Knight Polishing Armor At A Blacksmith Forge Coloring Page

A man sits on a four legged stool with a helmet resting in his lap, working at it with both hands. He is in a plain tunic, trousers and a long apron, drawn in profile, and the round topped helm he is cleaning is the brightest shape on the page. Behind him a stone archway frames a wall of brick. Three sets of tongs hang from the wall at the upper right, and an anvil sits on a heavy block beside him. A few small specks are scattered on the floor near the corners.

The forge is cold. There are no flames anywhere in this drawing, which is worth knowing if the title led you to expect them.

The brick wall is the long part of the job and the most forgiving, since nothing in it has to line up with anything else. Keeping the bricks muted and the helmet pale is what will make the metal look like metal.

Armor needed constant work. Steel left alone in a damp climate pits within weeks, so a knight's harness was kept oiled, and before a tournament it would be scoured with sand and vinegar until it threw light.