I wanted to illustrate one of my favorite shoes,  the Asics Gel Lyte III, but do so in a more abstract way, using only one shape, a circle.  Well let’s just say I got carried away.  I started zooming in on small areas and before I knew it things got out of hand, to the point where I put the project down for months.  To be honest, I thought I’d never finish it.  It was meant to be something abstract, and it started to look more and more like a realistic piece. But I’m happy I didn’t give up.  I think at a glance it looks like a pretty typical illustration, but on closer examination the circles (all 10,000) of them, give it a nice texture and depth.

Why this colorway?

There are over a dozen Gel Lyte III variations I could have chose from, but I went with the Ronnie Fieg “Super Green” version for one simple reason.  I can never own it.  A run of these shoes were made as a charitable project for Soles for Souls (read more about that here), so they were not sold to the public.  So I thought I’d commemorate it as the subject for this illustration.  I did a few other versions below, check them out!

Asics x Colette Gel Lyte III (P.S. I need these in a size 11!)

Asics x Ronnie Fieg Gel Lyte III “Total Eclipse”

Asics Gel Lyte III “OG”

Wireframe – Proof that these circles were all done by hand!

Lately I’ve been keeping very busy with projects, which generally speaking is a great thing.  However, it has pretty much eliminated any time for personal creative work, which is mildly depressing.  Beyond that, the projects I’m working on aren’t exactly dream jobs, and sometimes the client is so specific with the design that I don’t even feel like it’s my work when they finally get around to signing off on it.  And if I’m not thrilled with the work, it won’t even make it into the portfolio site.  The bottom line is that I’d love to design for the things that I’m passionate about – shoes, fashion, cars, sports, among other things.  It was a goal of mine to work towards that goal with personal projects when the time presents itself.  So what you see above is what happens when I get a couple hours to myself.

The Original Concept

I spend a good bit of time scouring sneaker blogs, viewing shoe photos on Instagram, and shoe shopping, so I think I’m a pretty good judge of the culture that is tied into being a sneakerhead.  And while I’m not one of them, there is a large group that requires not only a matching hat, but a matching shirt for any new pair they pick up.  I had seen a lot of small start ups design and market their t-shirts to go along with shoe releases, and I was pretty underwhelmed.  I’m ok with putting  a drawing of the shoe that you just purchased on your shirt if you really want that matching outfit look.  But why is that artwork so mediocre???  So originally I had though I’d do a shoe or two justice and come up with a design I thought more worthy to go with that $160 pair of Jordans you just bought.

Instead…

But then I figured that was too easy and didn’t really challenge me to do anything other than draw a detailed shoe.  I’m a less is more / minimalist type of guy, so I thought how could I illustrate a shoe (realistically) in the most simple way possible.  Kind of an oxymoron, but that was the challenge I posed to myself.  And then it hit me.  I’d draw a shoe using only one continuous line.  Really.  Take a look and follow the line around the shoe!  And since I was using only one line, the Air Jordan I seemed like the perfect candidate.  It’s the shoe that started it all.  THE FINE PRINT:  Technically the laces behind filled in (by closing one end of the line) is against the rules, but it just didn’t look right otherwise.

What’s Next?

I have no idea.  My original thought was to do a series – illustrate the Jordan I with one line, the Jordan II with two lines, and so on.  But I’m not sure.  This drawing isn’t even as refined as I would like it to be, but I just wanted to get it out there.  Take a peek at a couple other close ups below, including one that shows the shoe as a simple uniform line.   I’d love to hear your feedback on it!

Close up of contour line work

Close up of basic line work

Like most housewives, new moms, and teenage girls, I have become a big fan of the site.  The problem?  Well, I’m not any of those things I just described.  In fact, I’m not even female, which means right away i’m in the minority of Pinterest users (stats say over 70% of Pinterest users are female).  I suppose someday I’ll have reason to repin the latest recipes, art projects targeting for 1 year olds, and updos for the next school dance.  But right now, there’s just not a lot for me.

