Louie Gong for Vans Custom Culture

When the Vans folks asked if I could create a pair of customs to use in promotion of the Vans Custom Culture Arts Program, I knew right away that I wanted to do my best work. I learned early on that there is only one way to get good at something -- practice.  So I used a prototype of Mockups, the unreleased art toy I developed, to sketch out a design for a Vans Classic Slip on.  Once I had a plan, I took the design to an actual shoe.  The outcome of that first shoe was good, but I knew I could do better, so I did it again -- and again.  The custom I finally submitted to Vans for the Custom Culture Arts Program was displayed alongside shoes personalized by Conan O'Brien and Kristen Stewart and a ton of great artists. You can see their work here:  Vans Custom Culture Ambassadors Slideshow

The custom shoe I created also appeared in this post at Juxtapoz.com, thanks to the the folks at Vans.