A former roofer has gone viral online with his incredible designs – all of which are done on shoes.

Dad Karl Chester, 31, from Warrington, used to be "told off" at school for ”drawing on desks” as a child but as an adult has become a TikTok star with 100,000 followers, sharing his hand-painted drawings.

From an Ed Sheeran inspired pair of Nike Air Force 1's, to custom Spiderman sneakers and even painting dogs onto Louis Vuitton bags, his shoe art racks up hundreds of thousands of views.

What started as a side hustle and passion has turned into a lucrative business too; Karl makes between £600-£1,500 per pair.

And he's got some celeb clients too, with his pieces having been picked up by people like Premier League footballer Paul Pogba and rapper Bugzy Malone.

Karl has even created trainers for Olympic athletes.

“I’ve always drawn, I used to doodle on school books and tables which got me into trouble but I just loved it," the dad told NeedToKnow.online.

"Fabric's just another medium, I prefer leather because it’s smooth and the paint I use adheres perfectly.

“I used to be a roofer but I was working long hours and coming home really tired and not having time with my girlfriend Katie Bradshaw (now fiancé).

"She was the one who persuaded me to just follow my dreams and start painting.”

Karl first started drawing and painting on shoes in 2015 and in 2018 set up his current business, Starline Customs.

Each look can take hundreds of hours to plan and execute, with the artist inspired by everything from Netflix shows to pets and Marvel movies.

He uses Angelus brand leather paint, Alphaflex leather paint and jacquard dye, materials specifically for leather.

He said: “It can take weeks to do just one pair.

"I usually go back and forth with the client discussing the design they want and how I can see it working, sometimes I do a mock-up for them and other times they let me [have] free rein on the design.

“I work from home and once I get into it, I can sometimes forget where I am I went to bed at 3am recently because I was really into a pair and couldn't stop.

"Not ideal when you have a 19-week-old who was up at 6am!"

His work is very popular; the dad is booked up through October already and is ready for the Christmas gift rush.

He has plenty of celeb clients, too.

Karl said: “I recently did a pair for rapper Bugzy Malone, who uploaded them on his Instagram and has them on a shelf in his house.

"I’m actually a fan of his and went to see his show in Manchester so the fact that he wanted a pair from me was just mind-blowing.

“I’ve done a pair for Paul Pogba and the surreal moment was my dad screaming at me to come downstairs because he was on the telly wearing them.

"It’s great when someone of high status wants to have me do the artwork for them.

"They’re used to the finer things in life, so it’s awesome that my artwork is up to their standards.”

Karl shares his designs on TikTok and users go crazy for the quirky looks – with one racking up over 20 million views.

In the clip, he can be seen peeling off masking tape and revealing a stunning pair of Stranger Things sneakers.

“I need this,” wrote one user.

“Where can i get them?” commented a second user.

In another clip that had over six million views on TikTok, Karl creates an incredible pair of Family Guy shoes.

“Imagine going to school in those,” wrote one user.

“Take my moneeeey,” wrote a second person. [sic]

ENDS

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