#dance reference

some pointe shoe fundamentals:

the bottom of the shoe is flat (yes it hurts lol)

the box is made of wood (condensed papier-mâché technically)

the shank is the backing of the shoe, it gets worn out the quickest and some dancers prefer to break theirs to make it easier to get on their box

dudes dont wear pointe shoes (but who cares draw them in pointe shoes anyway <3)

tie ur dang shoes!!

put ur foot in the shoe and elastic (duh)

cross the ribbons over the other side of the ankle

wrap them around the back of the lower leg

continue wrapping them around the back of the leg, tie it and tuck the extra ribbon in (i like to tie mine on the inside of the leg so you dont see them)

prima ballerinas need to have really arched feet to give the illusion of floating on the tips of their toes, so in a perfect world you should be over your box, but even my own feet are really arched and dont go over their box all that much

here are some examples i found (with links)!

@kinsara (x) ^^ the shoes in this one show that you dont have to put a TON of detail into a pointe shoe (trust me i know theyre weird to draw) to make a anatomically correct shoe!

@dailymomcellati (x) ^^ this one has great lines down the legs and see how the foot in the arabesque points slightly upwards? 10/10 i want those feet