Crest Series

 
David E. Cohen
 
Avatar
 
 
David E. Cohen
Total Posts:  359
Joined  08-02-2008
 
 
 
23 June 2008 22:12
 

And me foolishly telling you my crest design might not be final, so hold off on any emblazonment.  I really need to finalize it now! :D

 
Michael Swanson
 
Avatar
 
 
Michael Swanson
Total Posts:  2462
Joined  26-02-2005
 
 
 
23 June 2008 22:28
 

Daniel, thanks for your fine work!

 
WBHenry
 
Avatar
 
 
WBHenry
Total Posts:  1078
Joined  12-02-2007
 
 
 
23 June 2008 22:30
 

For those of you who are liturgically minded, no, that is not a Catholic priest, but yes, that is a remarkably fiddle-back looking chasuble. In honor of our Lutheran friend, the priest figure in his crest is modelled on an Icelandic Lutheran priest.  I am blissfully unfamiliar with the divisions within the Lutheran community, so I hope I haven’t offended you, reverend. I played with several different head orientations, but I settled on looking heavenward, so please let me know if that’s the impression you get. I didn’t have any model to copy from and it’s not exactly an angle one can do in the mirror.

Offended?  Not at all!  Quite honored, actually.  Thank you for this remarkable rendering.  And what is wrong with the traditional old fiddle-back?  Indeed, I know several Lutheran pastors who still wear them on occasion (although my own sacristy is full of monastic-cut and Laudian-cut chasubles, but to each his own!).  The ruff fell out of general fashion in the late 1500s, but was retained by clergy in northern Germany and Denmark…and, of course, would have come to Iceland by way of Denmark since they were under the rule of Denmark at the time of the Reformation.  (Although some clergy still wear the ruff in those countries, I am rather surprised you even ran across a picture with a ruff in it!)  And "looking heavenward" beats "navel gazing" every day of the week!  As for the Lutheran community, 90% of the inhabitants in Iceland are Lutheran, and the Lutheran Church of Iceland is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, as is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the denomination to which I belong).  In fact, at the current time, the Chief Bishop of the ELCA is the President of the LWF.

 

I have to admit, I believe you have been doing far more than just "sharpening your new pencils"!  Your emblazonments are wonderful.  Keep up the good work and please keep sharing with us!

 
Dcgb7f
 
Avatar
 
 
Dcgb7f
Total Posts:  516
Joined  07-07-2007
 
 
 
23 June 2008 23:30
 

That’s good to know. I wasn’t sure if you were Missouri Synod, and after doing some research I was wondering if depicting a cleric from one of their non-partnered churches would be a bad idea. As an aside, I think the ruff looks awesome… sort of like how I like the biretta among Catholic clerics. In my searching, I found a few other ruffs… mostly with bishops though. I particularly remember the pictures from a royal wedding in Denmark.

 
Donnchadh
 
Avatar
 
 
Donnchadh
Total Posts:  4101
Joined  13-07-2005
 
 
 
24 June 2008 01:55
 

Daniel, what can I say? There is so much to say, and yet, nothing at all because it is all so good and speaks for itself.

I must say, however, your questions were never a bother! I enjoy sharing art and artistic tips with others. I always have. I was happy to assist you in the few questions you had. And, sadly, I still feel terrible about not letting you know before hand of the difficulty in sharpening the soft core Premier pencils. The Verithins are easier, but not as easy to blend with the ink. I just felt so bad about that when you told me of it! Sigh.

 

As to your work, I can honestly say I am just very, very, very impressed! Your ability to use and manipulate the colors of the ink and pencils is very, very, very good! This is the beauty of ink and pencil IMO and its cost and ease to use and quick drying makes it more consumer friendly for the everyday Joe like me. It is how I keep my costs down for my work and that is intentional. You have shown us just how impressive these mediums can be. You and Jon are doing excellent work with these mediums and I am happy because I like and believe in these mediums very much myself.

 

My favorite, however, is my own. I love the detail in the coronet. My monitor is a 15” 4 year old monitor, so I can’t see on my PC with great clarity. However, I believe I see a bishop who I think looks like St. Patrick holding a pastoral staff in one hand and what I think might be a shamrock in the other and perhaps standing in a field of shamrocks…I can’t tell…under the shorter spikes and Our Lord’s Holy Cross flanked by angels under the taller spikes. I am sure I messed that up, but again my monitor, and even PC, are old and out of date, so my images are not as clear, clean as others. :(

 

Aside from my own, there are so many to like. I would say Rev. Henry’s because of the feel of an ancient style of human figures I get from your images – I think they are very reminiscent of the illustrations from centuries long, long past. No kidding – I think this is your signature plank in all future work you do – it is that good.

 

However, Dr. Polysongsang’s crest is simply spectacular! The use of the varying qualities of grey are so good that I can at once feel like it is dimensional. And that is the greatest thing IMO. The sun is also spectacular and the whole thing just blows me away.

 

My hat’s off to ya Daniel! I am so impressed and happy in so many ways…I just can’t say enough.

