painting Cosmere themed shoes (finished)

[J. Magi she/her]

Hi!! It's been a while since I popped into this forum.

Around a year ago, I painted some custom shoes that were Loz themed (I made an SU about it, if your curious you can see it here). I really enjoyed doing it, and now that those shoes are completely worn out I'm going to do it again! This time, I'll make it Cosmere themed! The Cosmere has a ton of symbols to capitalize on, so I've been planning this for a while.

I thought It'd been fun to make a thread on my progress as I work on them, so I can share it with you all! (also to motivate myself to get it done because I really need to finish this before the semester starts lol)

I've been asked before, so I'll mention that the white canvas shoes I'm using to paint on can be found at Walmart (at least in my area). As for paint I'm not using fabric paint though I probably should . . . last time, I just used my acrylics and it ended up being waterproof enough. If your thinking of doing this I should mention that the acrylic can chip off with wear and tear, but it's pretty slow and easy to patch up.

Okay, time for progress photos!! Don't get too excited, I'm not very far in yet lol . . .

So far, I've sketched the designs in, and masked both shoes. I also started the background for the second shoe.

Shoe #1

Spoiler

(sorry for the weird lighting btw)

This one will have the Cosmere logo on the toe, and on the heel I've added the symbol for the Selish system used in Arcanum Unbounded. I thought It'd be a fun detail. I plan on doing a blue gradient for the background, with lighter blue at the front and darker blue/purple around the back.

Shoe #2

Spoiler

(It's on a random pamphlet because the paint was wet)

It looks pretty awful but it's in the ugly stages I promise . . . On the toe we have the symbol for the knights radiant/the rosharen system. I've started adding the background colour so I've painted over parts of it and it looks very scrunkly. Don't worry, it'll be symmetrical later. I plan on adding the Scradrian symbol on the side, but the sketch got painted over so you can't see it yet. Obviously, this one's going to be red that goes to purple. I think as I go I'll shift the gradient back a little--it's too purple at the moment. 

I'm really hoping that that the blue/red pallete won't be too spiderman . . . we'll see what happens I suppose. 

A final picture with a different angle:

Spoiler

I will hopefully be back with updates soon! (and hopefully it'll look less like a hot mess lol).

Edited August 28 by J. Magi

[Dragonheir he/him]

These look pretty cool! Are you making a pair of each, or are you planning to wear the two together? 
Maybe I’ll try something like this if I have some free time… 

[J. Magi she/her]

28 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

These look pretty cool! Are you making a pair of each, or are you planning to wear the two together? 
Maybe I’ll try something like this if I have some free time… 

Thanks! Oh, and yeah they'll be one pair of shoes, with each one being different. I guess I should have clarified that they won't really be 'matching' be any means--though I will make sure they like nice together. My first pair i worked on didn't match either.

[J. Magi she/her]

I'm back, and this time with less of a hot mess!!

I finished the first shoe! My mom saw it and told me I had to 'share it on that Sanderson site' so here I am lol (she didn't know I already made a thread).

Alrighty, here it is!

Spoiler

(sorry the picture are blurry, I rushed a bit)

Is it super glowy and over the top? Yes. I think it's sick.

I'm really happy with it, and overall it only took around 3-4 hours to do. Just one more to go!

Edited August 5 by J. Magi

[Through The Living Glass She/Her]

6 minutes ago, J. Magi said:

I'm back, and this time with less of a hot mess!!

I finished the first shoe! My mom saw it and told me I had to 'share it on that Sanderson site' so here I am lol (she didn't know I already made a thread).

Alrighty, here it is!

  Hide contents

(sorry the picture are blurry, I rushed a bit)

Is it super glowy and over the top? Yes. I think it's sick.

I'm really happy with it, and overall it only took around 3-4 hours to do. Just one more to go!

JM!!

OH MY GOSH!!

HOW DID YOU DO THAT IT'S BEAUTIFUL!!

[J. Magi she/her]

4 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

JM!!

OH MY GOSH!!

HOW DID YOU DO THAT IT'S BEAUTIFUL!!

THANKS!! I DONT KNOW HOW I JUST KINDA DID IT AND THEN IT HAPPENED AND YEAH

[Treethrower He/Him/They/Them]

I really like them!  The only critique I have is more of a suggestion going forward.  If you tape off the sole, or use Elmer's glue, and paint a quick coat of white (or whatever base color of the sole), then once you're done, you can peel off the glue/tape and have a nice clean line and a storming immaculate rubber sole.

Edited August 5 by Treethrower

[J. Magi she/her]

10 minutes ago, Treethrower said:

I really like them!  The only critique I have is more of a suggestion going forward.  If you tape off the sole, or use Elmer's glue, and paint a quick coat of white (or whatever base color of the sole), then once you're done, you can peel off the glue/tape and have a nice clean line and a storming immaculate rubber sole.

