Artist Hints

Page Contents

1 Background

2 Making Changes Using Descriptive Terms

3 Making Changes Using Precise Numerical Control

4 Image Boundary Issues

Background

If you engage a human artist to create a coat of arms for you it is often a collaborative process. On being shown the first draft, you might say things like - "That's lovely, but can you make the lion a bit larger and move it up a bit?".

The same dialogue is possible with DrawShield, using the "Artist Hints" extension. These are placed within the blazon itself and should follow whatever it is the hint is about. Hints are introduced with the keyword shown (or, if you prefer your language more archaic, shewn somewhat). So, in the example above, your blazon might contain something like a lion gules shown larger and slightly raised.

You can give hints about charges, wherever they are used, and also about most parts of the achievement, including the shield itself. Note that the mantling, if it is present, is always fixed in size and position, all the other parts of the achievement are sized and positions relative to the mantling. If you want to adjust the position of the shield itself then use the shield shown smaller (or whatever) at the end of the achievement.

Artists hints can not be applied to ordinaries as these have fixed positions and sizes, however there are heraldic terms (slightly) enhanced / abased which will move an ordinary upwards and downwards respectively. Similarly you cannot apply artistic hints to divisions or treatments, these are always drawn in fixed positions.

The list of available hints, and their effect is as follows:

Making Changes Using Descriptive Terms

The intention of this format is to modify a blazon in a way that looks at least a little bit "heraldic", i.e. using plain language terms that have a fairly widely understood meaning.

Changing the Charge Size

To make charges smaller:

slightly smaller - the charge will be shown about 90% of the normal size
smaller - the charge will be shown about 80% of the normal size
much smaller - the charge will be shown about 60% of the normal size
very much smaller - the charge will be shown about 40% of the normal size

To make charges larger:

slightly larger - the charge will be shown about 10% larger than usual
larger - the charge will be shown about 20% larger than usual
much larger - the charge will be shown about 40% larger than usual
very much larger - the charge will be shown about 60% larger than usual

Note that for the following four hints, the charge is not necessarily stretched or shrunk. The space available for the charge to fit into is adjusted, how much of the additional space the charge occupies depends on how much it is allowed to flex. Lions are fairly flexible, roundels not at all.

To make charges wider:

slightly wider - the charge will be shown about 10% wider than usual
wider - the charge will be shown about 20% wider than usual
much wider - the charge will be shown about 40% wider than usual
very much wider - the charge will be shown about 60% wider than usual

To make charges narrower:

slightly narrower - the charge will be shown about 10% narrower than usual
narrower - the charge will be shown about 20% narrower than usual
much narrower - the charge will be shown about 40% narrower than usual
very much narrower - the charge will be shown about 60% narrower than usual

To make charges taller:

slightly taller - the charge will be shown about 10% taller than usual
taller - the charge will be shown about 20% taller than usual
much taller - the charge will be shown about 40% taller than usual
very much taller - the charge will be shown about 60% taller than usual

To make charges shorter:

slightly shorter - the charge will be shown about 10% shorter than usual
shorter - the charge will be shown about 20% shorter than usual
much shorter - the charge will be shown about 40% shorter than usual
very much shorter - the charge will be shown about 60% shorter than usual

Move the Charge from its Normal Position

To rotate charges:

rotated to the dexter - The charge will be rotated anti-clockwise (i.e. towards the top left).
slightly rotated to the dexter - The charge will be rotated anti-clockwise, but not quite as much .
much rotated to the dexter - The charge will be rotated anti-clockwise, but a bit further round.
very much rotated to the dexter - The charge will be rotated anti-clockwise, but a quite a bit further round.

You can also use the terms clockwise / anti-clockwise / counter-clockwise if this clearer to you.

Obviously you can also use sinister in place of dexter to rotate in the opposite direction. You can also use constructions like turned towards the sinister if that reads better.

The rotations are in steps of 9 degrees, so slightly rotated is 9 degrees, and very much rotated is 36 degrees. Do NOT use multiple rotations when you really mean bendwise or bendwise sinister.

To move the charge upwards:

slightly raised - the charge will be moved about 1/40th of the shield height upwards
raised - the charge will be moved about 1/20th of the shield height upwards
much raised - the charge will be moved about 1/10th of the shield height upwards
very much raised - the charge will be moved about 1/5th of the shield height upwards

To move the charge downwards:

slightly lowered - the charge will be moved about 1/40th of the shield height downwards
lowered - the charge will be moved about 1/20th of the shield height downwards
much lowered - the charge will be moved about 1/10th of the shield height downwards
very much lowered - the charge will be moved about 1/5th of the shield height downwards

To move the charge sideways:

slightly to the sinister - the charge will be moved about 1/40th of the shield width to the sinister side of the shield
to the sinister - the charge will be moved about 1/20th of the shield width to the sinister side of the shield
much to the sinister - the charge will be moved about 1/10th of the shield width to the sinister side of the shield
very much to the sinister - the charge will be moved about 1/5th of the shield width to the sinister side of the shield
slightly to the dexter - the charge will be moved about 1/40th of the shield width to the dexter side of the shield
to the dexter - the charge will be moved about 1/20th of the shield width to the dexter side of the shield
much to the dexter - the charge will be moved about 1/10th of the shield width to the dexter side of the shield
very much to the dexter - the charge will be moved about 1/5th of the shield width to the dexter side of the shield

Repitition:

shown likewise - the same set of adjustments that were applied most recently will also be applied to this charge

Adjust the Spacing of Multiple Charges

To adjust spacing between multiple charges you can use the largely self-explanatory terms:

closer together
much closer together
very much closer together - In some cases charges may overlap
further apart
much further apart
very much further apart - In some cases charges may extend beyond the edge of the shield

Note you should avoid using closer together when you really mean conjoined, which is a true heraldic term. Nor should you use repeated positioning hints when you really just mean something like in first quarter or one of the other heraldic positions on the field.

