Painting a Medieval Shield for SCA Armored Combat
Medieval Shield Painting
Torstein Hartvikssön | Arts & Sciences | September 21,
2021
Heraldry and Medieval Shields
Painting of shields has a long history going as far back as ca.
900–31 B.C. with classical Greek armor, featuring shields painted with
elaborate geometric patterns, mythological scenes, or animals. In the Middle Ages, the painting of shields
was often used to identify the banner under which a soldier fought. This practice is recognized as the beginning
of heraldry.
The Colors of Heraldry
The five traditional colors are, with their heraldic names:
·
Red = Gules
·
Blue = Azure
·
Green = Vert
·
Black = Sable
·
Purple = Purpure
Plus the two 'metals'
·
Gold or yellow = Or
·
Silver or white = Argent
There are also 'furs', the most common being:
·
Ermine: representing the white winter fur of
stoats, with their black tail tips.
·
Vair: representing squirrel skins, in blue and
white.
If something (say a dog or badger) is shown in its natural
colors, it's called proper.
Heraldic Ordinaries
Ordinaries are the simple shapes used on heraldic shields,
against a colour, metal or fur background. If you are making your own design,
choose one of these main ordinaries:
·
Pale = vertical stripe down the shield
·
Bend = diagonal stripe
·
Chevron = like a house gable, pointing upwards
·
Cross = a plain cross
·
Saltire = a 'St. Andrew's cross'
·
Chief = bar across top edge of shield
·
Bordure = border round edges of shield
·
Pile = downward-pointing triangle
You can also divide your shield into two colors, either
vertically or horizontally, or into four different-colored quarters.
You don't have to use an ordinary, but if you do remember to
never put a color on color or a metal on a metal. Try to remember this heraldic
rule: colors don't show up well against colors, or metals against metals. This
also applies to charges.
Heraldic Charges
Charges are emblems added to the shield, on the background,
the 'ordinary', or both. There can be one big charge, or several smaller
repeated ones. Here are some of the common charges you could use:
·
Crosses - of many different types
·
Stars
·
Rings
·
Balls
·
Crescents
·
Diamonds
·
Flowers
They can be any color, but remember never put color on
color, for example a green star on blue, or metal on metal, for example a white
flower on yellow. Many knights also used
animals as charges. For more information
on Heraldry in the SCA, please visit: http://heraldry.sca.org/
Preparing a Shield for Paint
Most SCA heavy armored combat shields are constructed either
of wood laminate or aluminum with some bucklers being made of steel. Different paints adhere differently to these
base materials, so in order to aid in longevity of the artwork there are a few
things to account for. Focusing on wood and aluminum shields, I always use 3m
super 77 to adhere heavy (7.1oz-10oz) linen or duck canvas fabric to the front
of the shield ( a good how to can be found here: https://diversearts.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/how-i-make-my-shields/).
Supplies
Gesso
To
prepare the canvas or linen for paint, applying a gesso. Gesso is a primer that prepares the surface
for paint, filling the weave of the fabric and creating a more even
surface. Pre-made Gesso can be purchased
at art stores or online, but is also fairly easy to make using the following
ingredients:
·
3 parts cornstarch
·
3 parts Baking Soda
·
1 part glue
·
1 part white acrylic paint
·
2-3 parts water
Instructions:
1.
Mix the cornstarch and baking soda together
until you can't see any lumps.
2.
Then add your glue and acrylic paint and mix
everything really well.
3.
Finally, add water a little bit at a time until
you have the right consistency (pancake batter consistency).
Once
the gesso is complete, apply across the fabric cover of the shield coating
thoroughly. I typically do 2-3 coats of
gesso so that my colored fabric is painted white with gesso. If needed, the gesso can be lightly sanded to
smooth the surface more, but this step is often not needed.
