6. Air Jordan V

First there was "Come Fly With Me," and then there was "Michael Jordan's Playground" which featured a music video at the end with Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson dancing together and then playing one on one. I mean how ridiculous is that?

Finding the "it" factor.

The 22nd edition of the Air Jordan shoe is set to drop this weekend, February 17th. I've always been pretty excited when a new Air Jordan is about to be released. To me they have always set a certain standard when it comes to basketball footwear design. Jordans for the most part have have this "it" factor about them. Always ahead of their time with futuristic ideas, concepts, aesthetics and technologies. I think the most successful Jordans have been the ones that at first I'm completely weirded out by them, but later I just grow to love them. Its a strange thing. Anyway, pictures of the Jordan XXIIs are all over the web of course, and at first glance i'm really not that impressed. I mean i'm sure they're a great bball shoe and perform well and all that, but to me its missing what is characteristically Jordan. That "it" factor. It doesn't have it. I like Jordans that challenge the idea of a basketball shoe, the ones that change the form completely. The XXII in my opinion looks passe. It could even pass as a mid-range Reebok shoe (not to discredit Reebok designs, only their bball division.. oooh). Maybe they're trying to hard nowadays. I don't know. Well, here's 15 minutes of a Jordan concept.

Stay still.

Bern fell asleep after dinner, so i took the oppurtunity to draw her for 15 minutes. A little rusty at the still life... should have probably spent a little more time, but heck i got a little tired myself and dozed off.

15 minute strokes.

Trying to paint for 15 minutes is hard! i felt that i hardly got anything down. oh well. At least i tried.

5. Air Jordan IV (Military)

Don't ask me why they're nicknamed the Military IVs (i'm assuming it has something to do with the colours), I don't think it really matters anyway. Way back when, Paul Abbott had a pair of these. Yah, I was quite jealous, but now I have a pair of my own and don't feel all that jealous anymore!

4. Air Jordan IV (Mars Blackmon)

When Mike, Spike, and Nike got together, they took the idea of a shoe ad campaign to a whole new level. You can check out some of the ads they put together here.

3. Air Jordan IV

These were the first Jordans I ever put my feet in... nope, I wasn't lucky enough to own a pair, but a friend of mine, Jimmy Ng, brought them over just after he picked them up. Dang, I remember opening that box and unveiling the fresh pair... oooWEE! This must of been way back in grade 6, he wore size 7, I was a size 4.5! They obviously didn't fit, but dayam did they ever feel good.

2. Air Jordan III

Yup, its another pair, but in white. And does it ever look good in white. To add to the mystique of the AJ III, who can forget Jordan from the foul line.

Creatures.

I want to eventually have a creature character or a series of characters that just become a part of my style. Don't really know where to start so just spent the last 15 minutes doodling. Don't like what i came up with, but i'll try again later.

Thick and Thin.

My good friends bought me a tablet for my birthday a little while back. An awesome gift indeed. I had never used one in my life, but always wanted to try it out. When I saw designers use the tablet, I got this impression that they looked so PRO!! Well, that and it seemed like they could perform certain tasks so much faster than what I could do with a mouse or even a pen on paper. It look fast but at the same time really slick. Anyway, I haven't practiced with it all that much yet, so just decided to use today's 15 minutes to try a little somethin on illustrator. Still don't have the control, but it'll get there.

Riding through the dessert.

No real rhyme or reason. Just practicing.

Time for an audit...

...for my sneakas that is! Sheesh, haven't counted how many pairs of shoes i own for years now. Last time i counted must of been in 1999 and that count was at 56. I don't have a clue of how many i own now (that are new/wearable). I've also been meaning to archive my grips, so i think i'll take this oppurtunity to do so.

Gonna start with my all-time favourite:

1. Air Jordan III

From a nostalgic point of veiw i remember being in grade 5 while i was wearing my Lynx shoes i got from Kinney, i saw this grade six kid rockin these 3s. That very moment was a turning point for me and my perception of footwear. I remember never feeling that way about shoes before. I mean there were definitely other shoes that i noticed like the Delta Forces... but they were no AJ IIIs. The thing is it didn't stop at the 3s, there were so many kicks coming out at that time that were neck breakers; Solo Flights, Alpha Force, Air Assaults, Air Revolutions... just to name a few. AAhhh yes, those were good times indeed.

As for the very history of this shoe, well its got a pretty important role as far as pioneering modern footwear design. Not only from the technical point of view (first true mid cut bball shoe, first bball midsole to feature visible air), but it was also extremely revolutionary in terms of aesthetics. Trust me, elephant print was UNHEARD OF back in those days. I believe this design was the very shoe responsible for Nike's success and their place in progressive footwear design. It was a huge turning point in sneaker history. One could even make the claim that this shoe saved nike. Prior to this shoe, Nike was a old-man jogger company trying to break into the NBA. They definitely signed the right man in Jordan, but he was unhappy with Nike and wanted to end their relationship. So in one last attempt, Nike asked Jordan to come to this meeting so that they could convince him to stay. He didn't even want to go, but his parents convinced him to give them a chance. Tinker Hatfield, newly assigned to design the shoe (former designers opted to leave Nike to try to start own venture), presented the Air Jordan III and once Jordan himself layed eyes on it, the rest is as they say history.

Wrap it up.

They're supposed to be volleyball shoes. A buddy of mine just fractured his ankle playing vball, so the first thing that came to mind when thinking up vball shoes was ankle support. Security around the entire foot and ankle actually. Thought of all the straps, air casts, active ankles... and all those things that you see numerous vball players have come to depend on (some even wear them purely for fashion ala Rip Hamilton with his face mask). As for the outsole, paw-like.. like the Air Jordan 13s... and all those Asics vball shoes with the wet grip and the gum soles. Those Asics Altas of years past were the best on the court in my opinion. Cushioning? Gel, Zoom... somethin low profile for better feel and reaction.. but doubled in the landing zones for the foot.. for the hard impact for those high flyers out there.

15 minute concept kicks.

Trying to find passion in me... trying to light that creative fire in me. So thought I'd look to the past. Always dreamt of being a sneaker designer as a kid. Here's 15 minutes of that thought. It's an incomplete concept, but it was worth it.

Customize your balls.

I've noticed people in the volleyball community like to tag or write on their balls in a fancy way to distinguish their balls from the vast array of balls out there. Well it can be a jungle out there when people be getting together for a league or tourney and no one likes to lose their balls! I decided to take this ritual one step further. Here's a couple of balls I drew on for friends.