Heraldic Shield Design

[PhantomTorment]

Alright, I've been working on a personal coat of arms for years (I'm just showing the shield today though) and...being the artistic person that I am, I can't leave well enough alone. The first design I've kept for several months and I do really like it, however the other night I decided to fiddle around with it a bit and came up with something. Now I keep going back and forth to which I prefer, so I would love some opinions.
Now, let me also say for those of you who don't know, there are several rules you have to follow in your shield design. One of the more important rule, is the rule of tincture (The color's basically), which means that white and yellow are both considered "metals" and red, green, blue, and black are considered colors. Now, a metal can't touch a metal, and a color can't touch a color. In other words, green can't touch black, red, or blue, but it can't touch yellow or white. There are other things but I won't go into it So anyway...let me know your thoughts.
Design #1

Design #2

 

[WhiteWillow]

I like the black

 

[Teufelhund]

The solid field in the second picture makes the wolf easier to make out. Considering you probably want it to stand out, that's a good thing.

 

[NiobiumTragedy]

Nice to see I'm not the only one who has been working on a coat of arms.

The first one is more traditional in the style of the way they were done in the past. The bottom is certainly more modern and easier to make out. I personally prefer the first one.

 

[Luther073082]

I wonder if I still have my family coat of arms someplace.