Paint
Traditionally, medieval paints were often made from mineral pigments (made from rocks, plants, or animal by-products) mixed with a binding agent such as egg tempera or linseed oil which made for a paint that was prone to cracking if too thick. This required many thin layers or glazes to create a colorful painting that would last. Modernly, we have more options for paints, and can use traditional paints, or more modern oil or acrylics. Most major craft stores carry decent acrylic paint in brands such as Apple Barrel or Folk Art. These come in a variety of colors and do a good job of coating, without too much fading over time. My preferred brand of paints are Arteza Acrylic paints, which I find to have more vibrant colors, a better consistency, and resist fading. Note that as acrylics age, they can thicken over time, changing the consistency of the paint. They can be thinned down with some paint thinner to re-use them or replaced with newer bottles.
Brushes
For brushes, a basic acrylic brush set will work, but for
larger area coverage I often pick up some inexpensive foam brushes. A good set of detail brushes will help with
fine lines or intricate areas. For line work, I prefer to use acrylic paint
markers with chisel tips, and I keep an assortment of markers in both fine and
extra fine tips. Both Arteza and Uchida
make excellent acrylic paint markers.
To clean your brushes, during painting I keep a jar of cold
water with a little bit of rubbing alcohol in it to set my brushes in. When switching brushes, it is as easy at
swirling the brush in the jar, then pulling it out and wiping it off on a
lint-free rag to make sure no paint is still on it. When done painting for the day, give your
brushes a rigorous clean with mild soap and cold water, one at a time. Cold
water is key here because warm or hot water will actually help the paint set.
Rinse until the water runs clear. Next, take a moisturizing bar of soap and
stroke the wet bristles across the top.
Grasp the tip of the bristles between your index finger and thumb and
wiggle the handle of the brush while holding onto the hairs. This will create
suds to push soap up into the ferrule, which will grab any stubborn paint you
may have missed earlier. Now, rinse again
and then blot on a clean piece of white paper towel. If any trace of paint
remains, repeat the process.
While
your brushes are still damp, brush the very tip of the brush over the bar of
moisturizing soap. Use this added moisture to reshape the brushes gently. For
flats, pinch the chisel edge flat and tap the sides until they are back to
their original shape. For rounds and liners, squeeze the hairs gently into a
point, being careful not to twist them. Place the brushes lying down on a clean
paper towel or bath towel. Don’t leave upright to dry as sometimes suggested,
as again, water can get into the ferrule and loosen the glue holding onto the
bristles. Don’t worry about the soap that remains on the tip of your brush;
this soap will harden and will serve as a protective barrier for the bristles.
Key Points to Remember
Keeping
your paintbrushes happy essentially comes down to a few major rules.
·
Never let paint dry on the paintbrush
·
Don’t get paint on or in the ferrule
·
Don’t rest your brushes bristle-side down in
water or solution
·
Keep brush bristles moist
·
Store lying down on paper towel or a bath towel.
Design
Before you paint, it is important to have
a design in mind, or better yet on paper. The shape and style of shield may
affect the design with things like shield bosses altering how a design can be
placed, or the overall size and shape of the shield lending to structure or
layout of design. For those that are
interested in SCA Heraldry, there are rules about field divisions, colors,
etc., that can also create challenges when designing the shield. For the purpose of this class, we will focus
on general design, noting that colors of a similar brightness or shade will
often be less visible against colors of similar nature. This can be prevented by utilizing border or
outline around the color to make them stand out more.
Paint Process – Layer by Layer
Under-drawing
Once
a basic image has been chosen, it needs to be transferred onto the shield. This process of transferring the design onto
the medium is called under-drawing or outlining. For those who are artistically inclined, they
may choose to just use a pencil (a white or gray fabric pencil works well) and
sketch onto the shield directly. For
others it may be easier to use a projector to project the artwork onto the
shield and trace it on. Another option
is to print and cut out templates of the objects of the design and trace them
onto the shield. There is no right or wrong way to do this, but if the artwork
is not your own original content, I would recommend either asking the original
artist for permission to use, or sticking to free use artwork available online.
