which can be
executed in gold. I do not, however, count these as real heraldry!
Among the banners of the Garter Knights at Windsor and the Knights
of the Bath at Westminster, there are many which have gold applied
to their surface, but they lack the liveliness which can be
introduced by shades of yellow and ochre.
Certain ceremonial
flags look well if made of materials which have a certain satin
sheen but even this should not be overdone.
The furs are
indicated by the presence of tails or, in the case of vair and vairy,
the special arrangement of blue and white, or other combinations of
colours. Each artist tends to develop a favourite method of
depicting these and, with rare exceptions, one is always best to
stay with what one draws best.
All your own work
You may not be a
good artist, you may not consider yourself a good draughtsman. It
doesn't matter, as long as you amuse yourself. Never be afraid to
copy the greatest artists - You will find art students doing this in
almost any gallery - as long as you gradually develop your own
style.
You can always
remember, too, that the medieval heraldic artist was often not a
very good draughtsman either - that is precisely why this art form
is so stylised. When your design is finished, there is one major
criterion for judging its merit: is it
recognisable and does it identify its owner? |
