Different brands of markers will behave differently, so familiarize yourself with the different types of markers that are out there and the different types of nibs (tips) that they have. Different tips are good for different styles & techniques. Get a scratch piece of paper and try coloring in some squares to get a feel for how the different nibs work.
How to Decorate Canvas Shoes With Markers
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Footwear can make or break an outfit. And while purchasing the perfect pair of shoes can be satisfying, it’s rewarding in an even deeper way to customize your own kicks. You can exercise your crafty side to look stylish on a budget. Transform basic white canvas shoes using markers to add original designs and vibrant colors. You can also add texture to your shoes using a variety of fabrics and accessories.
Steps
Part 1
Part 1 of 4:
Preparing Your Shoes and Workspace
Decorate a pair of white or off-white canvas shoes. Any brand of shoes will do. Just make sure they are canvas and not another material like suede, leather, or even synthetic leather. If you’ll need to stretch the shoes, do that before you decorate. If you are less than confident in your design or coloring skills and have concerns about messing up, you can opt for a cheaper pair of shoes from a thrift or other discount store.
- A pencil will help you plan your design beforehand and offer you many chances at revision before moving on to coloring.
- Get a set of permanent, fabric, chalk ink, or acrylic markers in a variety of colors. That way, you’ll have lots of options when deciding on a color palette.
- Thin-tip markers will lend maximum precision to your designs without much bleeding.
- Black markers are useful in tracing designs.
- Rubbing alcohol can create a smudged effect after you’re done coloring.
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Set up shop in a well-ventilated area. These materials can give off fumes. Once you’ve gathered them, find a workspace where fumes can disperse so you avoid getting dizzy.
Protect your shoes with tape. Be aware of the parts you don’t want colored. Remove the laces so you don’t get stray marks on them. If you would like to keep marker off the soles, tape over them up with painters or masking tape. You can also use tape to protect the other parts of a shoe when you’re decorating a specific area.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 4:
Sketching Your Design
Spark your imagination by asking yourself questions to guide your design. Is there a picture or pattern you particularly like? Do you have a color palette in mind? What passions or interests of yours can you represent visually? Remember that your designs will be permanent, so make sure to choose something you will be comfortable wearing over time.
Color along seams or around eyelets to create accents. This will create a look that is tasteful yet distinct.
Draw patterns made from geometric shapes or create your own. Artists and designers combine and repeat visual elements in regular arrangements to convey meaning, represent ideas symbolically, and delight viewers. When decorating with patterns, think in advance whether you want your shoes to be identical, symmetrical, complementary, or clashing, so you know how to apply your patterns to your shoes. Think about what colors you need or want in order to make your patterns. [1] X Research source
Take a free-form approach by drawing doodles. If you don’t want the uniformity of a pattern, doodles can bring a sense of funky playfulness to your design.
- Pay special attention to where the shoes meet if you are drawing a large picture. For example, many artists use the toes of both shoes to create contiguous scenes.
- Use tongues, toes, and heels to draw faces. These larger or more regularly shaped areas provide a nice backdrop for detailed and irregular drawings.
- Save the inner and outer sides for complementary flourishes. These areas naturally accommodate smaller and less intricate designs.
Sketch your design with pencil, if necessary. This way, you will have a template to work from and can easily edit any mistakes you might make. Pencil will also wash out in the washing machine if you’ve drawn too much to erase by hand.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 4:
Finishing Your Decoration
- A warm color palette includes reds, oranges, yellows, creams, and browns. A cool color palette features muted blues, greens, and grays. A mixed color palette can combine these colors and include bolder colors like pink, turquoise, and purple.
- Work on your shoes concurrently if you want them to match or look identical. For instance, if you color a blue diamond on one shoe, immediately do the same on the other in a corresponding spot.
- Use lighter-colored markers first. That way, you can easily color over any mistakes.
- Add deeper colors for extra vibrancy. Colors will naturally fade with wear. Making colors deeper from the start combats fading over time.
- Shade elements of your picture and draw shadows to give your design depth.
