Tinctures in heraldry are the names given to the standard colours, metals and furs that cover the shield or flag. There are four main colours (black, red, blue and green). These are also known as sable, gules, azure and vert respectively. There are some less commonly used colours detailed below. A system of patterns was developed so that the tinctures could be shown without the use of the real colours. The patterns are shown below alongside the real colours.
Parallel perpendicular lines (pale)
Parallel horizontal lines (fess)
Lines crossing each other (fess and pale)
Diagonal lines top left to bottom right (Dexter chief to sinister base)
Gold / Yellow
Silver / White
Select the colours, metals and furs on the right to see how they look on your shield. Once you are happy with the colour click the 'Save Changes' button and move on to the next page to see how the shield can be divided up.