Monochrome?

[ThinBlueLine]

Chas,

You are exactly right about the belt and buckle. The image is by far not the best representation but it was the only one I could quickly link to that had the colored wreath.
I would not plan on coloring the belt and buckle anything other than in greyscale anyhow. The only colored element that has me concerned in the wreath.
You raise an interesting point about skin color. I had not really thought about the background of the image in relation to whether or not it is monochrome.

[Chas]

Don't you think the wreath might look a bit lonely - just three little blobs of blue? If it were me, I would consider a brown/tan for the strap, which would frame the crest. Certainly something to match your own skintone. The buckle, tang and strap end would be in brass/gold.

It might also be worthwhile considering a drop-shadow for the two crest elements. The very thinest of a red line (one pixel wide), on the lower and right edges might give the two a lift. If you look in the graphic the cross crosslet fitchy already has a minute drop-shadow.

Regards

Chas

[MacMillans son]

Of course, as Chas has said, it is your body, but if your goal is to be in keeping with the wishes of the traditional governing bodies, then it seems you may want to stick with this:

"Crest Badges are for wear by the clansmen, and as they are made of silver or white metal they should never be illustrated on paper or other materials in colour, other than white or silver. Line drawings should be printed in
monochrome."

In this instance, I would consider a tattoo a line drawing. And as you have no control over your skin color, would do a line drawing in some variant of the most common color of line drawings, black.

If, again assuming you are wanting to "follow the rules" so to speak, you wish to do something in color, Chas' directions would indicate that a request to your clan chief would be in order to receive his blessings (or not).

That, of course, is just my take on the information you and Chas have provided. Others, with far greater knowledge than me, may suggest otherwise.

Good luck!