Tommy Nickerson, known as @beargallery, recently joined the Angelus Direct team as a sponsored artist. Tommy is a Los Angeles based artist who has created thousands of customs over the years. His work has been inspired by everything from the music world to cartoons and can be seen on everything from shoes to guitars. Check out his best work and find him on the Angelus Direct YouTube channel where he shares step by step tutorials.
(source: @beargallery)
These Space Jam Nikes were the subject of one of his tutorials for Angelus Direct. Featuring Space Jam 2 stars Bugs Bunny and Tweety Bird, these Lebron Witness 5s required a variety of techniques, from drawing the characters to creating the splatter print midsoles. He takes you step by step as he explains how he creates his colors for the perfect match for each character, like Tweety Bird by mixing orange and yellow. He also mixes violet, blue and white to match the purple accents, then creates a neon green with yellow, blue and white for the splatter pattern.
(source: @beargallery)
Shoes aren't the only medium he customizes, he's also created a number of custom guitars featuring subjects ranging from mountain landscapes to Sponge Bob. This delicately executed custom acoustic guitar uses the wood finish as a backdrop to these floating monarch butterflies in black and orange.
(source: @beargallery)
These Purple Rain themed Doc Martens are a pair of customs any Prince fan would covet. With one shoe in black and white and other in all its purple glory, these customs make the most of these Doc Marten boots as a canvas. The other side of each shoe spells out Prince and his iconic Prince symbol.
(source: @beargallery)
Pet portraits are another common subject for Tommy and these custom Vans are a great example of some of his most personal work. Each portrait perfectly captures the personalities of these sweet pups in black and bone. The black of these Slip-On Vans makes the ideal backdrop.
To see more customs like these, make sure to follow Angelus on Instagram and tag us in your own custom creations.