French photographer and director Romain Laurent started making portrait-based GIFs as a way to produce work outside his commercial jobs, a spontaneous project that would encourage him to produce consistently for himself rather than clients.

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 8, 2017, a hospitality staff member pose for photos near the shadow of a tall light pole near the Great Hall of the People where a plenary session of the National People's Congress is held in Beijing, China. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese film director, animator, manga artist, producer, and screenwriter. Through a career that has spanned over fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of anime feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli, a film and animation studio. The success of Miyazaki's films has invited comparisons with American animator Walt Disney, British animator Nick Park and American director Robert Zemeckis.

Artist Jeff Uitto creates intricate sculptures from driftwood he finds along the coast of Washington. Uitto has sculpted wild horses, soaring eagles, and even a giraffe out of salvaged tree branches. But his work is more than giant animal sculptures. Uitto also has a clear talent for creating beautiful home furniture from driftwood. Finding the right piece of driftwood can take months, and the sculpting can take years.

Photo: A horse sculpture entirely made from driftwood by artist Jeffro Uitto. (Photo by Jeff Uitto/Caters News)

A huge colony of Pacific Walrus on Arakamchechen Island in the Northern Bering Sea. (Photo by Francois Gohier/Ardea/Caters News)

In this photo taken late Thursday, May 7, 2015, a prison guard, left, and seated inmates cast shadows on a wall while waiting for the beginning of a rock concert by Romanian band Pro Musica, inside the Popa Sapca jail in Timisoara, western Romania. (Photo by Adi Piclisan/AP Photo)

A 180 degrees rotated photograph shows the shadows of Polina (L), a six-year-old Belarusian first grade school girl, and her father, cast on the street while on their way to Polina's first day of school, which marks the traditional start of the academic year, in Minsk, Belarus, 02 September 2019. The start of a new academic year in Belarus, officially called Day of Knowledge, is a festive day for all school and university students in the country. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA/EFE)

Russia's Ekaterina Birlova casts a shadow on the sand as she serves to Poland during a women's beach volleyball match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, August 9, 2016. (Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo)