I've written about creating a device that will pass previously, but only touched briefly on the specific rules. I'm going to try and outline some of those rules over the next weeks. This week, I want to discuss the field, or background, of your device.
The colors used in the SCA are gules (red), azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green), and purpure (purple, which is mysteriously missing from the above image, my apologies). The metals used in the SCA are Or (gold, and Or is always initially capped that way) and argent (silver). The most basic rule we have is not to put a color on a color, or a metal on a metal. This means you can't have a yellow circle on a white background, for instance, because the contrast is not good enough across a battlefield.
These seven tinctures are the only ones that are "always legal" on a device. There are rare times when other colors can be used, but they are exceptions and often require a high level of documentation to use. We also have "furs", of which the most popular are ermine (white field with black spots), counter-ermine (black field with white spots), erminois (yellow field with black spots, and pean (black field with yellow spots). These four have wonderful contrast, and provide a good backdrop to appropriately tinctured charges (pictures). You can also use a green field with yellow spots, as it has high contrast and is easy to see the colors, but not the reverse because the spots don't stand out as well. You can also use a yellow field with purple spots, which also has good contrast, and again the reverse likely won't provide you with a good level of visibility.
Another fur that we use in the SCA is called vair, which is white and blue, although any color can be used with any metal, providing what we call a "neutral field". When a field is evenly split between a color and a metal, you can put either a color charge or a metal charge onto it, because there is enough contrast to provide good visibility to the charge itself regardless. This counts when a field is split in half, as well. The furs labeled counter vair, vair in pale, and vair en point are questionable from SCA standpoint.
There are several other furs and field treatments that can be used (see heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/h4f4.shtml for more information), but they are complex and rarely used. Keep in mind that device heraldry should be easily visible from a distance during a battle, so simpler is always better. The more complex furs and field treatments will require a level of documentation you may not wish to do. It takes time and effort, and if you can achieve something similar with simpler means, you should do so.
In designing your device, you should pick colors that you like. You'll be seeing them a lot, possibly putting them onto clothing and shields and tents and such, so it should please you to see them. As a general guideline, try to pick three tinctures, tops, to work with. If you need to sneak a fourth in, it can be done, but if you can stick to three (or even two) it's best. Clarity should always be your goal.
Decide whether you would like a "dark" device or a "light" device. What this means, on a practical level, is that if you prefer colors as a background, and metals on top, then you want a dark device, and vice versa. A single tincture field can have its opposite tincture(s) in the charge. For example, a red or a blue field can have a charge that is white or yellow. This is the simplest form of field coloring. A white or yellow field can have a charge that is any of the colors listed on it.
The SCA has been around for 50 years now, and it might occur to you that all the good devices have already been taken. I can say with authority that it is not true in the least. I have, in the last couple of months, seen some very simple, very elegant devices pass that people were concerned were TOO basic. Always give it a try, even if you don't believe it will pass; you may be pleasantly surprised!
If your basic idea does not look like it will pass, then you can begin to add to it. Instead of a single tincture field, you can divide the field into halves or quarters (or more, although the rules change for sixths and eighths). However, field divisions is really another topic altogether.
TL;DR - Don't put a metal on a metal, or a color on a color. Remember to use good contrast. Think how it would look standing across a seething battlefield.
Now, go forth and contemplate!
The colors used in the SCA are gules (red), azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green), and purpure (purple, which is mysteriously missing from the above image, my apologies). The metals used in the SCA are Or (gold, and Or is always initially capped that way) and argent (silver). The most basic rule we have is not to put a color on a color, or a metal on a metal. This means you can't have a yellow circle on a white background, for instance, because the contrast is not good enough across a battlefield.
These seven tinctures are the only ones that are "always legal" on a device. There are rare times when other colors can be used, but they are exceptions and often require a high level of documentation to use. We also have "furs", of which the most popular are ermine (white field with black spots), counter-ermine (black field with white spots), erminois (yellow field with black spots, and pean (black field with yellow spots). These four have wonderful contrast, and provide a good backdrop to appropriately tinctured charges (pictures). You can also use a green field with yellow spots, as it has high contrast and is easy to see the colors, but not the reverse because the spots don't stand out as well. You can also use a yellow field with purple spots, which also has good contrast, and again the reverse likely won't provide you with a good level of visibility.
Another fur that we use in the SCA is called vair, which is white and blue, although any color can be used with any metal, providing what we call a "neutral field". When a field is evenly split between a color and a metal, you can put either a color charge or a metal charge onto it, because there is enough contrast to provide good visibility to the charge itself regardless. This counts when a field is split in half, as well. The furs labeled counter vair, vair in pale, and vair en point are questionable from SCA standpoint.
There are several other furs and field treatments that can be used (see heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/h4f4.shtml for more information), but they are complex and rarely used. Keep in mind that device heraldry should be easily visible from a distance during a battle, so simpler is always better. The more complex furs and field treatments will require a level of documentation you may not wish to do. It takes time and effort, and if you can achieve something similar with simpler means, you should do so.
In designing your device, you should pick colors that you like. You'll be seeing them a lot, possibly putting them onto clothing and shields and tents and such, so it should please you to see them. As a general guideline, try to pick three tinctures, tops, to work with. If you need to sneak a fourth in, it can be done, but if you can stick to three (or even two) it's best. Clarity should always be your goal.
Decide whether you would like a "dark" device or a "light" device. What this means, on a practical level, is that if you prefer colors as a background, and metals on top, then you want a dark device, and vice versa. A single tincture field can have its opposite tincture(s) in the charge. For example, a red or a blue field can have a charge that is white or yellow. This is the simplest form of field coloring. A white or yellow field can have a charge that is any of the colors listed on it.
The SCA has been around for 50 years now, and it might occur to you that all the good devices have already been taken. I can say with authority that it is not true in the least. I have, in the last couple of months, seen some very simple, very elegant devices pass that people were concerned were TOO basic. Always give it a try, even if you don't believe it will pass; you may be pleasantly surprised!
If your basic idea does not look like it will pass, then you can begin to add to it. Instead of a single tincture field, you can divide the field into halves or quarters (or more, although the rules change for sixths and eighths). However, field divisions is really another topic altogether.
TL;DR - Don't put a metal on a metal, or a color on a color. Remember to use good contrast. Think how it would look standing across a seething battlefield.
Now, go forth and contemplate!