Arrietty’s Living Room
Arrietty's Living Room
Modeling | Texturing | Lighting Maya | Substance Painter | NukeReference: Studio Ghibli Arrietty
Studio Ghibli’s works have always been an inspiration for me. They capture sentimental, intangible emotions and present them in a warm, inspiring manner. In this project, I wanted to explore that emotional atmosphere by recreating the iconic living room from The Secret World of Arrietty.
There were a few challenges I encountered along the way:
1. Balance between stylization and realism in texturing
While the source material is 2D hand-drawn animation, I realized that Arrietty’s world still demands a level of realistic groundedness. The challenge was translating the "painterly" warmth of gouache and watercolor into a 3D environment.
To achieve this, I focused on the "found object" nature of the miniature world. I studied real-world references for materials: analyzing scratch patterns, wear-and-tear, and how surfaces age over time. I emphasized the Normal and Roughness maps to highlight these material differences, ensuring that even within a stylized world, the textures felt tactile and lived-in.
2. Balance between stylization and realism in lighting
In reality, a space hidden beneath floorboards would be dark and cluttered with very little natural light. However, to stay true to the "Ghibli warmth," I decided to prioritize atmosphere over strict physical realism.
I chose to light the scene as a bright, full-scale interior rather than a marginalized, sub-floor space. By adjusting the color temperature to a warmer hue, I transformed a potentially cold, dark environment into a sunny, relaxing sanctuary. This shift allowed me to capture the "emotional truth" of the film rather than just the physical location.
: Ashleyyu94w@gmail.com: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyyu94/ : ashleyys_artNew York / Taipei available for freelance across several time zones