If you’ve ever been curious about how to draw shoes anime-style, you might be surprised to learn how easy it is! Drawing shoes in traditional anime style is both tedious and satisfying, and understanding the basics will allow you to dive into your own unique designs. From chunky sneakers to delicate ankle boots, animating shoes can be as fun as you make it — so get ready to put your drawing skills to the test!
Sometimes one of the most challenging parts of traditional animation, designing shoes can be daunting. But all it takes is the understanding of a few basic steps, and the determination to experiment with your own ideas. Don’t be afraid to draw, erase, and redraw — think of it as practice that’ll only make your skills better. So what are you waiting for? Let’s start animating some shoes!
1. Understand Basic Shoe Anatomy
Before you can jump into drawing your own shoes, it’s important to first become familiar with the anatomy of each style. This doesn’t mean that you have to memorize all the different parts — just an understanding of the basic shapes and details. For example, one crucial part of any shoe is the sole, which is the official name for the bottom of the shoe. Even if you’re not drawing the specific sole, you should become familiar with the basics. It’s a useful reference as you draw your own designs.
In addition, get familiar with the pattern of lacing on a shoe, and the shapes of the toe box, ankle cuffs and more. There are plenty of helpful reference images you can use to help you in the process.
2. Start With the Basics
Once you’ve taken some time to understand the basic anatomy of shoes, it’s important to use what you’ve learned to practice your drawing. Every beginner should start with basic elements such as circles, rectangles and semicircles when drawing shoes. With practice, you’ll begin to understand how all these shapes play nicely together as you move forward in your sketches.
Another helpful exercise you can practice is with simple lines. As a beginner, you can draw a few basic lines which will eventually become the lines of your shoe design. This activity can help you understand the connection between shapes and details, as well as understand how different parts of the shoe come together to create a shoe design.
3. Start Drawing Shoe Designs
Now that you’re familiar with a few basic principles, it’s time to make some shoes of your own. When starting out, draw primarily in pencil so you can easily erase if you’d like to experiment with different ideas. As you begin to draw with more confidence and confidence, you can start moving away from your pencil and work with markers, colored pencils, or other media.
When you’re feeling more confident with your drawings, start experimenting with drawing exaggerated shapes and styles. Don’t be afraid to make your shoes bigger, rounder, or more exaggerated. Animating shoes is all about embracing the bold and the surreal.
4. Do Some Further Research
It’s important to dive further into the process of designing shoes. If you’re feeling stuck, researching and comparing different shoe designs can help. Look at other anime art as well as real-life shoes to get ideas for your own.
As you conduct your research, try to find patterns of commonality in various shoe designs. Take note of the shapes, colors and details used, and see how you can incorporate the same ideas into your own drawings. Researching different anime shoes can also be helpful. It’s an excellent source of inspiration for designing your own shoes and navigating the world of anime.
Final Words
Drawing shoes anime-style isn’t as overwhelming as it may seem at first. Once you understand the basic anatomy of shoes, the basics of drawing them become much easier to understand. Be sure to practice and experiment with different styles, shapes and colors — after all, the best way to improve is to practice and have fun. So have fun and keep animating those wild and crazy shoes!
