Flying Heraldry: The Arms of the American Heraldry Society

Flag of arms for the American Heraldry Society, rendered by Lucas Hofmann,
November 2023.

Flying heraldry brings to life the abstraction of the shield, and I simply love to see how a coat of arms can be translated as a flag.  Several days ago, I began sketching out the arms of the American Heraldry Society to see how they would appear when rendered as a flag.  Note, this flag is not official but just for fun.  My drafting skills are clearly limited and I work in pencil--the eraser is my friend.  Sadly, I've never learned digital art, and I'll leave that up to the experts.  My goal with any line drawing is to give the artist the exact proportions and overall design concept for a finished product. 

For these American corporate arms to become a flag, I wanted to use designs from the great Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) for a distinctly "American feel."  So, I cobbled together various artifacts from my data and voila.

The initial sketch with the talons and tail feathers compressed,
leaving empty space below the eagle.

La Rose used the eagle extensively in his design work, mainly as the charge representing Saint John.  Additionally, the phoenix rising from the flames has the same body as an eagle.

One of six shield shapes used by la Rose throughout his heraldic work,
rendered by Dimitri Prica.

For the three eschuteons on the chief, I wanted to use one of the six shapes la Rose employed throughout his career.  I selected the one above to help break up all the straight lines.

I received some helpful feedback based on my initial sketch, as the eagle's talons and tail feathers appeared too compressed.  With a solution in mind, I made another sketch landing on the final image below.

Concept sketch:  final line drawing for the flag.

La Rose was big on "filling the field," or rather keeping charges in proportion to the field to avoid leaving empty space.  My first sketch violated that cardinal rule as the bottom feathers and legs left too much empty space--a no no for the herald!  Needless to say, la Rose has a lot to teach us about design composition, and I'm learning something new--from something old--every day.

The Society's arms rendered as a heraldic banner, by Lucas Hofmann, November 2023.

Seeing a sketch come to life through a full-colored digital rendering is truly fun and gratifying.  For now, I'll keep doodling and see what else can be hoisted from a flag pole.