How to Make a Punk Coat of Arms

Punk coat of arms example

Punk is a youth anti-government and near anarchy movement that came out of 1976 London. This tutorial will illustrate how to create a punk coat-of-arms. A coat-of-arms is, according to Wikipedia, a symbol frequently containing a shield flanked by supporting items and capped with a crown, helm or coronet. They generally contain a slogan, and are used to signify various aspects of heraldry and symbolize what a person or group is about.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil or other drawing media Magazines Scissors Glue stick

Instructions

1. Gather any imagery, magazine cuttings, sayings, song lyrics or anything else you may choose to include in your punk coat of arms. Remember, this is your coat of arms, so you can be as expressive as you want. If you look at the example image you can see how expressive they can become.

2. Create your shield. You can use an image cut from a magazine or draw it. If you draw it, use a good marker for filling it in. If using a magazine, cut it out make sure you glue it well by applying the glue to both surfaces and pressing hard.

3. Place your supporting images. These again can be drawn or cut from a magazine. There should be one on each side of the shield so that they "hold it up" or support it, and they should mirror each other.

4. Place any additional imagery you would like on your shield. Much of this may need to be cut from a magazine if your shield is dark. Remember to keep your imagery related to your central idea or theme. Common punk imagery includes safety pins, skulls, anarchy symbols, stars and grunge-style lettering.

5. Draw or place your "crown, coronet, or helm" above your shield. In the example I chose to use a baseball cap as it suited the overall theme of my coat of arms.

6. Create your banner to contain your motto. This can go at the top or bottom. Traditionally the English placed their banners at the top and the Scots placed theirs at the bottom. If you choose you can have both. It may be best to draw your banner, because it will give you better control over how it is placed.

7. Write in your motto. You can hand write it or cut individual letters from magazines. Remember again to keep your slogan on topic with your theme for your coat of arms.

8. Add any additional imagery or decoration you would like. In the example I chose to scan my coat of arms into Photoshop and add some grunge-style brush work to the design.

Tips & Warnings

• Supervise children using sharp objects and adhesives.