A cheat that makes it easy to draw shoes!

All right, let's draw shoes!

I tried to draw them with great enthusiasm, but ....

Something doesn't feel right... And I'm not sure what's causing it. ....

For those of you who are not so sure, I have compiled the basics of shoes and what you should be aware of!

Table of Contents

1.At the beginning

Let's find out why you can't draw, and what is the cause of your discomfort.

3. Be aware that the feet should be in the shoe

4. Be aware of the warped part

5. Be aware of the ground surface of the shoe

6. Conclusion

1. At the beginning

We have received many questions through DMs and question boxes.

I don't know how to draw shoes! I'm not good at it 💧."

Sneakers, pumps, leather shoes...

I understand this feeling very well....

In fact, I was not very good at drawing shoes at first.

But now I love drawing shoes so much that I even come up with my own original designs 💪✨.

In this article, I would like to explain where I stumbled and how I overcame my difficulty in drawing shoes. 

2. Find out why you can't draw and what makes you feel uncomfortable.

The first thing I did was to find out what was wrong!

The method is simple.

First, try to draw the image as a reference, even if it is not very good!

By comparing the finished illustration with the reference image and looking objectively at what is wrong, you will be able to see what you need to correct.

This time, we will use slip-on shoes without laces.

Here is a summary of the major differences we found!

Point 1: Silhouette of the shoe

Point 2: Toe and instep warp

Point 3: Shoe's ground contact surface

There may be more, but this is a rough list.

Let's take a closer look at the differences we found!

3. Be aware that your foot is in the shoe 

Let's focus on the differences in shoe silhouettes we found earlier!

Comparing the silhouettes of OK shoes and NG shoes, we can see that the sizes are quite different.

With NG shoes, it is difficult to imagine the structure of the foot, and this may be one of the reasons for the discomfort.

In order to make shoes look the way they should, it is important to be aware of the shape that your foot will fit into!

4. Be aware of the warped part

The second difference we found is the difference between the toe and the instep.

Toe Spring

Most shoes have a toe spring, or warped toe area.

(To be precise, it is the rising distance from the floor to the toe when the shoe is placed on a level floor.)

Toe springs come in different heights depending on the design!

If you are aware of this, it will look much more like a shoe~!

Upper (instep) warp

In general, the shape of the human foot is such that it descends from the ankle toward the toes.

Shoes should be shaped to match the instep of the foot to give a sophisticated look! 

If the shoes are highly functional, it is recommended to pay more attention to details like this to make the drawing more convincing!

5. Be aware of the shoe's ground contact surface

This may seem obvious, but it is surprisingly the most difficult part...

If the soles of your shoes are not firmly on the ground, they will look unstable, so it may be no exaggeration to say that this is the most important element...!

I can't draw...! I recommend the method I used in such a case.

I have been struggling for many years to get used to drawing shoes....

But then, I found a new way to enjoy drawing shoes by changing the way I look at things, using a method I developed out of sheer desperation!

Here is that method!

...That's it? You may be thinking.

This is all there is to it.

It looks shabby at first glance, but put this on the floor...

Let's look at it from various angles!

What exactly is the good thing about doing this?

It is difficult to be aware of the soles of shoes because they are usually hidden from view by the foot and upper part of the shoe, but since I started this practice, I feel I am able to see things in three dimensions.

I tried this method with shoes, but it applies to other things as well.

To draw a three-dimensional shoe that looks right, you need to

"Look at what you can't see! may be important.

6. Conclusion

What do you think?

In the end, what I wanted to say was...

"Learn to have an observant eye to find the sense of discomfort!

I think this is true. This is true not only for shoes, but for many other things....

If you are struggling to figure out what is wrong, you might want to write down the causes of discomfort one by one, like in this article!

Maybe you can try to figure out the best way to practice for yourself...?

So that's it for this article!

I hope this article has been helpful to you ✨.

By the way!

Next time on shoes...

I'd like to explain how to draw each type of shoe!

So, please look forward to the next article!