News — How To

Depending on the materials you're working with, you'll have to use different methods and materials to ensure your custom sneaker design lasts as long as possible without chipping, cracking, or peeling.

To demonstrate how to paint mesh, plastic, and dye soles, Jake from @visionarykickz created a custom Air Max 720 tutorial. Follow along to learn the proper way to paint soft materials and customize translucent soles.

Customizing Air Max 720 with Angelus Paints & Dyes

To get started, you'll just need a few basic materials:

• Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint
• Angelus Leather Dye
• Angelus Sole Bright
• Angelus Leather Preparer and Deglazer
• Angelus Paint Brush Set
• Angelus 2-Soft
• Angelus 2-Hard
• Airbrush
• Masking Tape
• Heat gun

Once you get your materials, follow these steps to create your own custom leather clothing.

1. Prep

Prep is the most important step of any custom project. Prepping the shoe properly helps ensure the paint adheres to the shoe and doesn't wear easily.

First, use Angelus Preparer & Deglazer and a cotton pad to wipe down and prep the midsole on the Air Max 720s. Since the upper is made of mesh, you don't need to use this to remove the factory finish as you normally would with leather shoes.

Then, use masking tape to tape off the areas of the shoe that you don't want to paint in the next step. This includes the translucent soles and the hard overlays on the upper.

2. Painting Mesh

After prepping the shoe, you can start painting the mesh upper. For these customs, Jake used Hot Pink and Light Blue paint for a cotton candy colorway.

Since we're painting mesh, which is a soft, porous material, you need to use Angelus 2-Soft to ensure the paint adheres and remains flexible. Use a 1:1 ratio of paint to 2-Soft to prevent the fabric from hardening after the paint sets.

Once the paint is prepared, use an airbrush to carefully apply several thin layers of paint, making sure to let each layer dry before adding another. Use a heat gun at 300 degrees for three to five minutes to set the paint.

3. Dyeing Soles

After you finish painting the upper, you can remove the masking tape to dye the soles. For translucent soles, we recommend a 1:1 ratio of Angelus Dye to Angelus Sole Bright. For these customs, the artist used Light Blue and Rose Dye.

Use a paintbrush to apply light and even coats, allowing each coat to fully dry. Be careful not to oversaturate the brush so the dye doesn't bleed onto other areas of the shoe.

Allow the dye to fully dry, then use a cloth to wipe down the soles with alcohol or warm water and soap to remove excess dye. You may need to repeat this process a couple of times to get full coverage.

4. Painting Plastic

To finish the customs, Jake used Flat White paint to paint the plastic Nike logos on the shoe's midsection.

Whereas 2-Soft helps paint adhere to soft fabrics, 2-Hard helps paints adhere to hard materials like plastic. Mix 2-Hard with your acrylic paint to ensure a strong, long-lasting finish.

More Custom Tutorials

If you want to see more custom tutorials like this one, make sure to subscribe to the Angelus YouTube channel to learn tips and techniques from more experienced sneaker artists.

Also, make sure to follow Angelus on Instagram and check out our online store to grab the materials you need to recreate these custom 720s!

Angelus paints can be used for much more than custom sneakers. From custom clothing to furniture, you can use your skills to create a variety of personalized items and accessories that match your personal style.

To demonstrate this, Rick from @savethepanduhs created a custom leather jack tutorial, walking you through how to prep, paint, and finish a leather jacket. When done correctly, you'll be able to wear your leather jacket in any weather without worrying about your design chipping, peeling, or cracking.

Follow along to learn how to see for yourself how easy it is to customize a leather jacket and other leather accessories with Angelus paints.

How to Paint a Leather Jacket

To get started, you'll just need a few basic materials:

• Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint
• Paint Markers
• Angelus Leather Preparer and Deglazer
• Angelus Paint Brush Set
• Angelus Micro Detail Brush Set
• Angelus High Gloss Acrylic Finisher

After getting your materials together, follow these steps to create your own custom leather clothing.

1. Prepping the Leather

First, just like prepping leather shoes, you need to prep the jacket with either Angelus Leather Preparer and Deglazer or acetone. This will remove the jacket's factory finish to create a clean surface for the paint to adhere to.

Soak a cotton pad with a small amount of the Deglazer, and wipe down the entire area of the jacket that you plan to paint.

2. Using Paint Markers

Before painting the jacket, you can use Angelus paint markers to sketch your design. Free-handing is always an option, but outlining with a painting marker will help avoid mistakes once you begin painting.

Angelus paint markers come empty, so to fill them, use a 1:1 mixture of paint and Angelus 2-Thin to make sure the paint is able to flow through the marker and fully-saturate the tip without clumping. We recommend using white paint or another light color for the outline as darker colors will be difficult to paint over.

3. Painting the Jacket

Once your jacket is prepped and the design is outlined, you can start painting your custom design.

Be sure to use several thin, even coats and allow each coat to completely dry before applying the next. Applying thick layers will make the paint more likely to crack or chip when you wear the jacket. If you don't want to wait for each coat to dry, you can use a heat gun to speed up the process.

