Turnip Head - Howl’s Moving Castle (Studio Ghibli)

Turnip Head from Howl’s Moving Castle is one of my favorite Studio Ghibli Characters, He is a silly scarecrow with a big heart.

This was a quick project that took 16 hours and helped me apply a lot of my recent learnings.

I used a wiggle bones addon for his outfit instead of clothing simulation because I think it gave it a much more stylized look that I really liked.

I rigged him completely adding bones in his pipe, his hat (and the loose top,) his collar, his bowtie, his sleeves, his coat, his pant legs, his gloves, and just about everywhere that moves. It rendered a nice cartoony animation while providing somewhat realistic physics.

I used particle effects to create dirt and grass being knocked up as he jumps but kept it subtle for realism and to not distract too much from the animation.

The goal of this was to create a peaceful and atmospheric vibe and with a little bit of sound design, I think I managed to achieve it.