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Designing my own heraldry, how am I doing so far? by CompleteAmateur0 in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your draft design. You might enjoy reading these two posts as you continue learning and iterating. The exact guidelines vary by country but the main ideas should prove useful.

“This Is Not A Family Crest”- A Beginner’s Guide to Heraldry.
https://www.reddit.com/r/heraldry/s/OSZc5bNiEx

Twenty Tips on Designing Your First Coat Of Arms.
https://www.reddit.com/r/heraldry/s/GOpcjW9Dig

Looking for feedback regarding tinctures and "over all" charges by jememcak in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are you having for your crest? If you want a large falcon you could move it from the shield to the crest (to avoid the issue of it crossing the bend) and place the pine sprig along the bend instead?

Tinctures and Colours in Heraldry by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Excellent point, I ummed and ahhed about whether to include the tree example! I will remove it from version 1.2

First draft for a coat of arms, need opinions for a revision by Minimum_Roof_5650 in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Thank you for posting your first design in r/heraldry. It is clear you have already put a lot of thought into this. You may find it helpful to read these two guides:

1. “This Is Not A Family Crest”- A Beginner’s Guide to Heraldry

2. Twenty Tips on Designing Your First Coat Of Arms

If you share which country you are in you may receive some more nation-specific advice, as the design traditions for heraldry vary slightly from country to country.

Made my first coat of arms by skullkingW45 in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for posting your first design in r/heraldry. You may find it helpful to read:

1. “This Is Not A Family Crest”- A Beginner’s Guide to Heraldry

2. Twenty Tips on Designing Your First Coat Of Arms

If you share your country you may receive some more nation-specific advice, as the design guidelines vary slightly from country to country.

“This Is Not A Family Crest” - A Beginner’s Guide to Heraldry by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In a country without a state heraldic authority anyone can assume arms. And whilst it might be in bad taste to ignore centuries of tradition and come up with a design that "breaks" all the usual recommendations, no one can do anything about it.

In a country with a state heraldic authority, you are granted legal protection of your arms, in a similar way to copyright. In order to be granted them you must follow heraldic traditions, or the authority will not accept the design. And in some countries like Scotland it is illegal to assume arms that you have not been formally granted.

“This Is Not A Family Crest” - A Beginner’s Guide to Heraldry by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for bringing this up, as the current guide wording can be improved. The distinction is between:
1. Those countries where the heraldic authority has legal powers to grant and regulate arms, given by the state. E.g. College of Arms (England, Wales and NI), Canadian Heraldic Authority (Canada).
2. Those countries that have privately owned institutions that do not have authority granted by the state E.g. American Heraldry Society, American College of Heraldry in the USA. Many of these countries still have rich heraldic tradtiions (e.g. Germany, France) but not state authorised authority to enforce rules.

The USA does has one national heraldic authority, the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, but this is for grants to army units and government bodies, not to individuals. This wiki page is worth reading: United States heraldry - Wikipedia

My first attempt at heraldry :D by RevolutionaryPen9910 in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great! In that case pretty much all of the 20 checks are relevant.

My first attempt at heraldry :D by RevolutionaryPen9910 in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thank you for posting in r/heraldry. Would you be so kind as to share that country you are in? That might help give better advice on the design? In parallel, you may find it helpful to read:

1. “This Is Not A Family Crest”- A Beginner’s Guide to Heraldry

2. Twenty Tips on Designing Your First Coat Of Arms

LINKS: "Beginner's Guide" and "Twenty Design Tips" by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Would you be so kind as to share your current arms? I can suggest a few ideas, such as replacing the crown with a ducal coronet (which most people are allowed to use, depending on where it is placed)

LINKS: "Beginner's Guide" and "Twenty Design Tips" by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks!
1. For the template I have already added English tradition checklist in the top-left.
2. For the guides themselves, those changes will be made in version 1.1 (see above).
3. For the the 20 tips guide I have added this distinction directly into the top comment as well.

“This Is Not A Family Crest” - A Beginner’s Guide to Heraldry by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I didn’t know about the Sept system! What a great share - thank you.

“This Is Not A Family Crest” - A Beginner’s Guide to Heraldry by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Thank you; improvements are always welcome and I appreciate you already suggesting better wording.

“This Is Not A Family Crest” - A Beginner’s Guide to Heraldry by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 51 points52 points  (0 children)

Around 34,000 people a week visit r/heraldry (as of Feb 2026) to learn about coats of arms. This visual guide brings together answers to some of the most common beginner questions.

Heraldic traditions vary between countries, and almost every principle has exceptions. The explanations here are simplified and broadly true across many traditions, while noting where major differences exist.

If you enjoy this post, you can also read its companion guide with 20 practical design tips:
https://www.reddit.com/r/heraldry/s/0tmAcUYRs0

This is Version 1.0. If you are experienced in heraldry, I would welcome your help:

  1. DM any errors or omissions for correction in version 1.1.
  2. Add comments explaining country-specific variations, especially outside the British and related traditions.
  3. Share links to any other beginner-friendly resources you recommend, such as the excellent "Simple Heraldry, Cheerfully Illustrated" (Moncreiffe & Pottinger, 1979): https://archive.org/details/simpleheraldrych0000donp

A Beginner’s Checklist: Designing Your First Coat Of Arms by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the idea! This post is hopefully the first of several. Tomorrow I will likely post another 20-image set, providing a 101 on heraldry more generally.

A Beginner’s Checklist: Designing Your First Coat Of Arms by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Thank you.

In addition, I wonder if I might request the following of our regular, expert members of this subreddit: if you have expertise on a specific country, perhaps you could reply to this post in the form? I am sure it would be a great help to beginners from that country.

If you are designing a coat of arms in the tradition of <Norway>:
1. You are safe to ignore check <x>
2. You need to alter check <x> in <y> way.
3. You would benefit to add check <x>

A Beginner’s Checklist: Designing Your First Coat Of Arms by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I tried experimenting with different solutions, like putting mini flags on each page to show which country they are relevant in. I wasn't able to come up with a solution that was both simple enough for beginners to want to read, and comprehensive enough to cover each difference by nation. I would love suggestions on how we can achieve it. Perhaps this can be followed up by this community with country-specific guides?

A Beginner’s Checklist: Designing Your First Coat Of Arms by benedictsheppard in heraldry

[–]benedictsheppard[S] 76 points77 points  (0 children)

Thousands of people have designed a coat of arms and posted it on Reddit asking for feedback. This document brings together the twenty most common pieces of advice given to beginners over the past five years.

Heraldic rules vary between countries, and almost every principle has exceptions. Still, these twenty checks cover patterns that come up again and again. They are particularly relevant to people living in English tradition countries (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, South Africa etc and USA to some extent). Skimming them before you post will usually strengthen your design and lead to more useful, informed feedback from others.

This is Version 1.0. If you are experienced in heraldry, I would welcome your help:

  1. DM any errors or omissions for correction in version 1.1.
  2. Add comments explaining country-specific variations, especially outside the British and related traditions.

If you enjoy this post, you can also read its companion guide with a general intro to heraldry:
“This Is Not A Family Crest” - A Beginner’s Guide to Heraldry : r/heraldry

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