Arms Part III

 
j.carrasco
 
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j.carrasco
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12 May 2011 22:48
 

I agree with others on here, your badge is awesome!  I would love to see the little rat raising the sword as your crest.

What are the reasons behind your color scheme?  Like Kathy, I don’t believe I’ve seen that anywhere.

 
Benjamin Thornton
 
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Benjamin Thornton
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12 May 2011 23:15
 

Jonathan, I don’t mind the notion of a rat, but I’m not particular to the way you’ve drawn it.  But if the compass rose and rat are the important charges, leave it at that.

Howzabout "Vert a compass rose Or, on a chief Argent a rat passant Sable"? It’s simple, identifiable at a distance or in miniature, and in my opinion, lets the rat be in a more natural position.

 
Jeffrey Boyd Garrison
 
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Jeffrey Boyd Garrison
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12 May 2011 23:21
 

Rat is a very unique charge for the shield device, my opinion is that you should keep it, rampant or however you like; I think it’s awsome and original.

I also was born in 1972, however, I am just before the advent of rat and still fall under the tail end of pig. raspberry Metal Pig to be precise (Beevis & Butthead would probably be chanting right about now). Chinese zodiac is great and it doesn’t matter if your descendants identify with the rat or not, their heraldic legacy will have been started by someone ensigned by the rat and that’s what matters.

 

I’ll look for you on the battlefield and if I see the rat flying fierce and high, I’ll rally to your standard. :yarr:

 
J. Stolarz
 
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J. Stolarz
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12 May 2011 23:32
 

I will give you that the rat is unique, and perhaps a good reason to keep it.

 
Michael F. McCartney
 
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Michael F. McCartney
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13 May 2011 04:48
 

Joseph posted (several pages back) "I would suggest a max of three tinctures, and often times it’s even best to just stop with two. I’ve never seen a emblazon yet that I care for that had more than three tinctures."

Hey!—I resemble that remark!

 

At this point—or well before!—I would prescribe a fridge test—or maybe I already have, its that Alz-whatsit again—but by now you’d need to rent an appliance store to accommodate all the artwork…

 

The black eagle on a white field with a chief is a nice design, but likely to fairly closely resemble any number of historical arms—not just German or Polish—I’ve seen black eagles in Scottish heraldry for example.  Not an exact match, but likely close enough to suggest "indeterminate cadency" from the Scottish folks.

 

I don’t much care for your rats (my daughter once had a pair of ferrets…I would have preferred a large hungry cat), but at least its unlikely to infringe on existing arms.

 

Of the various vermin, I prefer the versions with the rat on a plain white field & the little compass roses on a chief; but of course it’s not my decision.

 
Benjamin Thornton
 
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Benjamin Thornton
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13 May 2011 09:03
 

Michael F. McCartney;82933 wrote:

Joseph posted (several pages back) "I would suggest a max of three tinctures, and often times it’s even best to just stop with two. I’ve never seen a emblazon yet that I care for that had more than three tinctures."


Mike - that was Joshua, not Joseph.  I’m sure you can apologize for the mistake personally at one of your Four Tinctures Anonymous meetings.  With each other’s help, perhaps one day you can meet Joshua’s exacting standards.

 
Kathy McClurg
 
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Kathy McClurg
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13 May 2011 09:58
 

I guess I’d be a part of the FTA, too.

 
J. Stolarz
 
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J. Stolarz
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13 May 2011 10:31
 

It’s alright Michael and Kathy…I’ll find it in my heart to forgive you wink.

 
Jonathan Dominguez
 
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Jonathan Dominguez
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13 May 2011 10:41
 

All - thanks for the input!

The rat is the charge I’ve always wanted, it’s just that simple. I’m not married to four tinctures, but I do like that what’s in my avatar is legal. I think it’s just fine as is. Be that as it may, I value that advice I’ve been given here and will work to simplify it.

 

Attitude of Charge - currently it’s in a rampant position, which I believe probably isn’t appropriate for this type of creature. Would sejant be more palatable?

 

Field division - I like the pale division with a chief, but it seems I’m the only one. How ‘bout per pall inverted or, vert, and argent? I a pair of counterchanged compass roses and a sable rat would look great. I guess I think an argent or Or field with a simple chief is just that, too simple.

