This was my tribute to Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro during this year's Ghibli Jam: an open submission tumblr that is active just one week in the year.
This is my interpretation of one of my favorite parts in the movie: when the soot sprites leave the house that the family has just moved into.
The piece in its planned moving form.
Here you can see the piece how I imagined it to be. Although the quality is a bit lower, the image is seen as a continous loop, making the clouds seamlessly move across the sky as the soot sprites seem to be endlessly leaving the house.
One frame from the moving version.
I did want the image to still read well as a single image as well. This is one frame from the animation.
A second from from the moving version.
The clouds without the addition of the other elements.
While making the piece, I had to work on and photograph each layer separately. Here I wanted to make sure movements and overall look were how I was wanting it, so I worked to make those smooth before adding in the tree and sprites.
The tree without the other elements.
Here you can see the tree as I photographed it, before adding it to the cloud background. I actually photographed the tree in a few slightly different positions, which is how you see it moving in the final piece. After putting the clouds and tree together, I simply added the soot sprites to the rest.
A larger, higher quality version of the final animation.
This is the final moving piece without the loop, so you can see it at a higher quality. This being my first piece to mix my dimensional work with my gif-making, I've learned so much about the process and hope to improve and make more in the future!
