In the first step, the composition for the hand-painted coat of arms is discussed with the customer. Here we can work with different datasets. We primarily accept the wishes of the customer and make a non-binding offer. Crucial here is the desired technique and the size of the painting.

In order to better visualize the size and position of the individual elements of the painted coat of arms, we work with digital programs and collages. This is a great advantage, especially for new compositions, as the correction options on the drawing paper are later severely limited. It may also require the support of a drawing tablet. However, this does not produce a full-fledged, printable, digital coat of arms. The sketches are only for better visualization of the expected result.

In the sketch in advance, the most important contours are transferred to paper. A hand-painted coat of arms as a watercolor or acrylic painting requires a clean work surface. The baselines must be as fine as possible and be erased after the first application of the paint. A drawn coat of arms in the pencil technique allows a much freer stroke in the preliminary drawing. As a rule, faulty lines are painted over here. Erasing is rarely necessary.

A hand painted coat of arms requires a lot of precision and concentration. Corrections of incorrectly drawn lines are only possible to a limited extent, depending on the technique. A clean stroke requires a lot of experience and a lot of time for the heraldic artist.

Large surfaces as well as backgrounds (with the hand-painted coat of arms in the acrylic technique) are colored directly after the preliminary drawing. A color balance based on a photograph is theoretically possible, but in most cases meaningless. Depending on the monitor setting and the exposure, the colors on the screen of the receiver may differ greatly from the original. Color adjustments must therefore be made as far as possible on the basis of the (digital) templates in advance of the drawing process.

Therefore, we generally do not inform our customers about the intermediate steps and the status of the work of art. However, this is partly due to the fact that the work steps can hardly be planned in advance. Often we divide our work into several stages – but sometimes a painting is completed in one session.

Another reason is, however, that you cannot directly recognize many time-consuming steps in the photographed state. Supposedly minor things can possibly mean several hours of work, but they make the quality and class of the hand-painted original of the coat of arms.

Inner shades can help visually enrich a hand-drawn crest and create three-dimensionality. For larger image areas, we use this form of presentation by default. Smaller coats of arms (for example, as an ornament of a painted family tree), however, we often leave without shades. In some cases, a two-dimensional image is advantageous for the total composition.

The final fine-tuning certain lines of the coat of arms are traced and highlights are set. You may need to erase auxiliary lines. Subsequent colored spots may have to dry – depending on the painting technique. The finished coat of arms will be sent as an insured DHL parcel afterwards. Drawing paper is always sent rolled up. A canvas with stretcher is shipped in a padded box.