DirtyKicks and Customizing Sneakers

By Drema Copeland

         

           Your shoes are your canvas. It is up to you to decide what style of shoe best fits the image you want to produce. White sneakers are the simplest to customize. Choose a sneaker made of either leather or vinyl. A canvas shoe may also be used but could prove to be a much trickier surface for a beginner. If you are familiar with the many different types of paints and how they are applied to different surfaces, steer clear of canvas for now. Before you do anything, it is best you devise a rough sketch of your plan.

Paint: Some paint markers release very fragile paint and some are tremendously watery. These types don’t work well for sneaker art. Make sure the markers you choose have the thickest consistency for the finest results. Paint markers are available in various tip sizes: Big to small. Based on your sketch, choose the proper tip sizes for your image. You want to be able to control lines, fill in spaces and define curves. The thinner the tip, the easier it will be to draw details. The thicker the tip, the more paint you can spread to large areas. Spray paint can also be used. If you use spray paint as a base, make sure you get skinny caps to keep the aerosol from covering detail you want to show.

You need to have all the correct materials to do a proper custom job. When painting on leather, the only paint recommend is Angelus paint. You also need acetone, rubber gloves, cotton balls, a glass that's not made of plastic, medium and liner paintbrushes and an airbrush, masking tape, an x-acto knife, a matte finisher and a hair dryer.

Take the cotton balls and soak them into the acetone. Rub the cotton balls until the coat is off the leather. Coating may leave a muddled residue when it comes off. You'll go through a lot of cotton balls if you're doing this properly. The leather will turn grey now that the layer is off. Running your finger over the surface and if it's still really smooth you haven't taken the layer off completely. This process may take between 30 and 40 minutes. Then cover all the areas that you may not want painted. Use an X-Acto knife and cut along the edges.

When applying paint, paint in lightly to avoid thin layers, streaks, and cracks that look like there painted. All colors aren't opaque like others. You may need more coats to achieve a leveled finish like red or yellow. Make sure the layer dries before applying the next coat. You can use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

A small liner brush can be used when cleaning the edges and small details along the shoe. Take your time. Once the shoe is completely dry, take off the gloss paint leaves off so it looks more factory. There are tons of finishers out there, Angelus also makes finishers.

 You've now effectively made a custom shoe. You can begin to lace them.

For more helpful information please visit:
http://sneakers.about.com/od/howtocustomizesneakers/ss/Customizesneaks.htm#step3