Under-Painting
Based
upon the design, begin with the color that covers the most area. Carefully paint around any detailed designs,
then paint in the broader open areas last.
As you paint, use light even brush strokes and try to maintain the
direction of the stroke throughout. This
process is called under-painting and establishes the base layers of color prior
to any detail work being painted. For right handers, start at the top left
corner and work to the bottom right to prevent dragging your hand or sleeve
through wet paint (opposite for left handers).
A
great tool to invest in or make is called a “Mahl Stick” or hand rest, which
allows movement of the brush while stabilizing the arm/hand above your
work. The Mahl stick prevents your hand
from resting on the painting itself.
While it can be tempting to proceed to the next color
after painting your first coat of the initial color, I recommend getting the
initial color through its first 2-3 coats or until it is even and consistent in
color across the entire project before applying the second color. I tend to apply my colors in the order based
upon how much coverage is required, with the most coverage being applied first
and the smaller areas being applied later.
Detail Work
As mentioned earlier, for detail work a
fine brush or fine tip paint marker is required. Make sure that all base colors are applied
first, and completely dry prior to attempting to add the details. Not waiting long enough can lead to colors
bleeding or running. Go slow with this as it is easier to add more paint than
it is to subtract it (sometimes you can blot excess paint, or worse sand it
down a bit and reapply base coat to start over). One of the best ways to add detail is through adding
highlights or lowlights, through shading and outlining.
Clear Coat
Once all of the details have been
completed, it is time to protect the artwork.
Some may argue against wasting time on this step as SCA armored combat
can be extremely rough on shields. However, putting on a clearcoat can make it
last longer and clean up easier. I use a two-step process using an initial 2-3
coats of a satin clear spray paint used as an initial protective layer/fixative
to prevent the colors from bleeding together when applying the second product,
the Minwax Polycrylic Clear Satin Water-Based Polyurethane topcoat. This topcoat is spread on evenly using a foam
brush for 3-4 coats. This provides a
thick, durable protective topcoat with one important quality. It is strong enough to enable the use of a
magic eraser to remove scuff marks left by duct tape and other marks from
combat. I always use a satin or matte
finish for my clear coats as gloss clear gets far too shiny in a sunny open
field, which makes the artwork more difficult to see.
References
Barris, S., Brown, G., Kelly, P., Bell, N., Grandy,
B., & Goranov, A. (n.d.). The Shield: An Abridged History of its Use
and Development. Retrieved from myarmoury.com:
http://myarmoury.com/feature_shield.html
Boutell, C. (1890). Heraldry, ancient and modern.
London ; New York : F. Warne.
Breiding, D. (2003, October). The Decoration of
European Armor. Retrieved from The Met:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/deca/hd_deca.htm
Cartwright, M. (2020, October). Colour &
Technique in Renaissance Painting. Retrieved from
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1628/colour--technique-in-renaissance-painting/
English Heritage. (2021). A Beginner's Guide to
Heraldry. Retrieved from
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/guide-to-heraldry
Fox-Davies, A. C. (1904). The art of heraldry :
an encyclopædia of armory. Retrieved from
https://archive.org/details/artofheraldryenc00foxd/
Knight, Jr., H. T. (2020). COMBAT WITH SWORD AND
SHIELD: Armored Sword and Shield Combat on Foot in the High Middle Ages.
Retrieved from http://www.schlachtschule.org/instruction/SwordandShield.pdf
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. (2013). Layer by
Layer. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDqD-d6Osew
Vadnal, J. (n.d.). Glossary of Medieval Art and
Architecture. Retrieved from https://sites.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/INDEX.HTM
Yale News. (2015). An ancient Roman shield gets a
makeover thanks to a Yale team. Retrieved from YaleNews:
https://news.yale.edu/2015/11/02/ancient-roman-shield-gets-makeover-thanks-yale-team
Comments
Post a Comment