For my sister’s birthday I Sharpied some shoes with some of her favorite things.  It was a lot of fun but it took FOREVER! 

We have The Hobbit and Doctor Who:

Star Wars:

Portal and Star Trek:

And of course Harry Potter!

Mischief Managed!

I even decorated the tongues.  I figured they wouldn’t be much use as tongues if they didn’t say something!  The left shoe says “It’s a dangerous business walking out your front door”  (anyone who knows my sister will know why it says that).  The right shoe says “Sala’s shoes!  Thief, you have been warned.”

I was also really pleased with the box I made for them:

And the gift tags:

If anyone is looking to draw with Sharpie on their own canvas shoes (Converse, Vans, Keds, Toms etc.), I discovered a good trick for shading with markers.  I usually just use cross hatching, but there were a few places this didn’t give me the feel I wanted.  So I took the cap off and let the marker dry out for a while.  When it dries out the Sharpie will make a lighter mark.  Then you can layer the lighter tone to make a gradient.  It’s probably not very good for the markers, but it’s great for art!

And when you’re finished be sure to seal the shoe with a water resistant spray.  I used Crep Protect:

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Crep-Protect-Spray/dp/B013YRRFJ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470608163&sr=8-1&keywords=crep+shoe+spray

It didn’t discolor the shoes or make the Sharpie bleed.  But it does need need to be reapplied periodically.

Sometimes I like to sketch people from Facebook, anyone is fair game (watch out, you could be next!).  Last week I did this sketch of one of Sala’s friends:

I liked how it turned out, so like any good sister would  do, I turned Sala’s friend into a Slytherin from Hogwarts casting an illegal spell.

The one on top is more saturated and higher contrast, the one below is duller.  I’m not sure which version I like better so I included them both.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the core of his wand is the heartstring of a teenage girl 😛