Preparing Your Forms

Making the Odds Ever Be in Your Favour: surviving the heraldic submissions process
 – Konstantia Kaloethina

Please contact a herald to assist you in the submissions process. They will have valuable experience that can help you avoid potential problems with your submission. If you can’t find a herald locally,  contact Blue Tyger Herald for a referral.

Your submission must obey the Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory (SENA), Administrative Handbook, and other applicable Laurel and Brigantia policies in order to be accepted; failure to do so can cause your submission to be returned. This means that, among other requirements:

  • the official forms must be completed, including at least one contact method;
  • the contact information must be legible;
  • all necessary documentation must be included; and
  • the correct number of copies of both the form and the documentation must be made.

Submissions that do not meet requirements may be administratively returned for revision.

NOTE:

  • The only sources for documentation that do not require photocopies are listed in Appendix H of the Administrative Handbook. This also applies to documentation to support armory submissions.
  • Sources to avoid are found in Appendix F of the Administrative Handbook.
  • Branch names and devices require petitions – see the Admin Handbook for more information. This does not include order/award names or badges.
  • Resubmissions are free if we can track down the earlier submissions, so please give us as much information on the prior attempt(s) as you can.

Digitally-filled Forms

Digitally-filled forms, and those printed from a color printer, are acceptable for submission with the following caveats. If you are not an experienced graphic artist, you should consider using the tried-and-true method of traced artwork colored in with markers.

  • Alteration of the form is grounds for administrative return. Examples include, but are not exclusive to:
    • Do not paste over or obscure the shield or badge outlines.
    • Do not paste over sections of the contact information area.
    • Ensure that all areas of the form print, including the lines in the contact information area.
    • Ensure that the form is printed at full size – some graphics programs will clip the edges or resize the form.
  • Armory submissions that are printed on a color printer should use “primary colors”, which will scan as being the representative color. Inexpensive inkjet printers often have difficulty printing a strong enough color to scan correctly – browns appear red, reds appear purple, purples appear pink or brown, etc. If the submission colors do not scan correctly the armory may be administratively returned.
  • Armory submissions that are to be sent via email must be 300dpi, 8.5×11 in size, and in .jpg format.
  • There is no requirement that forms be filled out digitally. Hand drawn and hand colored submissions are always perfectly acceptable.
  • There is no standardized color palette to use in armory designs. Web-safe colors are recommended.

Tips and Reminders

Names

  • Your submission must include a summary of the name documentation. This article will help you format your summary properly.
  • You must include photocopies or printouts of all non-photocopy resources used in your name documentation. If you are printing a website, you must include the URL. If you are photocopying book pages, you must include the title page. See the Admin Handbook for more information.
  • Do not use tape, glue, or staples.
  • Multiple submitters in the same household can consolidate their payment and paperwork into one packet.

Armory

  • The guiding principle behind all of the following tips is that art should be identifiable as the intended design, both in the black-and-white line art and in the color version. It should scan cleanly and not damage either the scanner or the paper archives.
  • Recommended: use Crayola Classic Markers or an equivalent (e.g., Rose Art) in heraldic tinctures.
  • Do not use highlighters, as most scanners won’t pick them up.
  • As of October 2020, the use of wax crayons and colored pencils is permitted for submissions. Please make sure, if using crayons or colored pencils, that the color is still identifiable as the intended color.
  • Do not color the black portions of the black-and-white copy – leave it as an outline drawing, like in a coloring book, with enough internal detailing that we can tell what it is. Black-and-white copies that are just grey-scale versions of the color copy may be administratively returned.
  • Medium-nib pens are preferred for the outline art, as the slightly wider lines scan better. All elements of the line art on the black-and-white copy should be of similar line weight.
  • Do not attach printouts of armory images to the form with glue or tape – ensure that the art is directly on the form.
  • Avoid heavily shaded or pixelated art. Clean outline drawings are easier to identify and less likely to be returned for lack of identifiability.
  • Can’t draw? Try the Book of Traceable Heraldic Art or the Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry.
    • Important caveat: Inclusion in these collections does not make a given graphic automatically registerable.
  • Do not use tape, glue, or staples.
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