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My sketch of the Catbus from the 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film, TOTORO,  written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli. The Catbus, a character in My Neighbor Totoro, is depicted as a fantastical combination of feline and bus attributes. It features a large, wide-grinning cat head and legs resembling those of a cat, and a bushy tail. The body of the Catbus is designed to resemble a bus, with a framework that includes a hollow interior lined with fur-covered seats and a shape-shifting door for passenger boarding. The eyes of the Catbus function as headlights.  Within the context of My Neighbor Totoro, the Catbus possesses the ability to appear and disappear at will, and can travel to any destination desired by its passengers.

I draw the parts of the design onto copper sheet then each part of the figure is precisely hand cut.

Each side is sculpted into shape. I’m allowing areas for the legs to attach to.

The complex bottom is attached to the sides.

The back is added to the figure.

With the front added, the figure starts to look familiar.

Making and adding the cat legs to the bus figure.

The tail, Head, and ears have been made and added to the bus.

The next steps are to clean all the copper parts well and bronze the entire piece, then the areas to be painted or gilded need to be primed.

The completed figure with bronze treatment, enameling, gold leaf, and clear coating

The completed Catbus Weathervane.