How to Draw Shoes From 5 Different Angles

How to Draw Shoes
How to Draw Shoes

If you're looking for a new artistic challenge, how can you draw shoes from different angles? As an artist, you should always be looking to push your boundaries. You should be looking to try new things and explore what's possible.

If you think that drawing shoes aren't worth pursuing, imagine if Andy Warhol had thought that soup cans were boring. The point is that you never know where inspiration will strike you. You never know when you'll find something that speaks to you, which you can interpret uniquely and beautifully. 

How to Draw Shoes of Different Angles

You could also find out that drawing shoes are rather dull, but you'll never know if you don't give it a try. Even if you find that you don't enjoy drawing shoes, you'll at least get practice drawing unique shapes and get a better understanding of how light affects these types of shapes.

The trick to finding joy in drawing shoes isn't to focus on what you're drawing. Don't think of a shoe as a shoe. Instead, think of it as something interesting that you get the privilege of drawing. The more exciting and weathered the shoe, the more fun you should have when drawing it. 

Take the time to experiment with different types of shoes, and use different mediums to draw them. While you may not like to wear old and torn up shoes, you'll probably feel different about drawing them. Drawing an old pair of shoes or boots that have cracked leather can be as challenging as drawing a portrait of an older person with wrinkled skin.

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Why Draw Shoes?

Why draw shoes? A better question might be, why not draw shoes? Shoes may not initially seem to be the best option when choosing something to draw, but when you take the time to think about it, they make a fascinating subject. 

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A Guide to Drawing eBook & Audio Guide

They can be simple or intricate, have many different shapes and styles, have different textures, and offer many opportunities for an artist looking for something interesting to draw or paint. One of the other reasons that shoes are an excellent option for you to draw is simple, you have easy access. 

If you draw portraits, you have either find a model or look for a photo that you can work from. For landscapes, you're faced with a similar issue, find an image, take a photo, or draw on location. But, if you're planning to draw shoes, all you have to do is go to your closet, pick out a few that interest you, then get to work.

Depending on the complexity of your planning, you may want to set up lighting so you can control the light source for the drawing. If setting up lighting isn't possible, you could also take a picture so you can capture a moment in time where the light will remain constant. 

Some artists might find drawing shoes to feel a little strange, but there's no reason you should feel that way. If you decide that you love drawing shoes, maybe that's what you could become known for. Even if you don't plan to make an artistic career out of drawing shoes, you can still learn a lot by studying them and drawing them. Many shoes are complex enough to help you learn how to render details, which is a skill that's useful for artists that draw any subject matter.

How To Arrange Your Shoes When Drawing Them

What's the best way to arrange shoes when you're drawing them? However, you feel like it. One of the main advantages of drawing shoes is that you have total control of your composition. You don't have to ask a model to sit in a particular pose and not move for hours while you work. 

You don't have to walk along a hiking path until you find a spot that seems perfect for you to draw from. With shoes, you just set them up however you want, then get to work. When you first start drawing shoes, you might want to stick to simple arrangements until you're more comfortable and confident when drawing them.

Once you're more comfortable drawing shoes, you can start to stack them in different ways. Try piling them up, leaning them at angles, and setting them up in different ways. You should also try drawing more than one type of shoe at a time. To learn more about how to create amazing still life drawings. Click Here to Read About: How to Draw and Sketch for Absolute Beginners

If you're looking for something genuinely spontaneous, just grabbing a handful of shoes, then drop them in a pile. You can do this until they happen to fall in a pattern that looks interesting to you, taking advantage of the randomness to create an exciting composition that you may not typically have thought of. 

Since shoes are usually quite durable, you don't really have to worry about damaging them when you drop them either, so feel free to try over and over again until you come up with something that interests you.

How Do You Draw A Shoe From The Front?

The first step in mastering drawing shoes is to start by drawing them from simple angles. As your skills progress, you can try new things, but you should focus on the basics. 

Start out by taking one shoe, putting it in front of you, then sketching it. Then start to add light sources from different angles to the mix. When you start your drawing, make sure that you use the same basic approach when drawing anything else. Start out sketching lightly and focus on getting the general shapes in place first. 

Drawing a shoe is a lot like drawing a portrait if you don't have all of the parts put together the right way, then it's going to look strange. If that's what you're looking for, great. If you're looking for a more realistic depiction of a shoe. Ensure that all of the details and features are drawn correctly. Plus, that they are in the right place with the right proportion to the rest of the shoe.

Drawing a shoe from the front isn't the most interesting angle to work from, but you can make it more interesting by changing lighting. Try to aim for a more dramatic looking drawing by using extreme lighting. You want to create bright highlights and dark shadows. 

You can then draw this using ink, which will give you the ability to capture the extreme darks very well. Ink is especially useful for drawing shoes with a lot of texture, like old, cracked shoes. If you're drawing something smoother with these types of deep shadows, then charcoal is another option to consider.

How Do You Draw A Shoe From The Side?

Drawing a shoe from the side is another simple angle to work from, but it's one that you'll have to master if you want to be able to draw shoes from many different angles. Drawing a shoe from the side is a lot like drawing a person's profile. 

You have the basic outline of the shoe, and it won't have a lot of three dimensional quality to the drawing because nothing is going to really stick out or recede in the picture. It's mostly a flat image, and even if you can set up new lighting, you probably won't be able to come up with dramatic lighting that really brings the picture to life. 