So I write this post as a plea to men out there of all ages.  I beg you.  Please join Pinterest today, and then actually use it.  I want to keep going back to Pinterest to see what my friends and colleagues are interested in.  I find it truly interesting.  In fact I know a lot more now about what my friends are really than I’ve learned in years spending time with them in person.  But until now, it’s basically just female friends, and at this point I’m much more likely to search the web for something to pin myself than to see what others are pinning.  I want to see what kind of cars you’re drooling over, what sneakers you’re willing to camp out for, and what clothes you’re willing to part with your beer money to purchase.  In fact, go ahead and post recipes and food you can actually make.  I want to know what kind of meats you’re grilling, or what you’re stuffing your face with as you lay on the couch watching sports all weekend.  That is really USEFUL stuff.  I suppose you can put some handy DIY tips in there as well.  But I don’t mean what crafty object you can make out of yarn and popsicle sticks, I’m talking about cleaning tips that save you time on the “manly” tasks your wife or girlfriend has so thoughtfully delegated to you.

Don’t just do this for me, but for all men out there who could use a bit of masculine inspiration.  Feel free to follow me on Pinterest (click here), and I’ll return the favor, assuming your feed isn’t full of dresses, yoga techniques, and photos of flowers.

So what do you think of the design? I’ve been wanting to redesign it for a couple years now, as the old site was really never meant to be more than just a temporary placeholder for some of my recent work. But even that wasn’t quite as easy to update as I needed it to be. I kept telling myself to not worry about some of my latest work missing, as I’d be redesigning the site soon enough. Well soon enough wasn’t very soon, but I finally did it.

I knew using WordPress as a CMS was the way I wanted to go. This way I would be able to update the site at home, at the office, or on the road from my phone whenever I got the urge. The blogging platform WordPress offers was mainly a bonus, but I’m still brainstorming on what the best way to use it. I’m not sure if it will be a tool I leverage to try to gain new customers for design work, or just something I have fun with. I’m sure time will tell.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to be honest. You may have noticed already, but at the core of this website is a very solid WordPress theme, and while I can take credit for the design, I can’t take credit for the core theme. But really, with so many really, really good theme out there, it didn’t make sense spending months developing one on my own, when I could customize one to get exactly what I needed. In fact, it seems silly to go that route, especially when my redesign was long overdue. I approached this project like I would any other, but this time I was the client. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m looking for the best solution, which is a combination of design and efficiency.

I’d love to hear your feedback on it, so feel free to leave me some comments below. Did I succeed in creating a streamlined portfolio that was displayed my work professionally, was easy to navigate, and provided enough information without being too much?

Since this is my first post I figured I’d try to explain what this blog is about and why I’m trying to accomplish. The problem is, I’m not sure yet. The joy of using WordPress as a CMS is that you get such a great blogging platform along with it. Since it would be a shame to let that go to waste, you’ll see me rambling on every now and again to fill up space and generate some new content to help me climb one spot up on the Google page rankings.

The internet is full of opinions, so chances are you don’t need another one from someone you just met one paragraph ago. But hopefully whatever topic I come across I can at least approach from a fresh perspective, so should you happen to spend your time with me you find it time well spent. If you have any ideas or suggestions, I’m open to them, hit me up on the contact page.

Now back to my lack of direction. This blog is purely an accessory to the portfolio, so really it could be anything. Since that’s the case, what would my dream blog be, you ask? Well it would likely be a mix between the things I find eating up the majority of my web surfing time – sneakers, fashion, modern architecture, and design in general. So you’ll likely see examples of where I find inspiration and what I’m daydreaming about.

So once again, thanks for stopping by, and hopefully we’ll meet again in the future.

I also design an online store for them using the Shopify platform.  We decided to use Shopify for its design flexibility, speed, and customer support.  I was able to retain a very consistent look to their main site, which is a pleasant departure from the typical plain e-commerce sites you see 95% of the time.  It’s also very user friendly, so once the site was up and running the client has been able to grow the site with ease.  Click here to go directly to the online store.