Thursday, July 10, 2008

Totoro Forest Project

Today is the official announcement of the Totoro Forest Project. It's a fundraising auction to be held at Pixar Animation Studios on September 6th 2008 (tickets will soon be available) featuring original art created by internationally acclaimed artists in the fields of animation, comic books and illustration. The charity was established to raise funds for the Totoro no Furusato Forest Foundation, established by Hayao Miyazaki himself, to ensure the preservation of Sayama forest (aka Totoro Forest) from the threat of urban development.
The event is the brainchild of my friends Dice Tsutsumi and Enrico Casarosa and over 200 artists have donated work. It's amazing to see the amount if inspiration people have generated for this cause. The website is now live so check it out. Not only that but a book of all the art will be available at the time of the show, not to mention an exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco.
The artists that were invited to contribute were asked to draw their own inner Totoro.

Apparently my inner Totoro is a pervert.

28 comments:

roque said...

Stunning.

A-T-G said...

As always...amazing!

That piece is lovely! And your little guy is not a perv! He's playful...I'm sure he'll give the girls their clothes back...eventually!

Belated congrats on the engagement! I miss a few posts and BAM! The big stuff happens!

Howard Shum said...

HA! Nice job!

Unknown said...

Your Totoro is awesome! Amazing job.

monkeyfeather said...

Awesome work Bill. One of my faves from what I saw. Wish I was still in the Bay area to see the upcoming show at the Cartoon Art Museum.

Larry Levine said...

Seductively beautiful & absolutely awesome--you are VERY talented!!!

Kristina Bustamante said...

No, Totoro! Don't be stealing pretty ladies' clothes!!!

Haha! This is gorgeous. It almost feels like something out of Disney's "Fantasia." It also reminds me of a fairy tale of a shepherd boy who fell for a girl he saw with her two sisters, bathing in a lake. And in order for him to get her to marry him, he had to steal her clothes.

Uncle Phil said...

Bill, this is nuts. Easily one of my favorites of yours.
Oh, and.... CONGRATS!!!

GeeBee said...

That one is exceptionnal, Bill !
I just love the way you painted that scene and the light on the characters.
A very cute and personnal version of Totoro ^_^
I look forward for this artbook !

Jean.

Chris Battle said...

Ha Ha -- that's Totoro's a salty dog
--er, cat-forest spirit :)

hadi tabasi said...

Awesome work Bill.i love your works.
thanks

Dave Dick said...

Man, as these things continue to pop up I keep getting blown away!

Unknown said...

really great range of tones on Tottoro!

ALBERT PARDO said...

THIS IS PRETTY DAMN KOOL...

Dominic Bugatto said...

Stunning.

Jay D Smith said...

Wow Awesome!

Anonymous said...

Your Totoro is wonderful! I wish I could go and see the show... It's a long way from Wales but I'll be there in spirit. Big Claps fro my side of the pond!

C.B. Canga said...

really like the storytelling and concept to this one. amazing works you have here.

just added a link from my blog to yours.

Bianca Siercke said...

Beautiful!!

William Bradford said...

Gorgeous. Very cool.

R.A. MacNeil said...

*Drools*

This is Flippin' Awesome!

-Ryan

Anson Jew said...

YOW! What a gorgeous piece! I love the contrast in your treatment of the girls (soft focus, misty, highlighted) vs. the treatment of Totoro ( hard, dark, shadowed over). His mischievous little smile is priceless.

bpresing said...

Thanks guys. I'm really happy with this piece. I want to do more full Illustration stuff that has some storytelling in it like this one.

J.H. Jordan said...

Beautifully illustrated and, by the way, I don't think Totoro's bein' a perv. As Tina Fey once wrote, "Even freaky-deekies need love too."

Kristen McCabe said...

Beautiful and Amazing.

I've never seen the Totoro movie, but after seeing your piece and the others on the website I think I must rent it asap.

Unknown said...

Are you, by any chance, selling any prints of this Totoro piece? Thanks!

T. B. Back said...

Thank you for making me feel it's OK to find Totoro TOTALLY hot.

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