In my experience, almost everyone I have talked to has an affinity for Hayao Miyazaki and his films. Whether it be the storylines or animation in said films, Miyazaki has created unforgettable characters, intertwined with strong, thought-provoking themes within his stories. From the Studio Ghibli in Japan to his movies like Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbour Totoro, Miyazaki is known worldwide as an influential and inspirational animator/director.

For this tutorial, I thought I’d use one of Miyazaki’s films, My Neighbour Totoro, as an inspiration to create Totoro-inspired nail art.

Note: this look actually works on nails that are a bit longer, so there’s more surface to work on, but I tried to make it work with my short nails.

Related reading: Our 21 Favorite Short Nails Ideas This Year

Table of Contents

What You’ll Need:

• a turquoise blue polish – I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear’s Blue Me Away!
• a light-grey polish – I chose Essie’s Master Plan (for a similar look, try Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear’s Wet Cement)
• a white polish – I used China Glaze’s White on White
• a black polish – I didn’t actually have a black, so I substituted with a dark grey. Either can work!
• a dotting tool in 2 different sizes, large and small
• a top coat

Step 1:

First, paint all your nails except for your chosen accent nail. You can choose to do what I did – blue on the accent nail and grey for the rest – or reverse the colors. On the accent nail, paint on a half circle 1/3 of the way down the nail.

Step 2:

Before your half circle dries, use a thin brush to paint on two long ears. You can also shape your nail polish brush as flat as possible and use the thin side to paint on the ears. Use a toothpick or a thin dotting tool to shape the pointy part on the ears.