Sneakers · 2023 · Nike Air Force 1

Tattoo cats

Eight fine-line cat tattoos and two tiny paws on white Air Force 1s, a birthday gift for a best friend.

hand-paintedcatstattoo inspofine lineminimalistwhite sneakersgift

The right shoe from the side: a cat asleep inside a heart with a crescent moon near the heel and a cat reaching up for a butterfly near the toe, with the left shoe and its moon cat behind it.

The story

A birthday gift for another one of my best friends, from a few of us together. She likes things classy, minimalist and cute, and she loves cats, so the idea was simple, classy, subtle. The base was a pair of Air Force 1s again, but an interesting edition with an upside-down vibe: the Nike Air logo on the heel is flipped.

Looking for cats, I found so many cat tattoos that were sooo cute. So, basically, I tattooed the shoes with cats. I don't remember the artists, sadly; the tattoos most likely came from Pinterest. Doing this, I found out that tattoo inspo is perfect for subtle details on shoes.

Each side of an Air Force 1 is split in two by the middle panel with the Nike logo, so every side has a front panel and a back panel. That made 8 tattoos, 2 on each side, so 8 cats to draw. I printed all the tattoos I liked on my home printer, sized for the panels before printing, then cut them out and placed them on the shoes until it all looked cute and matchy. I only made those paper cutouts to ask the friends I was making the gift with if they liked it, and lucky I even have the photos. As a lovely touch I added cat paws on the heels: they fit sooo nicely, stay subtle, and tie the whole cat vibe together.

I started on 18 November 2023 at 1:48 at night and finished the same day, at 5:02 in the morning. An all-nighter, because her birthday was that very day.

The thing I'm really proud of: she has machine washed them at least twice, and the drawings are still there, just a bit faded in places. That's with my old paints, not Angelus, and without leaving enough time between coats. With Angelus and better timing, I'm sure I could make them even more durable.

Process

01Collecting cute cat tattoos and choosing 8: a front and a back panel on each side
02Sizing them for the panels and printing them on my home printer
03Cutting them out and placing them on the shoes, to plan a matchy layout and ask my friends if they liked it
04Deglazing the panels with acetone and cotton balls
05Painting the 8 cats in fine black lines with a thin brush, with little touches of red
06A small cat paw on each heel
07Finisher coats on top

What I learned

Tattoo inspo is perfect for subtle details on shoes.
Printed paper cutouts are a quick way to plan a layout and get a yes before painting.
Rushing costs durability: leave proper time between paint coats and finisher coats.
With Angelus paints and better timing, the same design would last even longer.

See the post on Instagram →

Gallery

The right shoe's outer side: a cat asleep inside a heart with a crescent moon and a red flower near the heel, and a cat stretching up towards a butterfly near the toe. — Right shoe, outside: a cat asleep in a heart, and one reaching for a butterfly.

The left shoe's inner side, held in a hand: a cat sitting on a crescent moon with a star and a red flower near the heel, and a cat rolling on its back under a butterfly near the toe. — Left shoe, inside: the moon cat, and a cat rolling on its back.

The left shoe's outer side, held in a hand: a long stretching cat with a red flower at its tail near the toe, and near the heel a sitting cat with a butterfly above a cat curled in a ring of little red flowers. — Left shoe, outside: a long stretch, and a cat curled up in flowers.

The right shoe's inner side, held in a hand: a stretching cat near the toe, and near the heel a cat beside a heart drawn in one looping line that ends in a red flower. — Right shoe, inside: another stretch, and a cat with a looping heart.

A tiny paw on each heel, under the upside-down logo.

Making of

One of the white Air Force 1s before painting, with an iridescent Swoosh. — Before: clean white, with an iridescent Swoosh.

The left shoe's inner side with two printed tattoos cut out and taped on: a cat on a crescent moon on the back panel, and a cat with a butterfly on the front panel. — The paper mockup: printed tattoos, sized and cut out, placed where the cats would go.

The left shoe's outer side with printed tattoos taped on: a cat under a crescent moon on the front panel, and two cats with flowers and a butterfly on the back panel. — Left shoe, outside, in paper.

The right shoe's inner side with printed tattoos taped on: a slim cat with a little flower on the front panel, and a cat with a looping heart and a butterfly on the back panel. — Right shoe, inside, in paper.

The right shoe's outer side with printed tattoos taped on: a cat asleep in a heart on the back panel, and a cat reaching up for a butterfly on the front panel. — Right shoe, outside, in paper.

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