“Ponyo” was one of my favorite films since I was a young kid! When we began our phenakistoscope drawings, I knew I wanted to use Studio Ghibli as an inspiration. And what undergoes more transformation than Ponyo does, from a fish, to a chicken-like being, to a human girl? When my mom and I watched this film together, I absolutely loved the movement and the fluidity I saw in the hundreds of jellyfish within their combined gracefulness.
This animation begins by showing Ponyo swimming and waving, then suddenly her limbs and underside become chicken feet! A bubble forms around her and tightens, pushing against her, until it pops - Ponyo swims out, free, and swims back into the same cycle. When I added color to my drawings, I used vivid red for Ponyo and bright yellows, orange, and even blue and purple for the jellyfish to help these aspects pop out. In contrast, I colored the background with a paler, grainy dark cyan, leaving white spaces around the jellyfish that followed their movement.
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