I’ve been sitting on this design for awhile now and have finally decided that I want to assume this as my official arms. I’d like to get feedback from the Society to solidify my decision. As some of you may recall, for the past couple of years I have been juggling through some designs and when I put them up for review I received a lot of good feedback and guidance. Now I am doing the same. It has passed the "refrigerator" test, I’m happy with it, and ready to go to the next step. I still need to work the artwork for the cardinal, but this is essentially it.
And finally, I am EXTREMELY out of practice on my, albeit basic, blazoning ability, but I wanted to give this a go:
Gules, a chevron cottised argent with 3 cardinals natural, two mullets argent chief, one mullet argent base.
Maybe:
Gules between three mullets Argent on a chevron cottised Argent three cardinals Proper
Gules on a chveron cottised between three stars Argent three Cardinals (Cardinalis Cardinalis) Proper
James
Agree with James’s preference for calling a star a star (assuming you intend them to represent stars and not spur rowels), but I personally would blazon the caridinals as gules. No reason you can’t do that and still include the minor black markings on the face. And you avoid having to specify that they are male cardinals, since a female cardinal proper looks like this:
http://www.wvpics.com/pics/FemaleCardinal.jpg
Plus I just philosophically prefer to blazon using the heraldic tinctures rather than "proper" whenever possible.
Joseph McMillan;95299 wrote:
I personally would blazon the cardinals as gules. No reason you can’t do that and still include the minor black markings on the face.
Plus I just philosophically prefer to blazon using the heraldic tinctures rather than "proper" whenever possible.
My thoughts exactly. As for the design . . . . nice! 8-)
It’s a nice design. Personally I’d prefer the tinctures and charges reversed, but that’s just because the cardinals would benefit from being bigger and the stars wouldn’t be hurt at all by being forced onto the chevron.
Argent on a chevron cottised between three cardinals Gules three stars Argent.
But that’s just me I’m sure.
I agree with Mr. Mansfield. Still, a cool and dynamic design! Well done!
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"Plus I just philosophically prefer to blazon using the heraldic tinctures rather than "proper" whenever possible."
Indeed, especially since so many animals vary greatly in color across species and seasons. Some bears have a ‘cinnamon" phase, for example. (Maybe we can call this Mr. McMillan’s "cardinal" rule.)
This is a nice design and if you are happy with it great, although I personally like Kenneth’s suggestion of reversing the tinctures and charges. Certainly the cardinals would benefit from being bigger that way but I suppose that depends upon whether you wish to emphasize the cardinals or the stars more.
See, this why I bring things to you guys! I had originally toyed with Ken’s suggestion but for some reason I didnt go with it. When I get home I am going to switch things around again.
My biggest thing was settling on the charges and division, so adjustments like that are minor in the big scheme of things.
I guess the choice between the two main options most recently discussed would depend in large part on whether you prefer a red or white field; and perhaps on the relative symbolic importance of stars vs birds. (And of course due concern for any possible infringement or too close for comfort similarity to any existing arms.)
If you want a red field, another way to have the birdies on the chevron a bit bigger would be to drop the cottises (unless they’re necessary to avoid infringement) & make the chevron a bit fatter—but whether that would make for a better (more personally appealing) overall design would be a personal call; & at least it would call for another refrigerator test comparing it with the other version(s) still in the running.
Patience is a major heraldic virtue…
Kenneth Mansfield;95305 wrote:
It’s a nice design. Personally I’d prefer the tinctures and charges reversed, but that’s just because the cardinals would benefit from being bigger and the stars wouldn’t be hurt at all by being forced onto the chevron.
Argent on a chevron cottised between three cardinals Gules three stars Argent.
But that’s just me I’m sure.
Ditto Kenneth’s thoughts.
My preference:
Argent on a chevron between three cardinals Gules three stars Argent.
Crest: A cardinal Gules charged on it’s breast with a star Argent.
I agree with the consensus on reversing everything. It looks cleaner and has a better balance with everything. This is why I bring things to you guys 
Very, very nice.
Yeah. I like this one a lot! Very nice. I think that’s a winner right there.
Thank you! Now to proceed to the next step…researching to make sure I’m not infringing anywhere. Any recommendations on where I should start off with that?