I did do that actually lol, and touched it up with some white paint. (you can see that the shoes are masked up in the pics of the first post). Trust me, it would look much worse if I hadn't.

Unfortunately, because of the way the fabric fits into the sole, it's impossible to get a perfect line. Without spending hours on it--which I might do if this was for someone else, but I'm just making these for myself. In the end, I don't really care that much lol. It's a a handmade piece so there's nothing wrong with it looking handmade, in my mind. Plus, you can't really see it from afar.

I did forget to touch up the vinyl around the ankle though, but I'll get to it!

Fortunately, I know from the last pair I made that the paint will rub off the sole I as I use them, so it should look a little cleaner with some use.

[Treethrower He/Him/They/Them]

Oh, okay! I do wonder if using a water soluble glue would allow you to make a cleaner finish, even if the paint will wear off while using.

As Pattern would say while vibrating, "Mmmmmmm." 

[J. Magi she/her]

5 hours ago, Treethrower said:

Oh, okay! I do wonder if using a water soluble glue would allow you to make a cleaner finish, even if the paint will wear off while using.

As Pattern would say while vibrating, "Mmmmmmm." 

Ooooh that's an interesting thought! I've never used glue to block out areas, just tape. Thanks for your thoughts!

[reisleK she/her]

Woah I adore these!! Can't wait to see the finished pair

[J. Magi she/her]

On 8/6/2024 at 5:27 PM, reisleK said:

Woah I adore these!! Can't wait to see the finished pair

Thanks!

[J. Magi she/her]

Hey guys!! I actually 'finished' the shoes a few weeks ago. But, I forgot to post the pictures because I've been really busy with the start of school.

All the work I needed to do was just on the other shoe, and I'll admit I sort of rushed through it. I feel like the linework is sloppier, and it's not as detailed. I fully intended to go back and add some stuff and touch parts of it up because I wasn't as happy with it as I was with the first one.

That said, I've started wearing them out now, and it looks fine. Good enough for me at least. Realistically, I probably won't go back in, even if I want too. I'm really lazy .

I guess I just wanted to add this prerequisite, that I know this shoe isn't as good as the other, and I know it's a little messier.

Without further ado:

Spoiler

This shoe has the Cosmere symbol on the toes, and the Selish symbol from arcanum unbounded on the heel. 

As for what I wanted to change. I felt like it didn't have as much visual contrast as the other shoe, and I want to add maybe a drop shadow to the symbol on the toe. Because the other one is black, this one doesn't feel like it matches because it doesn't have any black. (I would probably do that drop shadow with a dark navy though, straight black might be too much). 

Like I said above, I also feel like a lot of the linework is sloppier. The transition on the side (which you can't see very well because of the lighting) isn't as cool/interesting as the other shoe as well.

Anyway, enough complaining. What are your thoughts?

Finished product side by side:

Spoiler

Edited August 28 by J. Magi

[Through The Living Glass She/Her]

40 minutes ago, J. Magi said:

Hey guys!! I actually 'finished' the shoes a few weeks ago. But, I forgot to post the pictures because I've been really busy with the start of school.

All the work I needed to do was just on the other shoe, and I'll admit I sort of rushed through it. I feel like the linework is sloppier, and it's not as detailed. I fully intended to go back and add some stuff and touch parts of it up because I wasn't as happy with it as I was with the first one.

That said, I've started wearing them out now, and it looks fine. Good enough for me at least. Realistically, I probably won't go back in, even if I want too. I'm really lazy .

I guess I just wanted to add this prerequisite, that I know this shoe isn't as good as the other, and I know it's a little messier.

Without further ado:

  Reveal hidden contents

This shoe has the Cosmere symbol on the toes, and the Selish symbol from arcanum unbounded on the heel. 

As for what I wanted to change. I felt like it didn't have as much visual contrast as the other shoe, and I want to add maybe a drop shadow to the symbol on the toe. Because the other one is black, this one doesn't feel like it matches because it doesn't have any black. (I would probably do that drop shadow with a dark navy though, straight black might be too much). 

Like I said above, I also feel like a lot of the linework is sloppier. The transition on the side (which you can't see very well because of the lighting) isn't as cool/interesting as the other shoe as well.

Anyway, enough complaining. What are your thoughts?

Finished product side by side:

  Reveal hidden contents

AHHHH! THEY'RE SO GOOD HOW

[Unintelligenius he/him]

1 hour ago, J. Magi said:

Hey guys!! I actually 'finished' the shoes a few weeks ago. But, I forgot to post the pictures because I've been really busy with the start of school.

All the work I needed to do was just on the other shoe, and I'll admit I sort of rushed through it. I feel like the linework is sloppier, and it's not as detailed. I fully intended to go back and add some stuff and touch parts of it up because I wasn't as happy with it as I was with the first one.

That said, I've started wearing them out now, and it looks fine. Good enough for me at least. Realistically, I probably won't go back in, even if I want too. I'm really lazy .

