The Desk.

Here's a neat thing I did tonight. I haven't been here in a while and needed an update, so it might as well be this. I designed a coat of arms. Contrary to popular belief, the coat of arms is assigned to an individual, not to a family, so if you have a family crest, it is one that originally belonged to someone with your surname, from whom you are descended, and there can be several crests with a particular surname. I used this site to find the meanings of different symbols and designs on a crest, as well as the rules for designing a proper crest. I then used this site for the actual art used in my crest. I just copied a pasted each element into paint and fiddled with them a little bit to put the whole image together. The shape, base design, colors, and each element within the image has a particular meaning, even down to the placement and position of each, according to traditional heraldry, but the discretion of the artist and owner of the crest are allowed within reason. Of course my crest includes an eagle and wolf, both of which have a traditional meaning associated with them, as well as my own personal meaning attached to each, that I don't really need to go into because it's kind of obvious. Below the eagle and the wolf I placed the upward crescent, which traditionally signifies that the crest is that of a second-born son. The colors are teal and blue, guess why. And while teal is not a traditional color for heraldry, it works with the design. The background is called a chevron, which is basically a downward V, and symbolizes protection, and also happens to be the same background design as on the old English Watson crest. The old English Watson crest has three black birds at the corners, and three gold crescents within the chevron itself, which is blue. I don't know who this crest originally belonged to, or if I am even descended directly from that person, but it doesn't really matter given what I found out about the crest not belonging to a family but an individual, much like a rancher's cattle brand is his own, but they can be passed down through inheritance, just like land, title, and property. Therefore the right to use a particular herald, on say a shield, or coat of arms, is inherited from the person who originally had it designed. The symbols could basically be chosen at the artists discretion, based on the characteristics of the crest holder (bravery, honor, etc), or based on a particular event, such as a battle where he showed particular valiance or a place he traveled, or simply based on his identity alone, such as a pun on a name like Wolf or Griffin, etc. The colors also had a specific meaning, such as red for courage, loyalty for blue, and purity for white. There are also very specific rules for designing your herald, such as the placement of symbols and how to use colors and designs, but ultimately that was up to the artist even if it looked like crap. Either way, simplicity is key. One or two animals and one or two other symbols (such as the crescent, or a sword or scythe) is about the maximum before it becomes to busy and loses any meaning it had. So it's important to choose only the most significant symbols for you and place them in balance for maximum effect. Anywho, here's the herald I designed, along with a couple previous versions. First I did it with some basic silhouettes, and some by hand, until I found the site with the clipart that was more in the style of traditional medieval heraldry symbols. The first, while more primitive because of how I drew it, looks a little more modern and even a little more American, with the shape of the shield and the symbols, but I like the traditional medieval look of the other two, though I don't know which of those I like best. It might go through some minor refinements before it's finalized, and after that, I don't really know what I'll actually do with it; I just have an obsession with symbolism.

Version 1:
Versions 3 and 2, respectively:
Here's the traditional crest of the Watson family, as I described, also I have a keychain I got in England, maybe you've seen it.