 
Dcgb7f
 
Avatar
 
 
Dcgb7f
Total Posts:  516
Joined  07-07-2007
 
 
 
24 June 2008 03:01
 

Those are very nice sentiments. And, thank you for providing me with all the details about which colors and types of Prismacolors I should buy for heraldic work. You forever have the credit of turning me onto Prismacolor. (Although, I still prefer paint because of it’s more traditional look and feel… but it takes so long, so I’ll likely reserve it for special works.) Your work really shows me what can be done, and it also serves as a proficiency goal, so to speak, towards which I can strive to achieve, and surpass if I’m lucky. I find it interesting that while I originally set out imitating your style on several of these crests, I’ve arrived at, I think, something quite different and definitely more me.

You got the basics of your crown. The center and far edges are supposed to depict two angels holding the cross. The figure is of a bishop with crozier and mitre. This does indeed represent St. Patrick. The free hand I envisioned giving a blessing, but there was no way I could get that level of detail. As it is, I think it just fades away into nothing… at least that’s what I intended because I didn’t make any conscious effort to make it look as if he was holding anything.  The figure is standing among shamrocks—three on either side since. I sort of looks like a bush with shamrocks, but that’s because I really couldn’t shrink them anymore. I went with this specific religious motif as opposed to something more regal because it’d be nice to reflect you personally through it.

 
emrys
 
Avatar
 
 
emrys
Total Posts:  852
Joined  08-04-2006
 
 
 
24 June 2008 05:57
 

like them all especially the dragon.

 
Patrick Williams
 
Avatar
 
 
Patrick Williams
Total Posts:  1356
Joined  29-07-2006
 
 
 
24 June 2008 07:28
 

Dcgb7f;59693 wrote:

Patrick Williams

This was one of the more difficult ones since I couldn’t find any consistent description of a Japanese fire dragon. So, I improvised and grabbed all the consistent traits I found on his previous emblazonments. The rest I just had some fun with.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Resine/Heraldry/Crest Series/WilliamsP.png

 

Voila!


Wow! Thanks muchly. You’re doing some quite wonderful work with them there pencils!

 
werewolves
 
Avatar
 
 
werewolves
Total Posts:  477
Joined  14-08-2007
 
 
 
24 June 2008 12:44
 

Wow, some really amazing work here.  Very nice indeed.  The "rodent" and the bear are particularly impressive.  You have a great eye for conveying a lifelike look, without having them look realistic.  Does that make sense?  At any rate, well done.

 
Jeremy Keith Hammond
 
Avatar
 
 
Jeremy Keith Hammond
Total Posts:  789
Joined  20-06-2008
 
 
 
24 June 2008 12:46
 

Yay! My Demi-Kenobi sable!

 
Donnchadh
 
Avatar
 
 
Donnchadh
Total Posts:  4101
Joined  13-07-2005
 
 
 
24 June 2008 15:30
 

Quote:

Your work really shows me what can be done, and it also serves as a proficiency goal, so to speak, towards which I can strive to achieve, and surpass if I’m lucky.

I think you have in some respects already and I think you will ultimately in an overall sense. I am older and set in my ways. There is very little room to improve based off of my own personal preferences/patterns, which at 36 and having done art since I was 7, are very, very hard to break. Plus, truth be told, I am not certain how long the Lord will bless me with this gift. I can honestly see a day in the not too distant future that I will have to retire from actively creating/making art all together. Such is life.

You, however, in addition to much, much skill and a keen eye, have youth on your side! IINM that is. smile

 
Jonathan R. Baker
 
Avatar
 
 
Jonathan R. Baker
Total Posts:  625
Joined  27-03-2007
 
 
 
24 June 2008 16:52
 

Dcgb7f;59693 wrote:

Jonathan Baker

This is the second time I’ve done Mr. Baker’s crest. I wasn’t totally impressed by my last attempted - I just had to out do myself.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Resine/Heraldry/Crest Series/BakerJ.png


And you have certainly succeeded!  This is wonderful, Daniel and I appreciate it very much!

 

Your other stuff is looking very good as well.

 
Kyle MacLea
 
Avatar
 
 
Kyle MacLea
Total Posts:  269
Joined  27-04-2006
 
 
 
24 June 2008 17:18
 

Excellent job, I loved ALL these emblazons.  I do have to say that the bear is a big highlight, but they were all great.  Keep it up!

Kyle=

 
Mark Olivo
 
Avatar
 
 
Mark Olivo
Total Posts:  536
Joined  23-02-2005
 
 
 
24 June 2008 20:27
 

Add my voice to the chorus of praises!

 
David Pritchard
 
Avatar
 
 
David Pritchard
Total Posts:  2058
Joined  26-01-2007
 
 
 
26 June 2008 23:58
 

Dear Daniel

I have to say that I really appreciate the heraldic style that you have developed. It is very refreshing to see so much motion and spirit embodied in each of your illustrations. You have a natural gift with heraldic art that will continue to improve through continued practice. Congratulations on compiling such an excellent group of crests in such a short period of time!

 

David