Are your sneaker sketches looking flat? Discover how thinking in 3D and visualizing sneaker components with volume can transform your drawings from lifeless to dynamic. This tip is a game-changer for aspiring sneaker designers.

Hello Design Sketchers!

Last year I met Amor Jiménez in Madrid. 🙂
I met him in real while eating croquetas in his home country!

We were sketching on the coffee shop table with Antonio and Pedro Luis. We all have in common the passion for design and Sneaker sketching too. I even made a Live sneaker sketching demo to explain the steps to draw a shoe.

Recently,
I saw a sketch of a shoe from Amor Jiménez on his Instagram.
I noticed a common mistake I did a lot myself
when I started sketching footwear when I was a student.

Sneaker drawn by Amor Jiménez // Loveworks_design
Amor Jiménez sneaker design – Loveworks_design

From a 2D Flat Shoe to 3 Dimensions

I call this beginner common mistake: the “FLAT 2D SHOE”.
It is when the drawing of the shoe is lacking volume,
or realism (even with color rendering).

The "FLAT 2D SHOE" common mistake
The “FLAT 2D SHOE” common mistake vs 3D Details

 IN RED: The lines don’t go out of the sneaker contour. It Looks flat.
IN GREEN: I draw the sneaker “treating” each component as an individual piece.

A simple trick to draw your sneaker more real TIP 229
TIP 229: Make sure to treat each piece of the shoe as an individual and physical component.

Nowadays, I see many beginners doing this same mistake as well.
The good news is it is very easy to solve!

It is just that for this type of mistake, without any feedback we don’t see them until somebody points them! It may take years to realize…

As a beginner, you focus on the drawing, the lines,
your vision is in 2D. Flat on paper.

However, as a designer, you got to:

  • think the sneaker with a 3D feel
  • assemble the material that is made to cover the foot.
  • feel the thickness of each component
  • the way the sneaker will react while in movement

When we draw, what matter most is not the drawing.
What matter most is Observation: the way you brain treats the information.

sneaker-sketch-drawing-the-design-sketchbook-chou-tac-chung-adidas-shoe-mischief.jpeg
Morning sketch: Adidas sneaker I made with Mischief

These points above are among the topic I will cover more in-depth in the Sneaker sketching course. If you are interested in joining the project, please help me creating it by answering the survey!

Stay tuned!
Cheers,
Chou-Tac

PS: Extra TIP for drawing product design more real on: How to draw your sketches more real

How to make your sketches more real – Industrial design sketching

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Chou-Tac

Hello! I'm Chou-Tac, a Product Designer from France.

If the sketching methods I’ve acquired aid me in my life and in my industrial design career, I believe that they can also help you reach your dream goal as a student or professional designer.

Leave a comment in the blog or send me an email at choutac@thedesignsketchbook.com : )

Chou-Tac

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