Clever analog visual effect makes it look like Totoro and Kiki are stepping into the real world.
Part of what makes Studio Ghibli’s anime look and feel so special is their commitment to doing things the old-fashioned way. While their films aren’t completely devoid of digital techniques, co-founder Hayao Miyazaki and the rest of the Ghibli artists almost always show a preference for clever analog effects, and that’s something reflected in a pair of new arts and crafts kits from Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku.
They’re called the Paper Shadow Art series, collections of precision laser-cut paper artwork featuring characters and settings from My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service. By layering the illustrations one on top of another, you can create a three-dimensional effect that makes the characters literally pop out from the background paintings.
The Totoro Paper Shadow Art kit, called “Echo to the Sky,” depicts the trio of Totoros, sisters Mei and Satsuki, and the Catbus all shouting across the bucolic countryside that they’re neighbors in.
Meanwhile, the vertically oriented “Girl’s Time” kit shows Kiki seated on a ladder in her witch mother’s potion workshop inside her parents’ house, with all sorts of herbal ingredients stocked on the shelves.
Each kit s priced at 5,500 yen (US$37) and measures 36.9 by 25.1 centimeters (14.5 by 9.9 inches), with a thickness of 1.4 centimeters, making them large enough to be noticed as interior decorations but not so big as to get in the way. Because of their thickness, they won’t fit in regular picture frames, but Donguri Kyowakoku does offer a special Paper Shadow Art frame as well, for 3,300 yen.
All of the items are available through the Donguri Kyowakoku online shop (Totoro kit here, Kiki’s here, and frame here) as part of a recent restock, making them great little craft projects over the holiday season.
Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2 , 3)
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