Custom Zelda Vans by KyozoKicks.

Posted by on Jul 2, 2009 in My Stuff | 49 comments

Twilight Princess

Wind Waker

Purchase the Twilight Princess from the KyozoKicks storefront now, click here. 

Don’t see your size? I am available for custom orders at no extra cost, just get in contact.

A little treat this time around, not one but two pairs of shoes! (hence a slight delay between pairs) I have been hesitant to base shoes around what I consider quite mainstream/well known games until now. Ive seen poor Links little face plastered on everything from socks to lunch boxes. I saw an oppurtunity to do something I personally had not seen before, yet is quite (albeit it in a terriblely geeky way) iconic – the shields of Zelda. Why more than 1 pair? I couldn’t decide one design!

I like the fact that each new shoe challenged me in a new and different ways. The Pheonix Wright Shoe was my first real experience working with the paints on shoes. The Grim Fandango Converse made me try fonts and making characters easily recognisable to everyone else. Where these shoes pushed me was to make both the left and right shoe look the same even when held next to each other. Perhaps it would of been easy using stencils but I enjoy doing everything freehand because you do get the little imperfections which let you know that these were done by hand.

Right onto the shoes!

Both pairs are inspired by the shields which Link carries round with him in the Zelda series. One from Wind Waker, the other from Twilight Princess.

If you would like to follow my work and the process more in-depth please follow me on Twitter @Kyozokicks

Please check out the photos below to how they came together.

49 Comments

Join the conversation and post a comment.

  1. Brian

    Any chance you can make another Zelda (blue one) style slip on and sell it?

  2. Tonks

    Hey Brian,

    Everything is possible! Fire me off an email if you want to discuss commissioning a pair to suit your style/size. Thanks for taking the time to check out my shoes!

    Tonks

  3. Doccam

    what kind of paint did you use? I’ve been asking around since I’ve wanted to start painting some of my own shoes.

  4. Tonks

    Hey Doccam,

    The are a leather paint, I am just in contact with suppliers at the moment to be able to sell these paints through my site so everyone can have a go at creating their own! Hopefully I can be there to help when you decide to pick up a paint brush.

  5. Doccam

    Thanks! That sounds great.

  6. RJ

    Wow, I love those shoes! The blue Zelda ones are my faves; I love Zelda so much. D:

    I also had a question for you, and you probably get people asking a lot, and I understand if you don’t want to tell me, but how do you make your stencils?

  7. Tonks

    Hey RJ,

    Glad you like the shoes and thanks for taking the time to comment! As for your question – I don’t use any stencils on any of my shoes, If you look at your own shoe and drew a line in the middle from the toes to the heel you would notice that both sides are not the same shape/size so it takes awhile to actually to get the design looking pleasing to the eye and in the end is not 100% symmetrical – creating a kind of optical illusion of symmetry, something that would be hard to perfect if not working straight onto the shoe. I also feel stencils give too hard a finish and are prone to leaking paint onto areas you don’t want. Sorry for the long answer! My advice if you want to try this yourself is to take your time and do it all by hand which is how I do all my shoes.

  8. Celeste

    Hi! I just wanted to let you know I featured this in my weekly column on Fandomania:

    Fandomestic: 20 Classic Nintendo-Inspired Shoes

  9. Lucaz

    Those shoes both look absolutely amazing!
    I’m even considering buying a pair of the brown ones, if you are still offering to make those, of course. I’ll try and contact you when you get back from your vacation so we can talk about this.

    Awesome job, keep it up!

  10. Sam

    Hey! I’ve been looking around for a pair of shoes I like for ages now -
    And I’ve finally found them. Those blue ones are amazing! My jaw drops a little bit every time I see them…

    How much would you ask for a pair, if you’re willing to make some for me? :)

  11. Frank

    I like the blue ones very much and want them for christmas could you email me? Outlook doesn’t work so i can’t get your email address to email you myself and how much is that in us dollars?

  12. Tonks

    Email on the way Frank!

  13. FSC-Refugee

    i would like to ask you about the materials you use for your work such as paints and your process for creating the art, however i do not have microsoft outlook, so could you please email me? I am very interested in what you do here and am curious about the process. Thank you!

  14. Tonks

    Thanks for your enthusiasm Abigail, just sitting down to work on my next pair – hopefully you will stick around for those!

  15. Tim

    Mate, these are amazing, I would very mich like to buy some but I’m out of money to spend on things like this right now :( hopefully when I can afford them, I’ll send you an email :D

  16. Tonks

    Hey Tim glad you like em! You just send me an email when your good and ready ;)

  17. Kyle

    hey, I have been looking for shoes like this for a while can you email me with the price and were do you ship from thank you.

  18. Max Murrey

    Great shoes. Great work.

