Before I had even finallised things with Erin at Vans I had a pretty well formed image in my head of how I wanted these shoes to look. Although the final design is much different from my initial drawings I had a pretty solid idea of what I wanted to achieve throughout.

The idea behind the shoes comes from a form of Indian body art commonly known as Henna. A dark brown plant extract is used to stain the skin.  I initially thought about painting the final design in gold but felt that it would loose the Henna connection. I found a nice middle ground in a bronze colour, this gives the intial apperance of a brown design but on closer inspection or when the light hits it right it’s possible to catch a sparkle or two.

Whilst the design was intricate and took some time both in the design and the actual painting of the shoe I wanted each shoe to have their own design, again an element that might not be apparent when you glance at the design but something people may appreciate when they take the time to inspect them.

I really enjoy looking at other peoples work and am enthusiastic when people send me their own custom shoes but so often I think people have a tendancy to go over the top with their designs to the point the shoes looks cluttered (Something I have been guilty of myself in the past). So when it came to thinking about the other elements of the shoes (the base colour, designs on the sides and rear, etc.) I left these largely unthouched. The outer edge of the left shoe displays No.1 India and the right shoe displays this website KyozoKicks.com

Like most of my previous work on vans I like to add a little something to the back of the shoes, here it was a simple floral pattern, again in bronze with a white background.

To complete these shoes I used pencil straight onto the canvas and then went over this using a fine tipped paintbrush. The only colour used was broze. you can find this paint and others at PaintedSoles

There you go guys, hope you liked them. Still travelling, I’ll be back painting early August. next pair – Afghanistan.

Things have gone really quiet on Kyozokicks these past couple of months, Too quiet I say. But don’t let this be any indication of the things that are going on behind the scenes! In my personal life my girlfriend and myself uprooted ourselves and can currently be found in Luang Numtha, Northern Laos. We travelling South East Asia before landing in New Zealand this summer (well their Winter actually, summer to us Northern hemisphere folks) Where we have working holiday visas to work for the next year and decide if we want to be New Zealanders full time or not.

So I have been busy with personal stuff, does that mean I have forgotten about my hobby here? Of course not! If anything whilst things have been quiet here KyozoKicks my shoes have gotten the biggest boost I could ever imagine – I will have upto 5 pairs displayed in Vans stores across the US to promote custom culture. That means Vans got in contact with me to paint some shoes – Mind Blown.

There was no convincing to be done. A lovely lady fron Vans called Erin got in contact with me about the project and I was in before the end of the email. I must admit I did think perhaps this was an elaborate (and somewhat mean) joke being played by my friends and it would all come to nothing BUT not 48 hours later I had 5 pairs of new Vans in my living room Fedex’d from L.A overnight (understand I live, well lived, in the countryside – in England) Those were some quick shoes, This was serious.

Resident Evil, Sonic, Vice City, Loco Roco, My latest love, Patchwork Heroes – My geeky mind went into overdrive. I could do anything with these shoes because they were in effect already sold and paid for. I was chuckling to myself at the possibilities until I came across a single line in Erins latest email :

‘You can paint anything that isn’t copyrighted or offensive’

Nooooo, I had been infringing on copyrights from every direction with KyozoKicks. Every day I wait for a cease and desist letter yet it never comes. I figure these are only one off’s and if anything – it’s a good bit of advertising for the games and also for Vans. Now I was dealing with a big company and had to play by the rules, I had to come up with DUM DUM DUM Original designs.

So, What else do I like besides Video Games. Well I like to travel, I know the image of someone who not only plays video games a lot but then creates shoes based off of said games doesnt necessarily conjure up an image of someone who goes motorbiking and trekking in remote parts of the world but, well I guess I’m kinda like Indiana Jones – Yeah I like that, Indaina Jones

So over the next 5 or so post you will see the shoes I created (in a hugely short space of time) that would then be sent across the pond into US Vans stores. Shoes based off of travel that I would come to call ‘The Vans 5’.

We got Hatapon, Yaripon, Tatepon and even a Kabipon! In fact I got the chance to do a small army of Patapon. This was not a private commission but a gift for my Girlfriends birthday, she’s seen plenty of shoes come and go in this home so I thought it was time for a pair of her very own.

