So one of my friend's birthdays was coming up and they're a Legend of Zelda fan, so I thought," Why not make a Hylian Shield." So I started making the shield.
This is my first Instructable, so suggestions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is appreciated.

Step 1: Materials and Stuff

The materials were relatively cheap and easy to find. All you need is:

Cardboard sized about: 20 3/4 In. X 21 1/4 In.
A pair of scissors or an x-acto knife or something sharp and precise.
A pencil.
Two paintbrushes. I got a thick and thin bristled brushes.
A cup of water.
A soft cloth or wash cloth.
And the hardest to find, acrylic paint. It needs to be acrylic, because the lady at the art shop said it showed up the best on cardboard.
The colors I used were:
    Carmine (dark red)
    Primary Yellow (yellow)
    Neutral Grey (grey)
    Titanium White (white)
    Phthalo Blue (dark blue)

Step 2: Sketching the Design

So the hardest part for me was sketching out the design. This is due to my lack of skill in making symmetrical objects.
I believe I made the Twilight Princess version of the shield, but don't quote me on that.

So, to sketch it, take your pencil and sketch the design as best you can. Don't worry too much about making wrong lines because it'll be covered in paint soon enough.

Step 3: Painting-Part 1

So, the lady at the art store that I got the paint from said that I should put a white base on the cardboard before painting to get a brighter color out of the paint. So you're going to have to do the different colors in sections. I started with the blue area. So take the Platinum White and paint the areas that are blue in the picture on the previous step. Or like the picture below.
Don't get your panties in a wad if you accidentally get some of the paint in the other parts of the shield, because it'll be painted over soon anyway.

Step 4: Painting-Part 2

So, you've got the white paint down. I found that the acrylic paint dried really fast, so let it sit for a few minutes and dry. Then take you're Phthalo Blue or similar paint and go over the white area.

Step 5: Painting-Part 3

So I kinda didn't take pictures of doing the red and yellow areas, but it's the same principle as the blue area. So, white first, then the color that is supposed to go there.

Step 6: Painting-Part 4

Alright, almost done. Basically you've just to paint the grey areas and second or third, maybe a fourth layer of paint everywhere else.

Step 7: Cutting and Optional Stuff

Okay, so you can do this at anytime, but I chose to cut my shield before the second layer of grey, but it's completely up to you when you cut it. Just do a decent job.

OPTIONAL!
You may have noticed an empty spot at the top of the shield. In the picture I based this off of, there was something there, but I found it was way too much work to put it on there, so I just covered it in grey. You're welcome to put your own design or whatever in there.

Also, if you used a box or cardboard with creases in it, you may have struggled with the cardboard bending. To fix this I just took some of the extra cardboard I cut off and glued it to the back where the creases were. You can also make a strap with that excess cardboard to hold it up.

Step 8: DONE!!

So, you're done. You've painted it and cut it and it looks like you did a decent job. Good. Now go defend Hyrule or give it to your Link. (For 200 rupees of course)