- Use a paint pen to draw dots or other small shapes on your laces.
- Color your laces with markers or fabric paint in ways that complement your overall shoe design.
- Dip your laces in a dye mixture or Kool-Aid to give them a consistent color.
Smudge the colors on your shoes with rubbing alcohol. This will give your shoes a tie-dye effect. Apply the alcohol with a paintbrush, spray bottle, or dropper, enough to cover the parts of the shoe you want to smudge.
Place the shoes in a dry place away from anything that could spill on them. Allow your shoes to cure for at least 24 hours so the ink sinks into the fabric.
Set your designs and protect them against weather-related wear using waterproof acrylic sprays. You can also use beeswax to create this seal. [2] X Research source
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Part 4
Part 4 of 4:
Adding Accessories
- Almost any material can work for this purpose, including studs, spikes, glitter, buttons, beads, embroidery, fur, fringe, and lace.
- Apply your material using a strong craft adhesive like hot glue or E6000.
- You can use Mod Podge and glitter to apply stenciled patterns. Mix Mod Podge and glitter in a bowl until you get a mixture with the amount of glitter you want for your stencil pattern. Lay a rubber stencil flat and smooth out any places where the stencil is not totally flat on your shoe. Dip a sponge pouncer in your Mod Podge and glitter mixture, and gently press the pouncer onto your shoe through the stencil. Lift up the stencil, wash it, and reapply the mixture until the stencil pattern covers your shoe. [3] X Research source
- Stuffing your shoes with paper can make it easier for the stencil to lay flat so you can paint each shoe evenly.
- Let iron-on paper cool before peeling the paper from your shoes.
- You can cut stars, circles, or chevrons that extend the length of your shoes. Chevrons and long lines on the sides of shoes give them a racing-stripe look.
- Dip toothbrushes in acrylic paint for an even greater variety of unique patterns.
- Use rubber cement to protect the soles and a damp paper towel to clean up excess dye. [5] X Research source
Expand your color and pattern combinations with fabric paint and paint pens. Use a paint pen to add polka dots, or use fabric paint to color entire sections of your shoes. [6] X Research source
- Use a paintbrush to apply strokes, streaks, or gobs of paint.
- Drip paint directly from the bucket or tube for a splatter effect.
Finished.
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Community Q&A
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Question
I painted shoes for my granddaughter and the color ran. Is there some preparation I should do before I paint?
Community Answer
You do not need to prepare them in any way, but after you’re done painting them, apply a spray that protects shoes. Spray on a couple of coats or follow the instructions on the container.
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Question
Will water ruin them?
Community Answer
It depends on the type of marker that you use. You should make sure that you use waterproof markers.
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What type of paint can be used to decorate canvas shoes?
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Fabric paint works well, but acrylic may work, too. Avoid watercolors and tempera paint, as they run easily.
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Things You’ll Need
Tips
You can also use many of these techniques to decorate canvas bags.
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Marker colors can mix on cloth, which means if you color over a blue mark with red it will turn purple.
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Don’t overuse black if you want to make your shoes bright, because when you blend the black will take over!
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References
- ↑https://www.sophia.org/tutorials/design-in-art-repetition-pattern-and-rhythm
- ↑https://lifehacker.com/5959735/waterproof-canvas-shoes-with-beeswax
- ↑https://www.trinketsinbloom.com/diy-sneakers/#more-10012
- ↑http://www.alwaysrooney.com/2014/07/floral-vans-restyle-diy.html
- ↑http://designformankind.com/2012/06/makekind-14/
- ↑https://abeautifulmess.com/2013/03/diy-sneakers-for-spring.html
What Are Alcohol Markers?
As you might expect, alcohol markers contain alcohol ink. Water-based markers and solvent markers contain dyes suspended in water and glycerin, while the pigments in alcohol markers are suspended in alcohol.
Unlike solvent markers, alcohol markers don’t have the stinky, noxious smell (like thick Sharpies). In most cases, alcohol markers have a faint scent of rubbing alcohol.