This is your chance to get creative and choose the colors that you think best fit your design, but if you want to recreate the same jacket from the tutorial, make sure to check out the full video to see the colors Rick selected for his jacket.

4. Applying Angelus Paint

Once your design is complete and the paint is completely dry, the next and final step is to apply Angelus Acrylic Finisher to seal in the paint, create a custom finish, and protect the paint from minor scratches and scrapes.

Finishers are optional, but they are a great way to add an additional layer of protection and personal style to your custom jacket.

Use a paintbrush or airbrush to apply the finisher on the painted area of the jacket. For this project, Rick applied a high gloss finisher to the car and jacket to add contrast to the design.

Leave the finisher to dry, and once it is, your jacket is ready to go. You can wear it as normal without worrying about damaging your custom paint job.

More Custom Tutorials

If you want to check out more custom tutorials like this one, make sure to subscribe to the Angelus YouTube channel to learn tips and tricks from experienced sneaker artists.

Don't forget to also follow Angelus on Instagram and check out our online store to grab the tools you need to recreate this custom leather jacket!

Announced all the way back in 2012, Cyberpunk 2077  is finally being released after nearly a decade of anticipation.

To commemorate the occasion, Bryan from @swellguycustoms stopped by to put together a tutorial demonstrating how to create a custom pair of Cyberpunk-themed Nike Blazers.

Check out the tutorial on YouTube for a detailed walkthrough, and read on for a quick overview on how to create your own custom Blazers.

Removing the Nike Swoosh

For these customs, Bryan created a custom Nike Swoosh to match the Cyberpunk aesthetic, and to do that, you need to start by removing the outside Swoosh from both shoes.

Use a detail knife to cut the stitching that attaches the Swooshes to the shoes, but be careful not to cut the surface.

After removing the Swooshes, you can use tweezers or nail clippers to remove the leftover frayed threads.

Removing the Factory Finish

Just like with any other custom project, it's important to prep the shoe before painting to make sure the paint adheres to the shoe and doesn't easily chip, peel, or crack.

To remove the factory finish from the Blazers, use a cotton swab and Angelus Leather Preparer & Deglazer to rub all of the areas that you intend to paint. This will create a clean finish for you to apply your custom design.

Before moving on, you can also tape off the midsole to prevent paint from getting on any unwanted areas.

Painting the Customs

After prepping, it's time to start painting the base of the shoes. For these customs, Bryan laid down a base layer of Pale Yellow paint, and on top of that, used a custom mixture of Thunder Yellow and Neon Sunset Yellow

Note: Since we're using an airbrush for this portion, you can mix four parts of Angelus paint with one par Angleus 2-Thin to make it easier for the paint to pass through the airbrush.

For the upper heel, use a brush to apply a base layer (or a few layers, if necessary) of pink, and follow it up with a mixture of Chili Red, Raspberry, and Jamaican Joy.

Creating a Custom Swoosh

Now, it's time to create the custom glitch effect for Nike Swoosh. Start by taping over the area where the original Nike Swoosh was, then use a pencil to trace the Swoosh on the tape using the leftover stitching holes.

After tracing the Swoosh, use it as a reference to draw your custom glitch effect. To get the glitch effect, you want certain parts of your sketch to be jutting out of the Swoosh and other jutting into the original Swoosh.

Next, use a detail knife to carefully cut out your stencil. Then, you can use an airbrush to paint the custom Swoosh with a mixture of Pale Blue and Neon Bahama Blue.

Finally, peel the stencil off and use the same red mixture you used for the upper heel to outline the custom Swoosh, creating a clean drop shadow effect to give the design some depth. Do the same to the Swooshes on the inside of the shoes to create a more cohesive design.

Using Suede Dye

Nike Blazers also have suede patches on the toe and on the side above the midsole, so to make these patches match the rest of the shoe, you'll need to dye them using yellow suede dye.

You can use a paintbrush to apply the dye to the suede patches, but be careful as suede dye is a permanent alcohol-based solution -- you don't want to get any on areas other than the suede patches.

After applying the dye, wipe off any excess dye with a towel, and let the shoes dry for 24 to 48 hours before wearing.

Finishing Touches

The last thing to do is to use your airbrush to spray the shoe with Angelus Matte Finisher to give the shoes a clean finish.

Use a heat gun to dry the finisher after applying. In addition to giving the shoes a flat look, the finisher also helps protect the paint from minor scrapes and scratches.

After letting the shoes completely dry, you can lace them up and wear them as you normally would.

Make sure to subscribe to the Angelus YouTube channel or more tutorials like these and follow us on Instagram for custom sneaker inspiration.

Designing and painting your own custom shoes is a great way to exercise your artistic abilities and create clothing that matches your personal style. But if you've never tried customizing a pair of sneakers before, you might be hesitant about potentially ruining your shoes.

Knowing what materials you need to get started and learning some basic prepping and painting techniques can make it easier to jump in without worrying about making mistakes.

