Ponyo Banner Contest Entry

Painted by hand using opague water color, this is my submission for the 2010 Ponyo Banner competition.

Within my image I have the young Ponyo and Sosuke in a tender moment; blushing slightly as they are about to hold each other's hands. In the film itself, it was always one of my favorite moments when the young boy bravely instructed the weakened Ponyo to "not let go of his hand" no matter what happened during their travels. And given the ending of their story, I believe that there will be many more sweet moments between them in the future and as they grow older.

Also depicted in my piece is Ponyo's lovely mother who was like a sea goddess of some sort. Beautiful and mysterious, she seemed one with the ocean; able to take on many forms even, as seen throughout the film. Within my image, I have her smiling lovingly at her daughter and her young love. In the movie itself, I was pleasently surprised with the fact that she was in favor of Ponyo and Sosuke's relationship, as opposed to Ponyo's father's initial reaction to it. I wanted Ponyo's mother to appear almost like a guardian angel, watching over them from a distance, while also being part of the waves behind them.

When deciding on how to depict the water, when thinking of the movie and its Japanese origins, I immediately thought of the famous and timeless Japanese prints of old; particularly the ones that depicted the ocean and its' elegant and powerful waves. I wanted to emulate those Japanese prints within my own image, while having them also appear to be a part of Ponyo's mother; as if the waves were a part of her flowing locks, for instance. For that reason, I chose to paint part of the waves in red, much like Ponyo's mother's actual hair color.

On the notion of hair, I also intended for Ponyo's hair to slightly resemble the waves as well. She is her mother's daughter after all, and whether she lives on the land or the sea, she will always be a child of that vast blue world. In addition, I also wanted Ponyo to appear as if she is either about to kiss the young Sosuke's cheek, while simulatenously smiling back at her mother, for helping to make her dream to be with Sosuke come true.

In terms of the techinical aspect of the work, I slightly altered the text for the image in hopes of making it stand out a bit more than it did previously. I know that this banner is an advertisement first and foremost so I hoped that by changing the color to both blue and yellow that the words would be more eye-catching as opposed to the original white text.

Thank you for looking everyone! And take good care now!

Sincerely,
yamigirl21