  19. Rhea

    Hey! I’m quite a large fan of Zelda things and I LOOVE these shoes. I wanna make some Zelda shoes of my own, and I was wondering how you paint the designs on the shoes. I saw in your pictures that there was what appeared to be a stencil, but reading the comments you said you don’t use them. What do you use, or do you hand draw?

  20. Tonks

    Hey Rhea,
    I do all my shoes free hand, what appears to be a stencil in the image above is just a piece of paper I used to get the spacing of all the separate components right. The top of the shoe has a curve to it so to make the final image appear right you actually have to distort the design somewhat. Whilst a stencil would be really quick the canvas material the shoes are made of don’t lend themselves well to this – expect the design to bleed somewhat. Freehand takes longer, but in the end I think you get a superior finish.

  21. Evan

    Just wondering if you’re still making these, would really be interested in getting a pair.

  22. Tonks

    Hey Evan,

    I do still make these, if you would like to get in contact with me via the red ‘Contact Me’ tab on the left side of the page and I can give you some more info.

    Nick.

  23. Matt

    well i’d just like to say that those shoes look fantastic and i admire the dedication and time it must have took to perfect them, i’m a bit of a collector of video game memorabilia and i love these shoes, i’m not sure if i can afford these right now but i thought i may as well let you know how much i do like your designs and perhaps i may buy a pair one day but i don’t think that’ll be someday soon

  24. Ollie

    Hey, great job on the shoes, they are really amazing :}

    I was curious as to what kind of price I would be looking at for size 10 US, sent to Australia?
    Again, awesome work on the shoes,

    thanks, Ollie.

  25. TIffany

    Hey… I was wondering if I could get a pair of the brown ones with the zelda sign… and how much it would be ?

  26. Tonks

    Hey Tiffany,

    I’ll send you an email with all the details on getting your hands on a pair.

    Thanks

    Nick.

  27. danielle

    i’ve been searching for shoes like this. shoot me an email about the blue slip ons, please.

  28. Nic

    I would love to get my hands on a pair of these. Please e-mail me with the information. Thanks

  29. Christina

    I want a pair! How much you want for them? I am getting paid next month and really want a pair women size 5 or 5 1/2
    Thanks please reply
    -email address removed by KyozoKicks to spare you the Spam!-

    Thanks!!!

  30. Angie

    Hey, would it be possible to have these made?
    A friends birthday is coming up and he would flip over these!!
    If so, how much do you charge?

    :)

  31. Andrew smith

    I seriously want a pair. Please email me with the prices for the royal blue ones. I wear a US mens 11 1/2

  32. Andrew smith

    Sorry if it’s annoying, but I need to know pricing today. I accidentally put a wrong email. This one is the right one I’m sure. Can you make the blue slip ons!

  33. Francis

    Hey, I live in the US and i just wanted to know, how much (in US dollars) are the royal blue ones in a size 10? If it’s possible to make it in that size. Thanks :)

  34. Alex

    How much are the blue ones?! So cool! :D

  35. Patricia Keely

    Where can I buy a pair of Zelda Vans, size 10?

  36. Nic

    Wow. These look fantastic. Could I possibly order a pair of men’s size 11 of the blue ones? How much? Thanks!

  37. Jack Lalonde

    Would you sell me one of the blue ones? I’d really like to have them.

  38. Socorro Torres

    Do you still make these? I would really like a pair. >~<

  39. Nicholas Tonks

    Hi guys,

    This Is Nick, I run the site here and paint the shoes. It’s great to see so many of you still enjoying these shoes and asking how you can get a pair. The best way to get in contact with me is by clicking on the ‘contact me’ tab which you can find on the left hand side, you see it? great. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for all the support!

  40. Cody

    You’ve got skills my man. How would i go about buying a blue pair from you? Do you make them to sell?

  41. Chris

    Hey Im dieing to get my hands on these please email me and Ide love to buy a few pairs

  42. Jack

    I hate to be asking this on a Zelda thread but, do you do other custom shoes, and if so what do you charge?

  43. Man'

    what a good idea ! I thought that “Zelda-shoes” had to be not very nice, or unwearing ! But these one are gorgeous ! VERY GOOD JOB ! One day I’ll certainly ask for one
    Good continuation ! (I’m french, sorry if you don’t understand so well !)

  44. Isabelle Miller

    I totally need these, name a price for a womens 8.5 :)

  45. Natalia

    Are these available to order or something from you, considering this post is 3 years old? These are AMAZING and I would kill for a pair of the blue ones

  46. Nicholas Tonks

    They sure are Natalia, just get in contact with me via the ‘contact’ button above! Thanks.

  47. Nancy

    I want a pair of these shoes. i know we’re already in 2012 but i love these shoes and was wondering if i can get a pair? i will contact you right now

  48. Zulema Chavarria

    R u still making these amazing awesome shoes? :p If so…EMAIL ME!! zule3010@gmail.com

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