If you collect Studio Ghibli artbooks, here’s a welcome addition: PIE International’s new volume, Painting the Worlds of Studio Ghibli, is a lavish celebration of the studio’s background art and production painting.
Clocking in at more than 550 pages, the book assembles 844 representative background paintings chosen from the thousands created for the studio’s feature films. Beloved classics such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are included alongside newer entries like Earwig and the Witch and The Boy and the Heron.
The book’s artwork selection was overseen by art director Yoji Takeshige. Takeshige began his Studio Ghibli career as a background artist on My Neighbor Totoro and later served as art director on major titles including Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle.
The introduction invites readers to study the techniques behind these immersive settings — the brushwork, the color harmonies, the perspective choices, and the subtle handling of light and shadow that give the studio’s worlds their unmistakable depth.
Painting the Worlds of Studio Ghibli is available from major booksellers. Find it on Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and at other retailers.
Source: Polygon
