The shield came out really nice but don't make my mistake about reading and theory, because it will halt your progress. I am the type of the person that need to know everything before starting but drawing isn't science, you need to develop manual skill for this, so read a bit and then just practise. I think I have lost about half of the year researching and drawing only a little in the beginning, you won't remember most of this stuff if you won't sit and just put it onto the canvas. Just do it