A distinctly oldschool flavour to today's post. Some pals of mine are currently running a kickstarter for shields and shield inserts. You can check it out here. Shields are fun, and for those that like to freehand intricate designs on their shields, more power to you. As I get older, however, I'll take any shortcut I can get. Behold, this is one of those delightful shortcuts. Along with swanky shields you get themed inserts to suit most fantasy factions. Here are a few examples, though there are several shield shapes in addition to the rounds you see here.
Personally, I would probably paint the shield face wooden, then maybe fray or cut down an insert to show damage/weathering, then pop it on with the wood underneath showing through. A little run of ink around the edge maybe to blend the edge of the insert into the shield edge, and done. Swanky shield, minimal effort.
The kickstarter runs for another 24 days at the time of posting.