characterdesign101:
Link to full size, it’s a big one
I said I have a lot of thoughts about shoes and the woeful mistakes even seasoned professional artists make with them, and I wasn’t kidding. Here’s a lot of words about high heels, in a constructive way.
Courtesy of talesfromtheend
Oh wow, I never thought my jobs as orthopedic shoe papermonkey and artist would intersect, but a few added words of advice for ya.
1.A rocker sole is what you call it when you bevel a heel to make it hit the ground more smoothly as you walk. Ever noticed how old shoes tend to wear out at the back of the heel? It’s because that’s what hits the ground first, and if you don’t design the sole of your shoe accordingly, it gets really uncomfortable.
2. If the sole of a shoe is such that it won’t bend (thick platforms, steel shanks, whatever), then you NEED a rocker sole, or you’ll be stumping around like Frankenstein’s Monster.
3. If your character is missing toes, it WILL effect their gait. Seriously, back at my old work place, a toe filler was more expensive than two pairs of shoes. That crap is serious.
4. Ditto leg length discrepancies. If one of your character’s legs is shorter than the other, that’s okay! Their shoes can compensate for that. One shoe will just be on a platform. A platform lift can be as small as a fraction of an inch to… god, I think I encountered eight inches once? The trick becomes to have a supportive platform that’s not too heavy, at that stage.
5. If your character has a leg length discrepancy, for the love of god, DON’T JUST PUT THE SHORTER LEG IN A HEEL. As the OP shows, a high heel completely alters the flexion of your ankle and posture; having only one foot like that is SO BAD for you.
6. That said, there are people who can only wear high heels, due to muscle or ankle weirdness. It’s generally not a barrel of laughs, because being stuck in heels 24/7 is hard on the body, and a lot of things like orthotics aren’t made for heels and have to be specially designed. Don’t try to use that as an excuse for your butt-kicking babe to always be in heels.