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Accessories Shoe Making: references for realistic shoes

Apr 7, 2019

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    1. All right, since I'm obsessed with shoes but also I'm broke and I can't sadly give all of my money to Sweetiiger or SartoriaJ, I am doing extensive research to start doing my own small shoes.
      My main inspiration is at the moment, action figures customisers, miniature street style designers and fashion doll makers who work in 1/6 scale, but I think that things can be adapted and upscaled to 1/4 or 1/3.

      Hope this is not off topic by mentioning 1/6 dolls who are not BJDs, but I am interested in the process and the patterns to achieve the shoes, more than the dolls they are targeted for.

      This will be a directory list and will be updated whenever I find anything usable.
      Useless to say, this is not a beginner's guide, so be prepared to see complicated stuff.

      FASHION DOLL SHOES: BASIC INSTRUCTIONS
      FASHION DOLL SHOES: VIDEO TUTORIAL INDEX
      (this is a precious find I had to share: Ms Tarja is so through and she delivers pretty clear instruction with pictures. The blog is all worth exploring. She made also a book, available on Amazon if you want to support her!)

      COOLRAIN VANS MINI KIT
      COOLRAIN 1/6 SNEAKERS
      (contains patterns and very few WIP, but at this point, any hint is vital to get how to do these. There is a lot of material in Coolrain's Facebook actually, but these were the most relevant, he posted publicly his patterns on Facebook so I consider them free to personal use, even if not properly a tutorial.)

      WALKERCOLOURS CHANNEL
      (there is no shoemaking without mentioning her: she mainly works with Barbies and Monster Highs but her tutorials are so easy to follow that you can easily use them for bigger dolls. Just need to be neater, but in bigger scale it's easier to be more detailed and clean.)

      Any suggestion and tutorial to this list is well accepted! I know that realistic accessory making is hard, but if they can achieve such good results in 1/6 scale, I am sure that with some good work we can do it in 1/3 and 1/4 :P
       
      #1 micchix, Apr 7, 2019
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    2. When uni is over, I’m gonna have a go at those vans & trainers... thanks for the links!
       
      #2 Spuggey, Apr 8, 2019
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    3. From reading a few posts on Coolrain's FB, it seems he makes the Vans and other sneaker DIY kits. I am not sure how they were sold, but there was/is also a workshop in Korea where you could learn how to build any of his kits. I looked in his online shop, but it doesn't seem like he sells any of them anymore. Or at least doesn't have any right now. I hope he still makes them for sale, because they are probably the most realistic 1:6 sneakers and Vans I've ever seen. Hopefully the fabrics are not all animal derived, so I can purchase some if he ever does make them again for sale. The soles are pretty accurate, I can't think of a way to make the shoes more realistic than having such detailed soles and scaled lacing. Thanks for sharing the links to these. (:
       
      #3 Enzyme, Apr 9, 2019
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    4. ooo so want to give it a try making some shoes :) thanks for sharing.
       
      #4 owlhugs, Apr 9, 2019
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    5. thank you for sharing dear
       
      #5 pressed.petals, Apr 13, 2019
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    6. He made some workshops in Korea in Vans shops and he sold few of the Nike air ones, but I'm very much more interested in the technique than the actual kit itself. From what I understood digging through his ig account, the kits were exclusive for the vans workshops, while the Nike air ones were very few limited ones. He's an amazing toymaker and for sure his accuracy at 1/6 scale is outstanding !
       
      #6 micchix, Apr 16, 2019
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    7. Happy to help! Can't wait to see people play with this :)
       
      #7 micchix, Apr 16, 2019
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    8. Thanks for the info! I tried looking at the posts on his FB, but wasn't able to learn how/when he sold the kits. I guess I'll never be able to get some of those amazingly realistic soles then -- although I guess I could model some in a 3D program and have them printed for me (but then again, I'm too lazy to actually go through with it, so I am more than likely not going to). DX
       
      #8 Enzyme, Apr 16, 2019
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    9. Tarja's book on Amazon is great, I have it! Walkercolours is so creative. She does things from a surprising perspective. Gives loads of ideas. Check out bjd shoe patterns by ira_scargeear 70+ BJD cossack boots pattern
      I scaled these boots to fit my msd Dollshe David using the cossack boot scargeear pattern. Her patterns have a very nice design.
      [​IMG]David and Amanda by Linda, on Flickr
       
      #9 tinyseams, Apr 20, 2019
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    10. Thank You very much for this tutorial:love! I can't wait to try one of them! Maybe will be perfect for my first bjd.
       
      #10 dollipuki, Apr 27, 2019
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    11. These links are awesome! I'm so tired of wasting money on shoes that end up looking out of scale and toy-like. These are a great resource.
       
      #11 sugarbeta, Apr 27, 2019
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    12. Very cool! Using a cardboard press-form mold for a sculpey wedge platform heel base is a good idea...
       
      #12 Mirror, May 21, 2019
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    13. I'm so glad I checked out this thread. No one sells in-scale shoes that I like for MSD Dollshe feet. After reading this thread, I feel more confident that I can make the shoe styles that I want. Also, Dollshe girls are impossible to buy shoes for if you like a perfect fit.
       
      #13 Richie, Jun 4, 2019
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    14. This is some information on Coolrain is South Korea. A Closer Look @ The AIRFORCE 1 FIGURE Plamodel Kit by Coolrain (For NIKE South Korea)
      He seems to be an artist and toy/model makerThe mini shoe is from a collaboration with the shoe brands themselves. It looks like one shoe which is put together like a model car or plane.
      I could be wrong. His studio website has one item for sale right now. A robot. $$$$.


       
      #14 Sin's Wife, Jun 25, 2019
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    15. Coolrain is a famous toymaker and I wasn't really expecting any cheap kit from them XD
       
      #15 micchix, Aug 22, 2019
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    16. Just a little reminder: this thread is for sharing patterns and how-to-make's for shoes, not for mentioning vendors of pre-made shoes.
       
      #16 hobbywhelmed, Aug 22, 2019
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    17. whao, final result look so great ! should i be able to do that ?
       
      #17 Sillyan, Apr 16, 2020
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    18. Thanks for the pattern!
       
      #18 angel_azulcl, Jun 3, 2020
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    19. Super helpful! I'm making a custom pair for a Doll version of Julian and this is exactly what I needed.
       
      #19 Riri'sdolls, Jun 5, 2020
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    20. These are so helpful. Thank you so much!
       
      #20 Popolo, Jun 21, 2020
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    21. Huge thanks for all these links from my doll crew!
       
      #21 Le Sombre Soleil, May 20, 2022
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    22. Thank you! I was planning to make some shoes soon:daisy
       
      #22 Oakley_Mess, Aug 17, 2022
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