Most people who’ve had any contact with the Society’s College of Arms would recognize the badge of the Heralds — “vert, two straight trumpets in saltire Or” — which may generally be displayed by anyone working for or associated with the College.
But there wasn’t a distinctive badge reserved specifically for the artists who assisted the College by illustrating armory, a role that in period was referred to as a “herald painter.” (For more on the history of herald painters, see this essay by Robert Parsons, who held that role for the British College of Arms.)
A few years ago, Kryss Kostarev, an experienced heraldic who often leads the “Art Tent” at Pennsic’s Heralds’ Point, decided to rectify this and registered a fieldless badge for free use by all of the artists who aided the College: “In saltire a trumpet Or and an artist’s paintbrush vert.”
If you ever worked a shift in the art tent at an event, or spent time in online discussion groups assembling digital images for submitters, or enameled a shield, or painted a banner, or appliquéd someone’s arms onto their surcoat, than you are following in the long tradition of herald painters and are entitled to display this badge with honor.
Badge for Heraldic Artists is available as a round PNG, transparent PNG, or scalable SVG.