Why would you want to draw a shoe from what is usually an uninteresting angle? It's a part of learning to understand the shape of a shoe and how it looks from every angle. Don't worry, you can move onto more challenging and exciting angles later on, but for now, try to be patient and spend some time mastering the basics first. In other words, you need to learn to walk before you can run.

How To Draw A Shoe From The Back

If you thought that drawing a shoe from the side wasn't that exciting, you're probably not going to be overly enthusiastic about drawing one from the back. This is another exercise that's going to help you understand how to draw shoes from more interesting angles in the future. 

What can you do to make drawing a shoe from the back more interesting? First, pay attention to the small details. Capture each scuff, each thread, or each crack in the leather. Next, try to set up lighting that gives you some new shadows that you can play with. Lighting from above and to the right or left of a shoe will give you a beautiful cast shadow that will add some much-needed contrast to your drawing.

How To Draw A Shoe From An Angle

Now, we're starting to get into some of the more fun ways to draw shoes! When drawing shoes from an angle, be as creative as possible. Don't think of your subject as a shoe, think of it as an interesting picture to draw. Try drawing from extreme angles, have the shoe take up a considerable portion of the paper, much like a large mountain would in a landscape. 

You'd probably be amazed to find out how many ways you can manipulate a shoe to give yourself something interesting to draw. What about doing a view from below looking up at a shoe. Drawing the shoe so that it dominates the picture and casts a shadow across it?

You could also stick to a more reserved angle. Drawing a shoe from a slight view from above or below. Remember, one of the main advantages of drawing shoes is the level of control over the composition. You set up the shoes; however, you are comfortable, then get to work. 

The only rule that you should follow is forcing yourself to try to draw shoes from different angles. It may be tough to step out of your comfort zone, but doing so will help you grow and get better. If you're concerned about wasting time drawing shoes from angles that you've never attempted before, don't be. 

At the very least, you'll learn something, even if you fail. To help lessen the amount of time you dedicate to a drawing, you could always start out by sketching on inexpensive paper, then you could transfer the image to high-quality paper if you decide it's worth rendering out.

How To Draw Shoes In Perspective

Drawing shoes from different perspectives is very similar to drawing from angles. The best way to think about drawing shoes from different angles is to find the most interesting perspective possible. 

Don't limit yourself to drawing a shoe sitting on a floor or table. Instead, try to imagine a shoe as being just another object that you're trying to depict. When you draw a group of buildings, what's the first thing you usually do if you want to keep everything in the proper perspective? 

You probably sketch out perspective lines, right? Well, then that's what you should do when drawing shoes. Perspective lines will help you to line everything up and get it into its proper place. When drawing shoes, getting every button, lace, or strap in the right place is just as crucial as getting doors and windows in the right place when drawing buildings.

Different Styles Of Shoe You Can Draw

One of the other main advantages that you'll have when choosing to draw shoes is the endless variety of shoes that you can choose from. Sneakers, sandals, pumps, dress shoes, boots, cowboy boots, or any other type of shoe make an excellent subject for your next drawing or painting. 

When you first start drawing shoes, yous should experiment and draw as many different types of shoes as possible. This is great practice, and it will also let you find out what types of shoes you enjoy drawing the most. Do you enjoy the simple form and smooth texture of a dress shoe? Great! What about something more complex, maybe with a worn, cracked surface, like an old cowboy boot? If that's what interests you, then go for it!

One interesting approach you could take when setting up your compositions is to use many different types of shoes. You could put down some new dress shoes that are smooth and have some old soccer cleats and cowboy boots. 

This will give you different textures, colors, and surfaces to draw. It's also great practice since it will force you to learn how to depict different textures using different mediums.

Speaking of mediums, make sure that you try out many different options, and don't be afraid to mix and match. Mixed media art is prevalent and with good reason. What is mixed media art? 

It's art that's produced using more than one artistic medium. For example, you could do a watercolor painting, then render it on top of it with colored pencils, creating a mixed medium painting. Some mediums work well together, and others do not. The only way you'll figure out what works for you is by experimenting. Is it time-consuming? Yes, but it's also a lot of fun, and that's what art should be all about.

Have Fun And Embrace Drawing Shoes

You might think it's silly, and it may not be your ideal subject, but if you're thinking about drawing shoes, then make sure that you give it you're all. Don't waste your time by only doing it halfway. You have to dedicate yourself to getting better, and you have to respect your subject matter. 

If you want to improve as an artist, the only way to do that is to practice, learn, and expand your horizons. One of two things is going to happen if you really try your best when drawing shoes. First, you may find that you love drawing shoes. You might find that you can manipulate your perspective to create unusual compositions that are unique, and in the process, you may find your muse. 

A guide to drawing eBook and Audio guide
A Guide to Drawing eBook and Audio Guide

You may find that shoes inspire you in ways that you never thought possible, and you could make a career out of drawing them.

Or, you could have some fun and learn something along the way. Which is the more likely outcome? Obviously, the second one, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you're learning something new, then there's no such thing as wasted time. 

Even if you only spend a few hours attempting to draw shoes and find it's not for you, in those few hours, you'll get the gift of knowledge. You'll learn new techniques and new approaches that could end up being useful to you down the road as you work on other subjects. You won't know unless you try, so, get out a sketchbook, find an old pair of shoes, and get things started.

Ian

Ian Walsh is the creator and author of improvedrawing.com and an Art teacher based in Merseyside in the United Kingdom. He holds a BA in Fine Art and a PGCE in teaching Art and Design. He has been teaching Art for over 24 Years in different parts of the UK. When not teaching Ian spending his time developing this website and creating content for the improvedrawing channel.

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How to Draw Shoes From Different Angles