New life for the old family crest

A friend of mine asked me to remake this family crest from an old picture. So she brought a small scan.

I realized the best way to go with this job is to start from scratch and redraw the whole thing.

Most old-style crests and heraldic symbols are fantastic pieces to look at but they become pain it the head when comes down to digitalization.
Usually made with etching techniques, engravings and linotypes these art pieces contain hair-line strokes and areas filled with hand drawn patters, which can become a horror story for live-by-line vector drawing.

For modern world use and press needs you will have to most likely simplify original, add more white areas and clean up messy parts.
Obviously it does steal a bit of the original flavor, but as i see it, it’s definitely better to print and use these crests instead of just dumping them to the garbage.

I wish i’d had one in my own family :)

Here is my final result below.