Post Your Granted, Assumed or Desired Arms

[Cygnus]

Taking MacMillan of Rathdown's advice into consideration, this is what I now have:


I tried it with the galley Or, but it just didn't feel as balanced as it does with it Argent; I did, however, change the flag colour from Gules to Or.

The shield looks just fine with three fluer-de-lys Gules, but I felt like something was missing. The lion is a symbol that connects the Swan arms with many MacDonald arms, and having a great deal of MacDonald heritage, I couldn't just leave it out. A lion rampant would, like the galley in the previous version, have been too "busy" for such a small space, so I decided to replace the small galley on the chevron with a lion's head erased Gules langued Azure.

The blazon, to the best of my ability, is:

Azure, between two swans with wings expanded Proper in chief and a lymphad Argent flagged Or with sails furled and oars in action in base, on a chevron embattled counter-embattled Argent a lion’s head erased Gules langued Azure between two fluers de lys Gules; all within a bordure Or; over all a label of three points Gules.

What does everyone think now?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

First and foremost I'd like to say that it really doesn't matter what others think, as long as you are happy with your arms. That said I definitely think this version is better; the red charges on the chevron really bring the arms to life, as does the galley in base. I still have some reservations about the lion's head on the chevron. On my monitor the shield measures 2.25 inches from top to base point; if you reduce it to 3/4 of an inch (the size it might be on letter paper, a calling card, or the rim of a plate) I'm not sure the lion's head erased would be all that legible (it might be mistaken for a bit of current stuck to the plate).

Since a galley on a gold field figures prominently in M'Donald heraldry, might I suggest you consider doing away with the embattled chevron and blazon your arms simply: per chevron azure and or in chief two swans argent, in base a galley. By eliminating the chevron you would at once gain more space for the swans and galley-- which seem to be the focus of the heraldic statement you are trying to make-- while making the full achievement readable if reduced in size.

As far as cadency is concerned, with this proposed blazon, there are three options: (1) using a black line to separate the bordure from the base; (2) using a chequey bordure; (3) and the instance I would favour, placing a small crescent between the swans. Thus, you would inherit your father's plain coat, and your younger siblings could then difference by bordure in the usual fashion.

Back to you!

[SlackerDrummer]

On my monitor the shield measures 2.25 inches from top to base point; if you reduce it to 3/4 of an inch (the size it might be on letter paper, a calling card, or the rim of a plate) I'm not sure the lion's head erased would be all that legible (it might be mistaken for a bit of current stuck to the plate).

Keep in mind that the resolution of your monitor is 72 dots per inch. A laser printer is going to be a minimum of 300 dots per inch and getting calling cards printed off-set by a good printer will be a minimum of 600 and possibly better. In other words, if you want an image to look good at 3/4" high on paper needs to look clear and crisp at about 3" high on your computer.