Patapon is a game developed by Sony Japan Studios for the PSP platform. Personally I see it as a type of rhythm game, some people call it an RTS. The Patapon you see on the shoes are your warriors (you’re a god you see, with a drum – a sacred drum) through well timed taps you lead them in to battle to try and overthrow the oppressive Zigoton Empire. It’s terribley addictive and it will get stuck in your head (PON PON PATA PON!)

I knew she wouldn’t want anything to bright or over the top and the Patapon are a great fit. They characters are a simple and easily recognisable characters who are almost silhouettes. Whilst researching the different poses I couldn’t believe how expressive such a simple design could be and tried incorporate that into my design. I have confident and aggressive Patapon, disinterested Patapon and even a loner who doesn’t want any part in the whole thing.

Eagle eyed viewers will notice my Patapon are Purple and not Black like in the game. Why you might ask!? Well whilst putting together the Oddworld Shoes she remarked how she really liked the purple I used (got to pay attention to little clues like that guys!) and that’s why there Purple. I got hold of some matching laces to tie the design together (no pun intended there).

The finer details, especially the horse really tested how steady my hands were. At times I could of done with one of those magnifying glasses used in model making, perhaps a future investment!

Hope you like em guys!

My girlfriend has also given me her blessing to create another Patapon pair for one of you guys! They will be on Converse (either Low or Hi-tops) but the shoes, laces and Patapon can be any colour you choose, so get in touch via email! Due to the (Relatively) simple nature of the design they cost will be slightly less than one of my customs from scratch. Theres still time to get a pair done for Christmas.

All the paints for this design came from the chaps over at PaintedSoles. Personally I don’t use anyone else for my paint needs and if you want to give customs a go these are the guys to visit.

Thanks again guys!

And now for something a little different. I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to both design and create the Oddworld shoes for a guy called Mike in Canada. I really enjoyed the whole process because I was able to work with Mike to come up with something he wanted, two minds coming together to create something completely new and fresh.

We started off by getting together a list of games that he has enjoyed in his past. Both Psychonauts and Portal came up and I’m sure theres a good shoe in both of those games but Oddworld really stood out. It’s a gem of a game, a cult classic and although I have not played it in ages the Vintage Game Club did play and disscuss it (HERE) quiet recently. I would be playing it right now on my PSP if Sony would release it in PAL Regions (shame on you Sony, for shame).

For those of you that might be confused by the shoe SoulStorm Brew is a corporation within the game. The Oddworld Encyclopidia (which actually exsists) describes it as such :

SoulStorm Brew is one of the Magog Cartel’s most important product lines, a highly addictive and slightly toxic drink that is not only Oddworld’s favourite alcoholic beverage, but a powerful tool in the enslavement and suppression of the Mudokons.

The initial idea whilst almost exactly the same to what you see here went through some colour revisions. First they were Black which made the green far too harsh, appearing almost like they would glow in the dark. They were then grey until I finally picked the laces up and thought a  dark blue would tie it all together nicely, Personally I couldn’t be happier with the choice.

I wrongly thought that both shoes would be the same and got started. Upon picking up the left shoe however I realised my design would have the word Soul Storm Brew backwards so a couple of hours and a quick redesign to the logo I was back on track, a minor bump in the road.

This shoe has used a wide range of colours, the most I have used in a single design to date. Again I used only a brush, personally I see using pens as cheating a bit but that’s purely my view – more power to you if it works for you. On a personal note I think my technique is improving all the time (the second photo, the eye shows how much detail you can achieve with a fine tipped brush).

All of the paints used in the design came from the folks over at PaintedSoles, Pay them a visit if you want to have a go at your own designs, they have everything you need to get you up and running. If you need advice I’m only an email away.

The following paints were used in this design :

Black, Popsicle Green, Green, Light Grey, Orange, Purple, Yellow, White.

Hope you like them guys, please stop by and leave a comment. If you would like your own set of customs please don’t hesitate to email me. The base cost is £115 including the cost of the shoe but please contact me for the details. I can fit in 1 or 2 more pairs before christmas so get your order in asap if you want them as a gift for someone. Designs are not limited to video games.

Expect the next shoe soon, there sat here ready to be painted!

I use video games as my inspiration, is there a finer more deserving game than Okami?