 
Kenneth Mansfield
 
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Kenneth Mansfield
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13 May 2011 10:47
 

J. Stolarz;82857 wrote:

That being said, honestly I’m not really a fan of your new design.  Most of it has to do with there being too many tinctures involved.  I would suggest a max of three tinctures, and often times it’s even best to just stop with two.  I’ve never seen a emblazon yet that I care for that had more than three tinctures.

I let this go, but in light of the more recent comments I’ll go ahead and speak up. There are COUNTLESS beautiful coats of arms ranging from simple to complex that contain 4 colors and to suggest that it is better, much less best, to limit the number of colors (to two or even three) in a coat of arms really is a slap in the face to those who have done a good job of it. I do agree that simple is better, but that isn’t necessarily reflected in the choice of which or how many colors. It is certainly also possible to design a dreadful coat of arms with only two colors.


Michael F. McCartney;82933 wrote:

Joseph posted…[snip]

Hey!—I resemble that remark!

Benjamin Thornton;82935 wrote:

Mike - that was Joshua, not Joseph.  I’m sure you can apologize for the mistake personally at one of your Four Tinctures Anonymous meetings.  With each other’s help, perhaps one day you can meet Joshua’s exacting standards.

I imagine that was a matter of the fingers moving faster than the brain as Joseph clearly would be a member of the FTA as well. wink

[/hijack]

 
 
Jonathan Dominguez
 
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Jonathan Dominguez
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13 May 2011 10:56
 

Thanks, Kenneth, I love a good hijacking in the morning. :D

Back on track, using my avatar as the core reference, for me personally, I’m just not happy with the how the, ahem, sinister-end of the rat melts into the vert field. That’s a bummer because I love everything else about this shield.

 

Before the hijacking, I suggested an inverted pall. I think that will resolves the issue of rat visibility, though it does mean a smaller charge overall. Obviously the best visibility is attained via an unparted field. That just doesn’t appeal to me.

 
J. Stolarz
 
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J. Stolarz
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13 May 2011 11:23
 

Ok, I will give you that Joseph has a nice coat of arms, and was able to pull off the four tinctures.  It looks like I’ve once again stuck my foot in my mouth.  Something I’ve been doing a lot lately it seems, but the positive side is that I’ve been learning a lot lately as well. :D

The problem I have with Jonathan’s current design is that all four of his tinctures play a large role in the arms itself.  You have three main tinctures on the shield itself, taking up almost equal space, and then you have four charges that are all the same tincture.  If you notice in Joseph, Michael, and Luis’s arms, they all have four tinctures, but not all four tinctures share an equal value of importance on the shield.  It has…supporting tinctures if you will, so you aren’t as prone to noticing that there are in fact four of them.  Jonathan’s arms on the other hand is like a slap in the face of color, and you can’t help but notice that all four tinctures are there.

 
Kenneth Mansfield
 
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Kenneth Mansfield
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13 May 2011 11:37
 

No 24;82942 wrote:

The rat is the charge I’ve always wanted, it’s just that simple. I’m not married to four tinctures, but I do like that what’s in my avatar is legal. I think it’s just fine as is. Be that as it may, I value that advice I’ve been given here and will work to simplify it.

Attitude of Charge - currently it’s in a rampant position, which I believe probably isn’t appropriate for this type of creature. Would sejant be more palatable?

 

Field division - I like the pale division with a chief, but it seems I’m the only one. How ‘bout per pall inverted or, vert, and argent? I a pair of counterchanged compass roses and a sable rat would look great. I guess I think an argent or Or field with a simple chief is just that, too simple.

I like the per pale division with the chief as well. How about Per Pale Argent and Or a Rat rampant Sable on a Chief Vert three Compass Roses counterchanged?


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Jonathan Dominguez
 
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Jonathan Dominguez
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13 May 2011 11:47
 

J. Stolarz;82949 wrote:

Jonathan’s arms on the other hand is like a slap in the face of color, and you can’t help but notice that all four tinctures are there.

Well that was what I was going for. You look out across the field, you will see my colorful pennant, with it’s feral rat (or whatever it might be) flying high. That’s the effect I want.

Basically, I want highly visible arms that feature charges that are important to me.

 
J. Stolarz
 
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J. Stolarz
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13 May 2011 11:50
 

That’s not exactly what I meant by a "slap in the face of color", but whatever floats your boat.