They’re excellent for blending, they produce smooth, vivid colors, and they dry quickly. Alcohol markers are permanent markers, making them the art markers of choice for many graphic artists and illustrators.
Many high-quality brands, such as Copic, make excellent alcohol markers that allow ink to flow easily and dry fast so that you don’t have to worry about smearing.
Which Artists Use Alcohol Markers?
Artists and hobbyists of all sorts use alcohol markers.
They’re ideal for creating cartoons, illustrations, and graphic novels. Their vivid colors make them an excellent option for manga artists. Architects use them to develop architectural renderings, and fashion designers use them to create sketches.
Alcohol markers are also excellent for hand-lettering, scrapbooking, and all sorts of creative projects.
Whether you prefer to work on wood, canvas, paper, or glass, alcohol markers are suitable for use on all sorts of surfaces, making them a versatile tool in any artist’s supply kit.
What Are the Benefits of Using Alcohol Markers?
There are a variety of reasons why artists choose alcohol markers over solvent-based or water-based options. Here are the key benefits of using alcohol markers, regardless of what type of artist you are.
Quick-Drying
Alcohol evaporates fast, making alcohol markers quick to dry. Because they dry quickly, there’s less chance of smudging your work. If you accidentally spill a drop of water on your work, it won’t immediately bleed and fade.
Dual-Ended Tips
Many art markers come with double-sided tips, where one end of the marker has a fine tip, and the other has a thicker tip. This minimizes the need to buy additional markers, reduces expenses, and allows you to experiment with different techniques more easily.
Easy to Layer and Blend
Alcohol markers are excellent blending markers that can create exciting layering techniques. They have a fluid consistency that makes them easy to apply on top of one another, and blend and shade to create smooth transitions.
Vibrant Color
Alcohol markers deliver vibrant color and intensity and are resistant to fading. That intensity, along with their fluid inks, makes them perfect for creating realistic images, such as portraits and landscapes, as well as abstract images, illustrations, and cartoons.
Refillable Inks
Some brands that produce alcohol markers also sell separate ink so that you refill your markers over time. This helps lower expenses, cut down on the need to buy new markers every time you deplete a color, and reduce waste.
In addition to refillable inks, some brands also sell replacement nibs and tips so that your markers always feel and operate like they’re brand new.
TIP 3 – TEST COLORS ON A SEPARATE SHEET BEFORE WORKING ON YOUR ART
Keep a separate sheet of the same type of paper you’re working on next to you so you can test colors first before laying them down on your artwork. Keep these points in mind as you’re working:
- The same color marker can look different on different types of paper . In the image below, the same marker is used on 4 different types of paper. You can see how different the color looks depending on which paper is used. This is why it’s important to test the color first on the same type of paper your art is on before you use it for your art.
- With certain markers, colors can look different on paper than what you’re seeing on the barrel of the marker. This is another reason why it’s important to test the marker on a separate sheet first so you know what the color will actually look like when it goes down.
- Also remember that colors dry lighter than when they are first laid down. In the image below, the same marker was used for all the boxes. The boxes on the top are dry, and the boxes on the bottom are still wet.
TIP 4 – WORK FROM LIGHT TO DARK
- START LIGHT! You can always add more color and go darker, but you can’t go the opposite way. Color in the lightest shades first, then build up darker colors.
- Try to plan out highlights in advance and know which areas you’re going to keep white (you can’t erase marker!)
TIP 5 – USE COLORED PENCILS TO FINALIZE DETAILS
Once you feel you’re at a good stopping point with the markers, use colored pencils to add in final details and fine lines.
We hope you enjoyed these marker tips from Will and encourage you to give it a try! Will was kind enough to provide the template for his illustration that you can print on marker paper and color in with marker for yourself! CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE TEMPLATE.
Also check out Will’s video lessons from the 2016 Online Workshop that you can follow along to for free! Here’s the lineup:
- Video Lesson 1: Keeping a Sketchbook
- Video Lesson 2: People Sketching
- Video Lesson 3: Coloring with Markers
- Video Lesson 4: Marker Paper Illustration
