Silent Requiem

Aidoneus: I'd love to get some pictures up, but I have no means of taking such photos right now. If that changes I'll definately post some. Narthecium: While I was (very) briefly involved with the SCA, my study of heraldry actually relates to one of my other passions, the study of identity. It is my own view that much of (western) society's current problems stems from the fact that people no longer have a clear idea of who they are, as groups or individuals, and they often search for identity in the wrong (or at the very least, destructive) places. This has led me to study the various ways that cultures have tried to create or preserve a sense of identity throughout history. One of the most powerful tools, the use of symbols, is best exemplified in heraldry. The psycological impact of heraldry (while less well documented than the form) is very powerful, and functions on several levels simultaneously. -Silent Requiem

Just an update with a focus on the "practical reality" of heraldry painting. As I paint more (and more, and more) grey knights, I find that I am hard pressed to come up with unique charges that still fit the "theme" (as defined by GW) of grey knights. What I have done instead, is that, as before, I have assigned a field and ordinary to each squad, but the only charge that each PAGK (by far the bulk of my forces) gets is a Roman numeral from I through X. I (done as =I=, a bit of a pun on my part) is the justicar, and X is my incinerator, though I may paint an "identical" model to represent the same soldier with a psycannon. Alternatively, this could just as easily be done with Japanese or our own Arabic numerals. This means I can use the rather limited "approved" imagery for my GKT. I may also allow justicars an additional ordinary on their arms if I have any ideas left over. The net result has actually been a visual improvement, as each squad looks more unified, as I put the charge in the same place for each model within the squad. I hope this helps other GK painters as much as it did me. -Silent Requiem PS. Sorry for the thread-o-mancy. If I could post without "bumping", I would.

Feor, I'm not sure I understand you, but I think what you are saying is that PAGK should wear their justicar's feild and ordinary, with no charges. This would be very similar to what I suggested, and so I would say that the choice between the two is personal. I prefer the idea that GK earn their heraldry once they complete their training, whereas what you are suggesting implies that heraldry is earned once the GK reaches command rank. What you are suggesting is more fitting with modern military concepts, and would look very good IMO. My method is closer to the 'family' practices of the middle ages, and also looks good (IMHO :)). -Silent Requiem

I know what you mean about being a slow painter. What I did was to "quickly" (for me, at least) paint a rather darker take on the typical metalic scheme (which looks good, but not great), and now I'm slowly repainting them in NMM. But of course this is largely because I don't have much luck getting games atm. :( -Silent Requiem

Well, I put the coat of arms on the right shoulder pad, beneath the name plaque. But your idea sounds awesome, and I would steal it if I didn't already love my bases to pieces (blue slate flagstones). You mention the slotted bases, but I have a really easy way to deal with that. I file the slot down to a small "peg" under each foot, and then simply drill two small holes for the pegs in a regular base. The holes are then completely hidden by the model's feet, resulting in a seamless base. Got the idea from the GKT models, which come that way. -Silent Requiem

Heh. Didn't think of that. I only use one squad, so it never occured to me. Your idea sounds really good though. Or you could paint a coloured border around your coat of arms, with the colour corresponding to the squad. -Silent Requiem

Thanks for the image! My media skills are weak (otherwise would demo with my own GK), and I did not want to simply link to the work of others for fear of copycight, etc. Moving on... Heraldry: the deeper meaning Heraldry is more than just a way of identifying people; it’s also a way that people (or families) tell their story. Nothing about heraldry is arbitrary. Colours have meaning, and were chosen carefully to say something about the wearer. The charges were often selected to remind people of particular events in their family’s past. Perhaps a great victory, or a lesson learned. Each generation that inherited the coat of arms also had to distinguish themselves in some unique way from the “root

I love precision. When I paint my models, I want to know they are 100% codex, while still being distinctly my own models. So it drives me crazy that we know so little about GK heraldry. This post (and probably the next couple) is aimed at explaining the system I have come up with for making consistent and fluffy coats of arms. Heraldry Generally Before we can consider the consistent use of heraldry in the context of Grey Knights, we first need to understand the rules of heraldry. Not all of them of course, but we do need to know how a coat of arms is made up. Colours First of all, there are two basic kinds of colours in heraldry: tinctures and ores. Ores are the metal colours; yellow (gold) and white (silver). These are not actually metal paints, as there was no such thing, but rather the colours that were thought to represent the metals. Tinctures are the colours blue, red, purple, green and black. For completeness I will mention that these colours are all traditionally referred to by their Latin names in heraldry, but we can dispense with that for our purposes; we seek understanding, not fluency. There is also a third kind of “colour�? called a fur, but it is more of a pattern than a colour, and on models of the size we paint, the patterns are too small for any but the most skilled painters (ie, not me). If you have incredible brush control PM me and I’ll tell you all about it. A well done fur would look amazing. The important thing to remember about the colours is that a metal must NEVER be next to another metal, and a tint must NEVER be next to a tint. This is called the rule of tincture, and the reason for the rule is very simple: from a distance (or under poor visibility conditions generally) tints blur into each other, as do metals. But the contrast of a metal next to a tint allows for easy recognition at a distance. This was pretty important in battle, where you did not have time to squint at a person approaching you to determine if he was friend or foe. For our purposes this rule is very useful, because following it helps us create highly visible coats of arms on our small models. The Field The background of the shield is called the field. It can be plain, or it can be divided. The most common divisions (again, skipping the Latin) are “in two, vertically�?, “in two, horizontally�?, “in two, diagonally, from the upper right�?’ in two, diagonally, from the upper left�?, “in four, as a cross�?, “in four, as an X�?, “in three, as a Y�?, and “in two, as a chevron�?. This means that a basic description of a coat of arms might begin with “a red and silver field, divided in two, vertically�?. The division need not be a straight line. It could be a wavy, jagged, indented, etc. Again, however, I find that the level of brush control required makes a straight division easiest. The Ordinary An ordinary is a strong, simple shape that may overlay the field. The most common ordinaries are the “line(s) diagonal�?, “cross�?, “X�?, “chevron(s)�? (ie, V), “line(s) horizontal�?, and “line(s) vertical�?. Ordinaries typically extend across the whole field. There are in fact “sub-ordinaries�?, which occur within divisions of the field, rather than across the whole. So an example of a coat of arms up to this point might be, “a red field with two gold vertical gold lines in the ordinary�?. Or perhaps, “a red and blue field divided in four, cross-wise, by a silver ordinary�?. Notice in our last example that the ordinary allows us to use a two tone field that would normally be prohibited by the rule of tincture. The Charge The charge is quite simply the name for any shape or image that is imposed over the field and/or ordinary. They can be as simple as a heart shape to as complex and detailed as a roaring lion. Your painting skill is the limit here. The important thing about the charge is that it is exempt from the rule of tincture, so you can have that blood red lion on your green field if you want it! A completed (and very simple) coat of arms might be, "A red and blue field divided in four, cross-wise, by a silver ordinary. On each red field, a black arrow, and on each blue field, a gold eagle�?. Up next... what this means for Grey Knights! -Silent Requiem