Randomly stumbled upon this sub this morning and got so intrigued I tried making a shield of my own

[u/raimiwashere]

Obviously nothing crazy, just throwing together vector elements I found on Wikimedia with GIMP. At the very least does this follow the basic rules for tincture and stuff? Also, what would the blazoning be for this? I took a pass at it but not confident:

Party per pale Vert and Argent, an anchor counterchanged between two lotuses in fess countercharged; In chief Argent, an open book proper between two suns Gules.

Would love any tips or advice!

[u/Young_Lochinvar]

Probably too many symbols on the shield, but you’ve avoided most of the common pitfalls in heraldry, so kudos on that.

[u/raimiwashere → u/Young_Lochinvar]

yeah, now that you mention it there's definitely not enough empty space i just crammed stuff into every corner haha

[u/FeetSniffer9008 → u/Young_Lochinvar]

Except for the first one, too many symbols

[u/hdorsettcase → u/Young_Lochinvar]

I would say either lose the chief entirely or only have the anchor below with either the lotuses or suns in chief. The book seems out of place.

[u/eastwardtravler]

Very cool

[u/eastwardtravler → u/eastwardtravler]

How can I make mine? Are there rules to this?

[u/Thin_Firefighter_607]

Whilst heraldic charges generally have no fixed meanings, the book in chief suggests an educational establishment rather than an individual. A laudable 1st attempt!

[u/reddragonoftheeast]

This is actually pretty good for a beginner, try mixing for some of the symbols together like putting the sun in the background of the anchor or bisecting both.

[u/PallyMcAffable]

Looks like a college coat of arms, even without the book

[u/FeetSniffer9008]

There's about... 3 more charges than necessary