Nike Lebron X “POW!” Youth by @TwizzCustoms

The womens and kids size sneakers don’t get nearly as much love in customizing as the mens sizes so a custom like this is always refreshing. What started out as the Easter colorway of the Nike Lebron X in a youth size was given a POW! of neon colors by Twizz Customs. The first addition is the painted midsoles featuring a purple to pink to green fade that wraps around the shoe with splattered paint throughout. The shapes painted on the upper take us back to the 90′s with a very Fresh Prince and comic book vibe color combination. [more]

Air Jordan 4 Bred Python Custom by @TheShoeSurgeon

The Air Jordan line has been getting its taste of animal skin as of late in the custom sneaker world. The most recent is the Air Jordan IV in the classic “bred” colorway. Created by Dominic Chambrone aka The Shoe Surgeon this Jordan retro was reconstructed with an overlay of black python skin over the entire black nubuck upper. The back heel tabs and eyelet wings were kept while the Air Jordan flight tongue tags were replaced with those of The Shoe Surgeons logo lasered into red suede. Exotic. [more]

Nike Dunk @Whataburger Custom Shoes by Dank Customs

With the variety of food across the great United States there is one staple that every city has a favorite of and every American has an opinion on who makes them the best. That food is: the hamburger. If your visiting the Southern region of the US, specifically Texas and perhaps Oklahoma the word is Whataburger makes the best burger. Inspired by their iconic look, and both being based in San Antonio, TX, customizer Jake of Dank Customs gave this pair of Dunk lows the Whataburger styling.

The Nike Dunk used was the perfect base for this custom as it featured their orange and white combo throughout the shoe. Without over complicating the design Jake recreated the restaurants classic orange and white strip roofs on the toe and lace panels. To complete the look the W logo was added to the back heels. Whataburger, what a custom sneaker, right?

Check more work and commission your own custom hamburger shoes from Dank Customs via Jwdanklefs.com

Neapolitan Ice Cream Cone Custom Vans by Carl Floyd Medley III

The pristine white canvas of a Vans Era gets the sticky sweet colorful look of an ice cream cone on this pair titled 5 Second Rule by Carl Floyd Medley III. From the edges of the sole to the end of the sockliner these Vans showcase a fresh outlined Neapolitan ice cream made of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Details were not skimped upon with the painting of multi-colored sprinkles, bright red cherries, and the look of a golden brown waffle cone wrapped around the heels.

Check more work from Carl Floyd Medley III at Facebook.com/CarlCanDraw. Also contact him about his custom holiday shoe sale going on until January 2013 at: info@carlmedley.com

Ad Kicks by @illiferandez: Custom Shoes for Agency Creatives

With all the talk of unemployment in the US at all time highs a difficult industry to have a job right out of college or even a year or two is of that in advertising and marketing. Every ad agency someone applies to is different. Some agencies might look for those that creatively submit resumes and portfolios while others may look for which applicant and record of work fits their style with what they need. As a “creative” how should you apply?

Chicago advertising professional Illi Ferandez chose to step outside the resume email and into the shoebox to get her name out. As a recent graduate from The Chicago Portfolio School she picked a few art directors at different agencies in Chicago and New York and researched their life stories. Then she painted four pairs of basic canvas shoes each completely different and representative to that specific directors interests and life path. The directors chosen were Tim Nolan of BHH Labs, Michael Boychuk of Leo Burnett, Kevin Flatt of Cramer-Krasselt, and Kevin Lynch of Energy BBDO/Proximity. Seen below the custom painted shoes are all unique ranging in subject from skating to Indian and Ukrainian art to Leviathan’s projection cubes to Michigan State University.

Surely this effort can show some agency Illi’s skills and potential landing her a job doing what she loves. Check out the full site dedicated to the project to see one of the best presentations of custom sneakers ever seen by PaintOrThread at: http://www.ad-kicks.com and follow her on Twitter: @illiferandez

Don’t Step on My Vans! Customs by @FreakerSneaks

Purposely stepping on another persons sneakers is one of highest forms of disrespect. Athens, Greece shoe customizer Jonny of FreakerSneaks put a spin on that foul act on his latest custom, Don’t Step on My Vans!. After a Vans rep visited his shop he was asked to make a pair in celebration of a new Vans store opening up in the local mall. The all white Vans Era was given an addition of black paint to the back half with neon pink around the lining and lime green laces to match. Next the concept was made true with the painting of two other shoes footprints on the white canvas toes. Finishing touches to complete the package were insoles done up with their title and FreakerSneaks logo.

Check more work from Jonny at FreakerSneaks.com and on Facebook.com/freakersneaks and Twitter: @FreakerSneaks

Satin Pearl Platinum Pink Nike Foamposite Pro Custom by @FettiDbiasi

The complete color makeover customization is what took place on this pair of Nike Foamposite Pro by Fetti D’Biasi. Nicknamed something short of a tongue twister this Satin Pearl Platinum Pink pair of Foams has got an entirely new look. The base shoe was the “Gym Green” Foamposite pictured below whose only aspect still recognizable is the black suede lace panel and tongues. The greenish copper upper was painted with a heavenly metallic white finish. Black was the previous color of the Swooshes that now don another metallic finish in the way of pink. Lastly the clear soles were given a slight pink tint to complete the overall new colorway not seen on an official Nike Foamposite release yet.

Contact Fetti D’Biasi via her site SneakerFairy.com to comission your own custom Foamposite and be sure to follow her on Twitter @FettiDBiasi as she gives her commentary on all aspects of this sneaker culture thing from NYC.