Here's what you need to know to start creating your own custom sneakers.

What Materials Do I Need?

To get started, you need to grab the right materials -- it's not as simple as just grabbing some paint and brushes. You also need the right tools to prep and protect the shoe.

• Paintbrushes: A quality paintbrush set is key to creating clean customs with minimal brushstrokes. Detail brushes are a must for working on micro-details.
• Heat Gun: A heat gun will help paint layers set quickly, and heat setting is required when working with 2-Soft on soft materials.
• Paint: Low-quality paint often chips and peels when worn. High-quality acrylic paint will adhere strongly to your shoes and last much longer.
• 2-Soft: When painting soft materials like mesh or canvas, Angelus 2-Soft will help the paint adhere and remain flexible.
• Cleaner: A brush and shoe cleaner are necessary to keep your paint job clean and protected over time. Otherwise, dirt and grime may eventually cause your paint to chip and peel.
• Tape: Using masking tape to section off certain areas of your shoes is the easiest way to prevent paint from spreading to unintended parts of the shoe.
• Leather Preparer & Deglazer: Prep is the first step to customizing any shoe, and Leather Preparer & Deglazer will help paint adhere by getting rid of the shoe's factory finish.
• Water & Stain Repellent: When properly applied, Water & Stain Repellent provides an invisible protective coating that repels water & stains to keep shoes clean and dry. 
• Acrylic Finisher: After you finish your custom paint job, acrylic finisher provides a clean finish and protective coating.

After you get your materials together, it's time to learn how you can put them to use. You can customize more than just sneakers.

Custom Sneaker Tutorials

The best way to pick up a new skill is to learn from people who have already mastered it. At Angelus, we work with a number of established sneaker artists to create tutorials on everything ranging from cleaning your sneakers to painting complex effects.

Check out some of the key tutorials for beginners below. 

Learn the basics

If you've never tried painting custom shoes before, these tutorials will teach you the basics to help you get started.

The Do's & Don'ts of Using Angelus Paints walks you through how to properly prepare shoes and apply paints for a clean finish and strong adhesion.

Check out FAQ: What's the Best Way to Clean My Sneakers? to learn how to clean your sneakers without damaging them or messing up your custom paint job.

Watch this quick tutorial to learn how to clean, customize, and restore an older pair of sneakers with just a few basic tools and materials.

Learn new techniques

After you get the basics down, you can check out some of these tutorials to learn more advanced techniques to create some unique designs.

Check out this custom Nike AF1 Glitch tutorial to learn how to use stencils to create unique effects. 

Watch this tutorial to learn how to pain other accessories and how to create a neon watercolor effect.

If you want to learn how to use paint markers to create custom, hand-drawn designs, check out this tutorial on how to create customs influenced by graffiti and street art. 

These resources should be enough to get you started, but to learn more tips and techniques, make sure to check out our YouTube channel for more tutorials, and follow us on Instagram to get some ideas for your next project.

Creating custom leather accessories is similar to painting custom shoes and its a great way to create truly one of a kind pieces.

To show you how to use your painting skills on leather bags, Eric from @servicedby_e came through to put together a tutorial on how to create a custom Louis Vuitton leather bag.

How to Paint a Leather Bag

Painting a leather bag is more or less the same as painting leather shoes. To get started, you only need a couple of materials:

• Tape
• Preparer & Deglazer
• Paint & Brushes
• Heat gun
• Finisher

Once you have materials together, just follow a few steps to paint your custom bag.

Step 1: Tape the Edges

Start by taping off the edges to protect the parts of the bag that you don't want to get any paint on.

You can remove the tape after painting the main portion of the bag to add extra details and line work.

Step 2: Apply Preparer & Deglazer

Angelus Preparer and Deglazer is essential for removing the bag's factory finish, which will make it easier for the paint to adhere to the bag.

Use a q-tip to carefully scrub off the paint and finish on the areas that you want to paint. If you're following along with this project, you only need to use it to wipe off the gold finish on the LV branding.

Step 3: Painting the Bag

For this project, Eric painted a gradient from brown to purple along the front of the bag, but you can use whatever colors you want.

Use a detail brush to carefully paint light, even layers. If the paint gets outside of the lines at all, you can use more Deglazer to clean it up.

Step 4: Drying

Once the first layer of paint is down, you can use a heat gun to speed up the drying process.

After the first layer is dry, add more layers as necessary, making sure to wait until each layer is completely dry before moving on to the next.

Step 5: Painting the Strap

After the front of the bag is finished, paint the same pattern on the shoulder strap using the same materials and techniques as before.

Step 5: Satin Finisher

After all of the paint is completely dry, you can finish off the bag with satin acrylic finisher to protect the paint from minor scratches and add a satin finish.

Use a paintbrush to apply a layer of the finisher over the bag, and once the finisher is completely dry, you can use the bag as normal.

Make sure to check out the full tutorial on YouTube for a more detailed walkthrough, and stop by our online store to grab the materials you need to recreate this custom bag.