Okami was developed by Clover Studios and was one of the last big PS2 releases prior to the launch of the PS3 . The game unfortuantly suffered poor sales and shortly after release Clover Studios was forced to close it’s doors.

Clover Studios may be gone but we will always have Okami to enjoy. With such a strong and memorable art style it is hard to imagine that the game was first produced to be as photo realistic as possible, only later into the development was the change to the Japanese Watercolour/Sumi-e  style we associate with the game today . What a refreshing decision.

My work with shoes and video games I have come to realise is my way of saying thank you to the people behind those games. Thank you for being bold with your ideas, for breaking the mould and for making video games genuinely funny. I can say without fail that next year we will have a better Call Of Duty, a better looking Fifa/Madden and a faster Need for Speed – But we may never surpass the brilliance of the original Okami.

Onto the Shoes!

What fun these shoes were to do! If you follow my work I like to think you can see my skills progress, becoming more confident with shapes, colours and Ideas.

I did not time how long they took me but I would guess around 15 hours. On the right shoe (Left in the pictures) depicts Ōkami Amaterasu. He is made up of around half a dozen seperate colour/shades. As with all my work no pens were used – everything is done with a size 0 paint brush (It would be a crime to create Ōkami shoes with anything BUT a paintbrush!) The other shoe depicts a number of Japansese charachters, these came from a number of places I found whilst researching further into Ōkami. I took extra care with these to copy them as closely as possible. A bold strip of Orange and Yellow brings the two ideas together.

On the heels of the shoe is the logo for Okami, usually depicted with black writing on white, here  I reversed the colours to make it more eligible.

As always I want these to go to Ōkami fans and are currently up for sale (to check out what else is for sale please click HERE) They are brand new Men’s US 11, UK 10 and were bought brand new for this design. The still have all the tags on and will be sent out in the original Vans packaging. I am more than happy to send these anywhere in the world – I am actually yet to send a single pair to anyone in England!

The asking price for these is £115. (I use XE for currency conversions). Postage costs will vary by country.  Offers can be sent to me via email and payment is accepted however you feel most comfortable.

As always I welcome you discussion, criticism, praise and questions in the comments below. Please check back for my next pair based off of the classic : Oddworld : Abe’s Oddysee.

If you guys would like to have a go at creating custom shoes yourself all my paints come from the fine chaps over on Painted Soles. Personally I have not found anywhere cheaper or with better service.

I have been fortunate to have my shoes featured on some of my favorite websites [Kotaku, Destructoid, The Official Capcom Blog, Double Fine Productions] Among countless others in every language from French to Japanese.

However I think this is the first time I have ever heard someone actually talk about my shoes [01:40 into the video]. Featured on a custom shoe segment Bytejacker actually talks about Kyozokicks! I’m always surprised nobody gets in contact to talk to me about them (start the violins up) as I’m more than happy to chat about my shoes and Video Game art in general.

If you have seen KyozoKicks on your favorite website pop it in the comments or let me know via a friendly email HERE

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. The Brown pair are a men’s UK 9 (US 10) NOW SOLD and the Royal Blue pair are a men’s UK 11 (US 12)

Unlike my last shoes these are for sale directly from my website (I could of bought and painted another pair of shoes from the costs incurred using eBay on my last pair!) If you are interested in either pair please don’t hesitate to send me an email. I can be reached HERE Each pair is £125 (Price negotiable, just get in contact and we can have a chat about it) and postage will be determined by where you are. I’m more than happy to post these worldwide.

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.

Edison Yan

Neo Gaf Member Edison Yan has put together a wonderful tribute to the now famous ‘Post 217′ to come out of this years E3. Hit the Jumps to read the full Story. NSFW language to follow!

I don’t know about anyone else but Scribblenauts has come out of nowhere for me. It seems like everyone is talking about it now and even took game of the show on many video game websites, game of the show – for a handheld! unheard of!.

