This is my own coat of arms that I created today. A basic coat of arms just needs a shield, but there is a lot more you can do. An example is a supporter, they are normally regular animals but I decided to do a mythical animal, the Hydra. Different supporters can mean different things, the Hydra means conquest of a powerful enemy. Another part that you can add is colors (also known as tinctures). I chose to use gold, green, blue, silver, and white. Gold means generosity and elevation of the mind, green means hope; joy, and loyalty in love; blue means truth and loyalty; and silver/white means peace and sincerity. You can also use plants or flowers, I chose a white rose in the center of my shield. A white rose means love and faith. Finally you can have a motto, the one I chose is victor exercitus, in latin that means conquest of a powerful enemy. I got all my information from http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/blog/genes-reunited-blog/archive/2013/11/7/what-the-symbols-on-coats-of-arms,-family-crests-and-seals-mean