Quick+Easy Shoe Tutorial

This tutorial is meant for beginner Photoshop users, but similar results can be achieved in other programs.

Effects and tools we will be using in this tutorial:
♦ Pen Tool
♦ Brush Tool
♦ Layer Styles: Color Overlay, and Stroke
♦ Hue and Saturation
♦ Layer Blending Mode/Filters
♦ Magic Wand Tool
If you don't know what some of these are, please ask.

This is my result:

These shoes took me about 25 minutes to make, and 5 minutes to make re-colors.

The simplest way to make good looking shoes - fast - is to base them off of existing Nines shoes, and altering them to become more original. Some people may think it's "cheating", but in reality it's great practice for beginner editors/designers. It's also very convenient if you are trying to save time, or have a deadline for a contest. 

I am basing my shoes off of these shoes at Nines, you can base yours off of any shoe you want.



Lets start:

♦ Step 1: Trace your reference shoe ♦
Start to trace the shoe with the pen tool on a new layer:



♦ Step 2: Stroke your Paths ♦
Once you have the outline done with the pen tool, right click and choose "stroke path". Make sure your paint brush is set to 1px, 100% hardness, and 100% opacity. Choose brush(not pencil or anything else) and hit OK. name your layer something like "Outline".
♥ Tip ♥Turn the opacity of the Nines shoe layer down so you can see your shoe better.



♦ Step 3: Fill in your base layer ♦
Using the same path you made for the outline, make a new layer (call it something like "Base Color") - right click - and choose "fill path". Click OK.



♦ Step 4: Change layer colors ♦
I changed the color of my outline and base color by using layer styles(the little FX ) and choosing Color Overlay. I changed my outline color to dark purple, and my base color to purple.



♦ Step 5: Alter your shoe how you want ♦
Find some shoes you want to make your shoe similar to, or you can just add or subtract whatever you'd like to your shoes. Use the pen tool on the outline layer to add the details you'd like to the shoe.  I choose to add some straps. On the base color layer, use the pen tool(or brush tool) to fill in your outlines.
♥ Tip ♥The more you change, the more original it becomes. Try combining 2 or more shoe details together and see what you get.



♦ Step 6: Add shading to your shoes ♦
Now it's time to add shading to your shoes. Make a new layer between the outline layer and base color layer and name it something like "Shading". Use your pen tool or brush tool to color in areas where there should be shading. If you don't  think the color is quite right when you are done, you can make a Color Overlay on that layer and change it.
♥ Tip ♥ Remember the light source for the bimbo is coming from the left, so your shadows should be mostly on the right.



♦ Step 7: Add highlights, and perfect shading if needed ♦
Because I didn't think my shading was enough, I made a second shading layer, and added darker purple where it was needed. You may or may not need to this. After you are done shading, add a new layer and call it "highlights", use the pen tool or brush tool to designate highlighted areas on your shoes. Depending on the style you are going for, you can leave the solid color - or blend it with the base color.



♦ Step 8: You are done - unless you want to add pattern/texture/details ♦
At this point your shoes may be done, depending how detailed you want them to be. I am going to add some pattern and more detail to mine, though. Find a pattern you want to use, make it the proper size - you may have to copy the pattern to get to over all the area you need it to. I choose a zebra pattern for my shoes. Once the pattern is covering all the area you want it to, use the magic wand tool and click somewhere outside of the shoes on the OUTLINE layer. Now click the pattern layer with your selection still selected, and click DELETE on your keyboard. All the pattern that is on the outside of your shoes should be deleted.
♥ Tip ♥ Get inspiration for patterns, textures, and details from designer shoes. You'd be amazed how well some of these details look when mixed and matched!



♦ Step 9: Fit your pattern on your shoe ♦
Turn your pattern layer's opacity down. Go back to the OUTLINE layer, and click any inner spaces that didn't get deleted the first time with the magic wand, hold SHIFT to click more than one space. Once you have them selected, go back to the pattern layer and click DELETE on your keyboard. 



♦ Step 10: Perfect the pattern ♦
Move your pattern UNDER your outline layer. Change the opacity and filter of your pattern to something that looks good to you. I choose Soft Light at 50% - this tends to work good for black and white patterns. For a color pattern, you might have to play around a bit more. Erase any part of your pattern that you don't want to be on the shoe (I erased the straps).



♦ Step 11: Add small details ♦
Now add any more details you want. I have added some jewels/studs to the middle strap. I did this by making a small white dot with the paint brush, adding a 1px stroke in a darker color, duplicating it, and then merging the layers. I also added a black rubber bottom to the heels.
♥ Tip ♥ Details are great, but remember that you are working with a very small image - so don't overdoo it.



♦ Step 12: Make new colors ♦
If you want to make different colors of your shoes, make a new folder and name it. Drag all your shoe layers into the folder. Once you have done this, click the folder and click ALT on your keyboard and drag your mouse either in the layer palette or the canvas. You can also RIGHT CLICK the group and choose DUPLICATE LAYER. Once you've made a new layer, rename it, and move the new pair of shoes away from the 1st pair.



♦ Step 13: Make new colors - continued ♦
I am going to make my next pair of shoes blue. For most(or all) of the layers, you can change the Color Overlay in the layer style settings(like we did previously). But, if you have a layer with multiple colors on it, like I have on my highlight layer, you can click CRTL+U on your keyboard and change the Hue of your layer. (or go to Image>adjustments>hue/saturation) I changed my highlights to be more blue than purple. Change the color of all your layers for each color shoe you want.
♥ Tip ♥ Alternatively, you can merge your layers and use the Hue/Saturation to alter the entire shoe in one step. Changing it individually has its benefits, and sometimes the color can be more accurate this way.



My final recommendations:
If you have mastered this tutorial, try making your own completely original shoes next, same steps - just no tracing. However - getting the heels to look right can be very difficult sometimes, even for me . So, if you have trouble with those heels - trace the bottom of some Nines shoes, and then build the rest of the shoe on top. The more you practice, the more complex/unique details you can start making. 

In my example, I changed very little about the shoe shape, but I urge you to change as much as possible on your shoes!

Happy shoe making!