How to draw Totoro

Are you good at drawing? Or are you among those who have a hard time drawing a face, a car, or a rabbit?

If you’re among the latter and you like Japanese anime at the same time, you’ll probably be interested to see how to draw Totoro.

You don’t know Totoro?

This is a forest ghost from the feature-length cartoon My Neighbour Totoro, which looks like a rabbit, but also a bit like a cat, an owl and a raccoon.

The video with drawing instructions was shot by the film’s producer, Toshio Suzuki.

In it, slowly and step by step, he explains how to start drawing and what to pay special attention to.

He intended it for children who have to stay at home in these corona times. If they get distracted by drawing, they won’t be so bored.

It is characteristic of Japanese cartoon characters that they have their eyes very apart.

Suzuki points out in the video that this is the most important instruction for drawing Totoro as well.

»As you can see, there’s a lot of space between the eyes,« he says. »In the end, you just need to add a snout and whiskers, and there it is.«

Such a Totoro is very simple, but still as likable as the one in the cartoon.

Points to Consider

1. Do you know what manga is? 
2. What is the difference between animation and drawing? 
3. Do you know any movies about ghosts?

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The original version of this article was published on May 14th.

English translation courtesy of JL Flanner, Total Slovenia News, an English language website with news from and about Slovenia.