Here, I am going to show you how to make a skyrim shield prop!

Step 1: Materials

You will need:
a 4' x 4' sheet of 3/4" plywood
jig saw or band saw
glue
clamps
belt sander
dremel
silver, yellow and black paint
painters tape
wood stain

Step 2: Initial Cuts

Cut your 4' x 4' square into four 2' x 2' pieces. Draw a cirlce on one of these, then clamp the two plywood sheets together. Put them on a sawhorse or other stable surface, and start cutting the shape of the circle with your jig saw.
Once this is done, glue and clamp them together. Wait for about 12 to 24 hours before you take off the clamps.

Step 3: Detailing

At this point, you will want to sand the edges smooth with your belt sander. Once this is done, grab your dremel and grab a sanding bit or a carving bit. At equally spaced intervals, make a vertical line from one end to the other. This gives the appearance that the shield was put together from multiple pieces of wood. Sand them to make sure the grooves are smooth. If your plywood doesn't have a heavy grain, you may choose to make very slight etching to improve the grain appearance.

Step 4: Adding the Rim and Some Color

Now, you want to grab your painters tape and cover the entire thing, if you plan on painting with spray paint. Cut off about 1" of tape around the perimeter and spray with silver paint.
When it is dry, remove the painters tape and apply a coat or two of wood stain to darken the wood a bit.
Don't worry about if your silver "metal" rim comes out perfect or if the stain is a little rough. This is supposed to be a replica of something made quickly in haste of a war.

Step 5: Painting: Part 1

Leave a one inch gap and paint a yellow circle. Fill it in with paint and make sure none of the wood is viewable from beneath. This may require a few coats of paint, as mine required 3 or 4.

Step 6: Painting: Part 2

Go to the computer, get the design for the symbol in the middle and print it off. Keep in mind, it will have to be quite large. You're putting it in the middle of a 2' circle!
Cut out the stencil, place in on your shield and position it in the middle of your circle, making sure no part is outside of the yellow paint. Reapply painters tape, then tape the stencil over top.

Step 7: Painting: Final Part!

Now that you have your stencil layed out on the painters tape, grab a razor knife or exacto-knife. Cut out all of the black parts of the stencil, and then remove the tape that corresponds with it.
Grab your spray paint and spray the black paint over in an even coat. You may desire to do a second coat, depending on your paint, however I did not.

Finally, pull off all the tape once the paint is dry. It will reveal your beautiful masterpiece!

Step 8: Final Notes

Well, you're all finished now. You may want to do some touch ups on the black or yellow if there is some paint bleed.

As a side note, you may choose to repeat the same process with any of the other hold shield designs and colors.

Hope your project turns out great! Thanks for reading.