Family crest project - I'm so happy with the first 'draft'

[Mike vonBuelow]

Tweeks to be made, including inlay, but I'm real pleased with my first attempt of my family crest.

Actual variation of the family crest added for reference

Yes, the umlat cut was a mistake, and the holes will be filled in with something gold

[Dee Gallo]

Mike! Great job, you did a great job on it! I love the dimensional pieces and the deep holes - Thanks for posting the picture showing the close-to-final job you started working on a while ago - we don't get to see things all the way through most of the time.

One question - what happended to the "der" in the name?

cheers, dee

[Mike vonBuelow]

I chose not to use it, although I should ask if it's proper to keep it

[Mike vonBuelow]

oh yes, this one

[Dee Gallo]

Yeah, the 3D flowing cloth really makes all the difference! SO much better!

Another question - not trying to nitpick, but are you allowed to change the shape of the shield? I don't know anything about family crests, but if each element is symbolic, I'd wonder about it.

[Mike vonBuelow]

yes & no - each coat of arms is representative of a person, so minor tweeks are authorized and encouraged, as long as the basic elements remain (at least that's how I understand it)

I'll take a pic of each piece apart tomorrow - the coat looks MUCH better in the pic than in person, but still 3D-ish.

The under piece of the coat is actually attached to the shield on the middle layer, and the front/top piece sits on the top layer.

[Mike vonBuelow]

Dee,

I found out that "wappen von Bulow" is a term for a family coat of arms, whereas "wappen der von Bulow" would be for all von Bulow's in the world.