I guess I just wanted to add this prerequisite, that I know this shoe isn't as good as the other, and I know it's a little messier.

Without further ado:

  Reveal hidden contents

This shoe has the Cosmere symbol on the toes, and the Selish symbol from arcanum unbounded on the heel. 

As for what I wanted to change. I felt like it didn't have as much visual contrast as the other shoe, and I want to add maybe a drop shadow to the symbol on the toe. Because the other one is black, this one doesn't feel like it matches because it doesn't have any black. (I would probably do that drop shadow with a dark navy though, straight black might be too much). 

Like I said above, I also feel like a lot of the linework is sloppier. The transition on the side (which you can't see very well because of the lighting) isn't as cool/interesting as the other shoe as well.

Anyway, enough complaining. What are your thoughts?

Finished product side by side:

  Reveal hidden contents

These are so awesome!!! They are honestly the coolest shoes I've ever seen in my entire life!!! Amazing job!

[J. Magi she/her]

10 hours ago, Through The Living Glass said:

AHHHH! THEY'RE SO GOOD HOW

9 hours ago, Unintelligenius said:

These are so awesome!!! They are honestly the coolest shoes I've ever seen in my entire life!!! Amazing job!

Thank you! You're very kind 

[TwinSouls he/him]

11 hours ago, J. Magi said:

Hey guys!! I actually 'finished' the shoes a few weeks ago. But, I forgot to post the pictures because I've been really busy with the start of school.

All the work I needed to do was just on the other shoe, and I'll admit I sort of rushed through it. I feel like the linework is sloppier, and it's not as detailed. I fully intended to go back and add some stuff and touch parts of it up because I wasn't as happy with it as I was with the first one.

That said, I've started wearing them out now, and it looks fine. Good enough for me at least. Realistically, I probably won't go back in, even if I want too. I'm really lazy .

I guess I just wanted to add this prerequisite, that I know this shoe isn't as good as the other, and I know it's a little messier.

Without further ado:

  Hide contents

This shoe has the Cosmere symbol on the toes, and the Selish symbol from arcanum unbounded on the heel. 

As for what I wanted to change. I felt like it didn't have as much visual contrast as the other shoe, and I want to add maybe a drop shadow to the symbol on the toe. Because the other one is black, this one doesn't feel like it matches because it doesn't have any black. (I would probably do that drop shadow with a dark navy though, straight black might be too much). 

Like I said above, I also feel like a lot of the linework is sloppier. The transition on the side (which you can't see very well because of the lighting) isn't as cool/interesting as the other shoe as well.

Anyway, enough complaining. What are your thoughts?

Finished product side by side:

  Hide contents

WOW

THAT
IS
A M A Z I N G!!!!

[J. Magi she/her]

11 minutes ago, TwinSouls said:

WOW

THAT
IS
A M A Z I N G!!!!

THANKS!!! !

[Experience he/him]

*Ahem*

Where can I purchase them

[J. Magi she/her]

3 minutes ago, Experience said:

*Ahem*

Where can I purchase them

Unfortunately they are one of a kind and not for sale 

Spoiler

Not my mom literally trying to get me to start business around it too lol. 

[Experience he/him]

10 minutes ago, J. Magi said:

Unfortunately they are one of a kind and not for sale 

  Hide contents

Not my mom literally trying to get me to start business around it too lol. 

Sad

[reisleK she/her]

On 8/27/2024 at 11:23 PM, J. Magi said:

Hey guys!! I actually 'finished' the shoes a few weeks ago. But, I forgot to post the pictures because I've been really busy with the start of school.

All the work I needed to do was just on the other shoe, and I'll admit I sort of rushed through it. I feel like the linework is sloppier, and it's not as detailed. I fully intended to go back and add some stuff and touch parts of it up because I wasn't as happy with it as I was with the first one.

That said, I've started wearing them out now, and it looks fine. Good enough for me at least. Realistically, I probably won't go back in, even if I want too. I'm really lazy .

I guess I just wanted to add this prerequisite, that I know this shoe isn't as good as the other, and I know it's a little messier.

Without further ado:

  Hide contents

This shoe has the Cosmere symbol on the toes, and the Selish symbol from arcanum unbounded on the heel. 

As for what I wanted to change. I felt like it didn't have as much visual contrast as the other shoe, and I want to add maybe a drop shadow to the symbol on the toe. Because the other one is black, this one doesn't feel like it matches because it doesn't have any black. (I would probably do that drop shadow with a dark navy though, straight black might be too much). 

Like I said above, I also feel like a lot of the linework is sloppier. The transition on the side (which you can't see very well because of the lighting) isn't as cool/interesting as the other shoe as well.

Anyway, enough complaining. What are your thoughts?

Finished product side by side:

  Hide contents

Storms those are beautiful

[J. Magi she/her]

On 9/2/2024 at 1:21 AM, reisleK said:

Storms those are beautiful

THaaaanks !!

[Scars of Hathsin he/him]

These are scudding amazing!