PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD IN THIS WORLD, STOP DRAWING BALLET SHOES WRONG!!!!!
two examples of correct ways to draw pointe shoes and two of incorrect.
the ribbon does not come up the leg at all!! it remains at the ankle and only at the ankle!! the ribbons and elastic are there for support, not for decoration. also this doesnt really matter, but the elastics are sewn closer to the heel of the foot than ribbons are.
I understand that up the leg ribbons somehow worked its way into popular media, but it is wrong and actually kinda dangerous if you were to tie it like that.
another ballet art pet peeve of mine is the artist not knowing what type of ballet shoe they are drawing. here are your two options (with some examples of how they look in different foot positions and also a bit of pointe shoe anatomy):
if your character is on their toes, its probably a pointe shoe, meaning it has a rectangular toe area because of the box of the shoe. this is what the majority of ballet is and probably what you think of when you think of ballet. in pointe shoes, the box typically (I say typically because sometimes they die and curve inwards) remains rectangular no matter what position it is. on the other hand, flat shoes basically look like socks and it is not necessary for them to have square toes in any position and they usually have 1-2 elastic and no ribbons at all!! unless it is a special situation.
please, if you’re going to draw ballet shoes, draw them correctly.
sincerely, an artist and ballet dancer who enjoys seeing ballet in art and is very annoyed by common misconceptions of ballet shoes.
