Q&A for How to Create Your Own Coat of Arms

Yes. In Europe, the most common alternative shapes for the escutcheon are the lozenge (diamond-shaped, used to display the family arms of unmarried women) and the cartouche (oval, used by clergy, as well as women).

Hearts symbolize wisdom of feelings, love, and affection. They would be best used for a person who is very kind and caring.

Stars - also called mullets - are among the many badges, or symbols, available to be placed on a shield. At one time, as with everything else in heraldry, there was an order of seniority in choosing charges. Some were reserved for the royal family. Next came the dukes, followed by the marquis, earls, barons and viscounts. Others were used primarily by women. When a star is the main charge on an armorial, it tends to mean of divine quality bestowed by God. Also, the star can signify the third son.

You could put a motto/inspirational saying, or just write your full name. If you choose a motto, try to find something that is meaningful to you personally.

Yes, you can make it however you would like. It's your coat or arms, after all!

Hawks or falcons represent people who don't rest until they reach their objective.

You can write whatever you'd like. Coats of arms often held the family's motto in Latin; you could use Google Translate to come up with your own.

A tincture is a pigment you add. Colors (blue, red, green, black, and purple) and metals (gold, and silver) are tinctures. To add one, just color in your Coat of Arms. Be sure that when you add tinctures, you don't break the rule of tincture, which states that a metal cannot go on a metal, and a color cannot go on a color.

It represents love and romance. It also represents feminine qualities. Note that pink is not a traditional tincture, but, you can still use it for fun.

A dragon represents courage. It also represents protection of treasure and valor.

Sometimes, a shark is represented as a demon of the seas, but other times, they are viewed as a symbol of perseverance; since they have no swim bladder and must continue swimming at all times.

Use animals that represent who you are as an individual. Choose an animal that you like. It is your coat of arms.

If you know how to blazon coat of arms, you could use DrawShield but it won't look very good. Vector editors such as Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator, and Sketch App are commonly used. Raster editors are another option. If you are using Windows, Microsoft Paint is available but extremely limited. Paint.NET, Gimp, Krita, and Adobe Photoshop are better options.

The Papal Tiara is reserved for the Pope, so if you are not the Pope, you may not use it.

The Papal Tiara represents the Pope and the Catholic Church. The Papal Tiara is used to represent the Pope so you shouldn't use it unless you are the Pope.

It is completely your choice if you want to write on your banner, but most people write on their banners. You could write your name, your motto or anything that means something to you.