To contribute to the conversation around the Ghiblification trend from OpenAI, we decided to reinterpret a character from a Studio Ghibli movie as a photorealistic, interactive avatar using various generative AI tools. The challenge was to execute this project quickly and efficiently, with a constraint of not exceeding 12 hours of total development time.

The process came with several technical hurdles. For example, the character Yubaba is particularly tricky to work with—her proportions differ significantly from standard humanoid figures, with a much larger head and less defined knees and hips.

Often, designs that looked visually appealing couldn’t be rigged properly for animation. Conversely, rigs that worked well lacked the depth and detail we were aiming for. We fully acknowledge that, from a copyright standpoint, this project walks a fine line. However, it was intended purely as an educational and satirical exploration, not a standalone commercial work.