Additional Options

The word slightly can be replaced by a little if you prefer.

You may also use additional words and phrases like than the usual or than is normal, which don't have any effect but might make your blazon clearer.

Examples Using Descriptive Terms

Argent a mullet vert shown somewhat larger than the normal (or, more concisely) Argent a mullet vert shown larger

Argent a crescent gules shown much smaller and raised from the usual

You can also do non-heraldic but interesting things like stacking multiple charges neatly: Argent a mullet vert shown somewhat larger than the normal a mullet or a mullet gules shown smaller a mullet azure shown much smaller

Fine control

It is possible to repeat these hints and each will applied in turn, however it is strongly recommended to use the much modifiers rather than repeating the adjustment. Not only does this look grammatically nicer, the "effect" of a much is actually greater than repeating the "basic" modifier. Consider the following examples:

A roundel or smaller smaller smaller: size multiplier = 0.8 * 0.8 * 0.8 = 0.512
A roundel or very much smaller: size multiplier = 0.4
A roundel or to the sinister to the sinister to the sinister: Movement = 1/20th + 1/20th + 1/20th = 3/20th (0.15)
A roundel or very much to the sinister: Movement = 1/5th (0.2)

However, if you want absolutely fine control and don't mind how ugly your blazon you can do things like: a roundel or very much smaller larger, which will use a size multiplier of 0.4 * 1.2 = 0.48, a value not achievable directly. Alternatively, see the section below.

Making Changes Using Precise Numerical Control

There is an alternative way of providing artist hints which is definetly NOT heraldic but does provide a great deal more control, even per pixel adjustments if that is what you need.

Numeric Units

You can provide numeric adjustments using various units listed below. If you want to make adjustments numerically you MUST use the keyword by. If no unit is provided, percent is assumed for sizes and positions, and degrees for rotation.

percent / points: Depending on what you are adjusting this represents either the percentage of the original sixe (e.g. for sizing charges) or the percentage of the total shield width (e.g. for moving charges). Note that you CANNOT use the percent symbol '%', at least for now.
tenths: by tenths of the original size, or tenths of the shield width, as appropriate
twelths: by twelths of the original size, or twelths of the shield width, as appropriate
thirds: by thirds of the original size, or, less usefully, thirds of the shield width, as appropriate
quarters: by quarters of the original size, or, less usefully, quarters of the shield width, as appropriate
half: by half of the original size, or, less usefully, half of the shield width, as appropriate
degrees: precise number of degrees for rotation
pixels: precise number of "pixels" - note that you can assume that the shield is 1000 pixels wide and (normally) 1200 pixels high. This is the finest resolution change that is supported

Changing Charge Size Numerically

smaller by N [units] - the charge will be shown smaller in proportion to its original size (or by an absolute number of pixels)
larger by N [units] - the charge will be shown larger in proportion to its original size (or by an absolute number of pixels)
wider by N [units] - the charge will be shown wider in proportion to its original size (or by an absolute number of pixels)
narrower by N [units] - the charge will be shown narrower in proportion to its original size (or by an absolute number of pixels)
taller by N [units] - the charge will be shown taller in proportion to its original size (or by an absolute number of pixels)
shorter by N [units] - the charge will be shown shorter in proportion to its original size (or by an absolute number of pixels)

Moving Charges Numerically

raised by N [units] - moved up from its normal position by the specified propotion of the shield width (or by an absolute number of pixels)
lowered by N [units] - moved down from its normal position by the specified propotion of the shield width (or by an absolute number of pixels)
to the dexter by N [units] - moved to the dexter from its normal position by the specified propotion of the shield width (or by an absolute number of pixels)
to the sinister by N [units] - moved to the sinister from its normal position by the specified propotion of the shield width (or by an absolute number of pixels)
rotated by N degrees - rotated by the specified number of degrees to the dexter (i.e. anticlockwise)
rotated dexter by N degrees - rotated by the specified number of degrees to the dexter (i.e. anticlockwise)
rotated sinister by N degrees - rotated by the specified number of degrees to the sinister (i.e. clockwise)

Adjusting Charge Spacing Numerically

closer together by N [units] - reduced space between charges, in proportion to the overall normal width of the group.
further apart by N [units] - increased space between charges, in proportion to the overall normal width of the group.

Take Care! Becuase the change in spacing is based on the overall size of the charge group (NOT the space between individual charges) you should only use small values - at adjustments above 16 percent charges may start to overlap or extend beyond the shield edges depending on the operation.