The base shoe before being painted: Nike Foamposite Pro “Gym Green” image via SneakerFiles.com

@RitaOra’s Custom Platform Air Jordan True Flights

Could this trend take off? Recording artist Rita Ora wore this pair of white Air Jordan True Flights at her performance last week at the Nokia Theatre. The customization though is that they were turned into platforms with the addition of a 4 inch or so all black sole. Lets rephrase, should this trend take off? Maybe just for performances like this.

Images via: iHeartRitaOra.com and @Advertisingdegree on Instagram

Siberian Tiger Custom Nike Air Force 1 by @EcentrikShoeArt

Custom sneaker themes are running wild over at Ecentrik Artistry. The latest animal inspired kicks from Elom of Ecentrik are these cunning Siberian Tiger Nike Air Force 1 lows. A previously all white AF1 was transformed with the painting of black stripes on golden orange to mimic the look of the largest living cat: the endangered Siberian Tiger. Fronts of the lace panel and toes were kept white for the look of the big cats’ underbelly. Lastly two green eyes were painted on the lateral swooshes to complete the tiger look. An awesome pair of kicks for anyone that loves this orange and black striped felid.

Available for order in mens and womens sizes from Ecentrik via his online shop at: EcentrikArt.net. Be sure to follow him on Twitter too: @EcentrikShoeArt

Franciscan Starbust Custom Painted Toms Shoes by @CustomSwaves

Usually for most customs that get posted here on PaintOrThread.com the goal is to share a bit of insight to the subject of what the shoes are themed from. In this case Swaves gave us an outstanding explanation of what influenced his latest custom Toms, so it deserved to be shared just as much as the shoes:

In 1954 the “Starburst” line of dinnerware was introduced by Franciscan Ware, a part of the organization Gladding, McBean & Co. With the prosperity that came after the war, consumers were ready for something new. And the futuristic starry design on Franciscan Starburst fit in well with a new chrome kitchen and advanced appliances, making Franciscan Starburst the definitive dinnerware of the 1950′s.

My kitchen happens to be accented with Franciscan Starburst tiles. Because of this, my girlfriend and I have joined the masses of “hunters” who scour flea markets and estate sales to find the rare missing pieces to their dinnerware collections. For our anniversary I got her a couple dinner plates to add to the collection, and painted my first pair of TOMS! Freehand painting such fine lines on canvas shoes proved to be a challenge, but I could not be happier with the outcome.

Not many shoe customizers found on PaintOrThread’ work on Toms as their base shoes but Swaves is trying to break that mold which is often see from work of artists on deviantArt.com or Etsy.com. Contact him at CustomSwaves.com and follow on Twitter: @CustomSwaves for your own custom Toms.

“Predator and Prey” Custom Nike Dunks by Swaves

This custom sneaker concept by Swaves is extremely minimal but at the same time very detailed. Completely free-hand-drawn in pencil and then painted these Nike Dunks capture two parts of the animal kingdom: Tigers and Zebras. Even though they don’t live in the same habitats a tiger most certainly would entertain eating a zebra. Swaves painted the two striped mammals with the tagline for which they tend to represent on most all occasions, zebra as prey and tiger as predator. The white pair was originally created in 2010 with a new white on black take for a recent customer request.

Checkout more work from Swaves and order your own animal kingdom custom sneaker via his site: CustomSwaves.com and follow him on Twitter: @CustomSwaves

The original Predator vs. Prey Nike Dunks by Swaves in 2010

Nike Dunk Air Force 1 Hybrid “Mugsy” by 3R Customs

In a show called “Few of our Favorite Things” Jest3r of 3Rcustoms showcased his custom sneakers along with art from his friend Steph Wood. For each pair he made she made a matching painting, but this pair went a bit deeper as it was her personal custom. Stephs bulldog named Mugsy passed away only months before the show and in memory Jest3r made this pair of decon-recon Nike Dunk Air Force 1 hybrids.

The upper is completely reconstructed, made entirely of long-haired leather in the form of a Dunk low silhouette. But you notice the soles are that of an Air Force 1 that make this pair even more special considering it was Jest3r’s first 3R Custom of this combination. The last detail of with “Mugsy” embroidered on the heels make this forever a 1 of 1 design.

Check out more 3Rcustoms work at Jest3r.net and be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram for his sneaker giveaway: @3rcustoms

Mugsy the bulldog:

Jessie J Custom Nike Shoes by HEKStyle Hand Painted Footwear

Known for her chart topping hits, “Price Tag”, “Who You Are” and “Do it Like a Dude” Jessie J is one of the current “it girls” of pop music. Her place was cemented with her single “Domino” which reached 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and 1 in the UK. She is fresh off a headlining performance in her hometown of London for the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games with a sophomore album on the way. All that said and Jessie J’s 8 million plus Facebook fans it is no surprise London, England based customizer HEKStyle has been able to build such an impressive portfolio of custom sneakers themed after the female star.

Check out the next pages below that showcase 18 different pairs of Nikes HEKStyle Hand Painted Footwear has created based on the singer and songwriter Jessie J.

Nike Air Max 90 Atmos 2012 by Ecentrik Artistry

Ecentrik Artistry has a new custom sneaker design out that takes a new look on a limited Nike Air Max 1. The design was Inspired by the “Atmos” Nike Air Max 1 that was released in 2007 which is coveted for its use of elephant print on a good portion of the upper. Elom of Ecentrik Artistry decided to use the similar color blocking and then instead of recreating the elephant print he painted a print that is somewhat of a cross between camouflage and a giraffe.

These are available for order in Mens or Womens sizes for a limited time via: http://www.ecentrikart.net/ or follow him on Twitter for more custom sneaker updates: @ecentrikshoeart