🏮 Studio Ghibli Lamp ✨

Studio Ghibli movies have always inspired me because of the beautiful animation and unique characters in the films. I personally think their movies are works of art, so I wanted to create my own piece of art inspired by one of their movies. I decided to create a small lamp inspired by one of their most well-known characters, "no-face", who appears in their oscar winning movie, Spirited Away.

The main body of the lamp is made from air-drying clay with a nice coat of acrylic paint on top. It also includes a small lamp fixture that can be turned on with a switch.

By following these steps, you too will be able to create your own Studio Ghibli lamp :)

For this instructable, you will need...

• pencil and paper (or a digital version of that)
• air drying clay
• tools for sculpting clay
• acrylic paint or any paint that works with clay
• paint brushes
• small light blub + wire/cord
• varnish (optional)

For the first step of this project, you're going to want to actually visualize what you want your lamp to look like. There are many characters from Studio Ghibli you could do, but for this project, I decided to make "no-face" because they are such an iconic character to the brand and the design is fairly simple.

You should take out a pen and paper or a digital version of that so you can sketch out the design. In the photos above, you can see my digital sketches and design ideas for the lamp done in procreate. Looking on Pinterest or google is also a great way to get inspiration.

Once you have a clear idea of what you want your lamp to look like, its time to sculpt it!

Now for the hard part; sculpting the design. If you don't already have experience sculpting clay, this could be a significant challenge for you. However, there are tons of youtube videos and websites that can guide you if you're feeling stuck :) Here are a few tips I have for you...

• You can use water, and also mix clay and water together to create a mixture to act as "glue" whenever you want to stick pieces of clay together.
• When sticking pieces together, make sure to score both sides of the connected pieces by making a sort of zigzag design with a tool or even a pencil so the pieces can bond nicely.
• Make sure not to soak the clay in water, as it can be more difficult to work with. Instead, soak the tool in water first.

Lets begin!

First, take a large piece of clay and begin to mold it into the fundamental shape. This shouldn't be too hard since the shape for no-face is fairly simple. Once you've done that, create the face by rolling a piece of clay into a ball and then using a rolling pin, flatten it into a smooth oval. You may also decide to create the little facial features with clay such as the eyes and the mouth, but I preferred to paint that myself.

Once you're happy with the main shape, its time to install the lamp portion of the design.

This is the step that is going to take your design to the next level.

This part can be especially tricky, however, it's definitely doable. What you want to have is a small light/lightbulb that is connected to a wire that can be plugged into a wall. My lamp has a little glass shape around it, but that's not required.

What you need to do to include the light in the sculpture is create two holes, one from the bottom so the wire can have somewhere to enter from, and one in front of the sculpture where you want the lamp to be. To make these holes you can begin by sticking a pencil in the design, and then you can also even use your own finger to make it more hollow. Once the hole is hollow enough, you should be able to put the wire through the tunnel and have it come out from the bottom of the design. Make sure to position the light any way you want, and then cover the wires in front with more clay.

Once you are finally happy with the product, leave it to dry in a cool area for at least 24-48 hours. Refrain from putting it in direct sunlight or using a hairdryer to make the drying process go faster, as that can cause cracking and an uneven dry for your sculpture. Once it has become bone-dry, its time to paint it!

Finally, the fun part. It's time to make your sculpture come to life.

After you left your sculpture to dry for 24-48 hours, check to make sure it has fully dried (dont forget to look at the bottom!), and then grab the paints and brushes you will need to finalize the product. Acrylic paints are recommended, and I would suggest refraining from the use of water-activated paints such as watercolors or gouache.

Here you can simply get creative and paint it the way you want! make sure to use different brushes for different details. for example, I used a big flat brush to paint the body black, and I also used a much smaller round brush for the facial features.

Once you are finished painting, consider covering the whole thing in a coat of varnish to give it a shiny look, or don't if you want to keep the matte look. Then you're officially done! Hope you enjoyed making your Studio Ghibli lamp :)