Anyway the story which inspired the picture goes something like this. Neo Gaf member Feep was lucky enough to attend this years E3 and after playing all the big hitters made his way over to the small booth which contained Scribblenauts within.  I will let Feep take it from here ;

So listen to this story. I was in the early levels; I didn’t quite have an idea of how ridiculously in-depth the database was. I was summoning things like ladders, glasses of water, rayguns, what have you. But I reached a level with zombie robots, and the zombie robots kept killing me. Rayguns didn’t work, a torch didn’t work, a pickaxe didn’t work. In my frustration, I wrote in “Time Machine”. And one popped up. What the fuck? A smile dawned on my face. I hopped in, and the option was given to me to either travel to the past or the future. I chose past. When I hopped out, there were fucking dinosaurs walking around. I clicked one, and realized I could RIDE THEM. So I hopped on a fucking DINOSAUR, traveled back to the present, and stomped the shit out of robot zombies. Did you just read that sentence? Did you really? I FUCKING TRAVELED THROUGH TIME AND JUMPED ON A DINOSAUR AND USED IT TO KILL MOTHERFUCKING ROBOT ZOMBIES. This game is unbelievable. Impossible. There’s nothing you can’t do.

The Original post can be read HERE

A good video to show just what scribblenauts is can be found HERE

Man am I excited about this game, good work Yan!

Grim Fandango Converse

Now Sold

KyozoKicks second shoe (Third if were counting the Noby Noby Shoe) Is complete! They took me longer than I initially expected as I had never done any form of font before, It wasn’t particuallarly hard, just more time consuming than anything. On the design is a picture of Manny Calavera enjoying a smoke and pondering Love. ‘Love? Love is for the living’ appears on the opposite shoe, for fans of the game this might ring a bell as it’s lifted from a conversation Manny and Sal have in Grim Fandango.

As always I’m happy to answer any questions you might have on the shoes through the comment section and like the Phoenix Wright shoes before them the are on sale right now [Link] Now Sold

A big thank you to Maliris-san who not only inspired the initial design but gave them her blessing, please pop along to her deviantArt page to see more of her work [link]

Heels

Left Shoe

Right Shoe

Note : If any websites would like to use any of these images, please feel free – All I ask is that you give me credit and link back to KyozoKicks

Porky Mech

Another weekend is upon us and it’s time we wrapped up our recent interview with Camille Young, on closing Camille talk a bit more about her work on Mother 3, including where the entire collection finally ended up.

KK ersonally I love the detail and color on the Porky Mech [above] Which one challenged you the most throughout the process? Do you have a favorite now that you have finished?

CY : My favorite would have to be the Chimera Lab monster [below]. I love scary things, and he’s so creepy!

The Porky Mech is the largest model I’ve made and I spent the most time on it, but it actually went together faster than I imagined. It was one of the later models, so perhaps the practice I had making the others helped him to go smoother. The main characters, especially Lucas, were quite a challenge for me. They were all pretty open to interpretation, but they had to relate to the character style in M1 and M2. They also needed to have neutral expressions so they could be used several times in the book without looking too poker-faced. I’m not sure I accomplished that, but Emilio created many drawings of the characters with different expressions to make them more dynamic.

Chimera Lab Monster

KK : What does Mother 3 mean for your work, will we be seeing more from Camille Young in the near future?

CY : My work on the M3 figurines has really helped me to grow as an artist. I’ve never had such an intense sculpting schedule as I did from june 2008-March 2009, but it really did me a lot of good. I’ve got a bit more confidence in my abilities and I hope to continue to improve with my future work.

KK : You mention over on your blog as Earthbound being your favorite video game, are you yourself a big gamer?

CY : I’m not really a big gamer, but I do enjoy occasional RPGs and some Smash Bros. My brother is really into games and (before he had a job) played them obsessively. I’d usually watch him play and get an appreciation for the story and characters, while I did some sculpting. He (Steven Campos) actually did all the Photoshop work on my figurines to get them ready for the guide. He cut out the backgrounds and fixed all my mistakes.

Miracle Fassad

KK :I’m wondering, like a lot of people I’m sure – what happened to all those models after they were photographed for the Mother 3 Handbook?

CY : The M3 figurines are now in a nice case on a shelf in my living room. I’ve never had a cool display case for my stuff before, so it’s nice getting to see them and knowing they’re safe and dust-free.

________________________________________________________

There you have it! To keep up to date with Camilles work please follow her blog over at camilleart.com . I don’t doubt she will have plenty more more to show us in the near future, and when she does KyozoKicks will be waiting!