Studio Ghibli, which was founded in 1985, has produced 19 feature-length films, eight of which are among the 15 top-grossing films in Japanese film history. Its star director, Hayao Miyazaki, announced his most recent plans to retire late last year. (Expand the gallery to fullscreen for the best experience.) Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Studio Ghibli, which was founded in 1985, has produced 19 feature-length films, eight of which are among the 15 top-grossing films in Japanese film history. Its star director, Hayao Miyazaki, announced his most recent plans to retire late last year. (Expand the gallery to fullscreen for the best experience.)
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
My Neighbor Totoro, 1988. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
My Neighbor Totoro, 1988.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Spirited Away, 2001. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Spirited Away, 2001.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Kiki's Delivery Service, 1989. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Kiki's Delivery Service, 1989.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Pom Poko, 1994. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Pom Poko, 1994.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, 1984. The first, pre-Ghibli Ghibli film. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, 1984. The first, pre-Ghibli Ghibli film.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
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Howl's Moving Castle, 2004. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Howl's Moving Castle, 2004.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Castle in the Sky, 1986. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Castle in the Sky, 1986.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Spirited Away, 2001. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Spirited Away, 2001.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
The Secret Life of Arrietty, 2010. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
The Secret Life of Arrietty, 2010.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Princess Mononoke, 1997. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Princess Mononoke, 1997.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
My Neighbor Totoro, 1988. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
My Neighbor Totoro, 1988.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
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Porco Rosso, 1992. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Porco Rosso, 1992.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
The Cat Returns, 2002. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
The Cat Returns, 2002.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Ponyo, 2008. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Ponyo, 2008.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Howl's Moving Castle, 2004. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Howl's Moving Castle, 2004.
Illustration: Richard J. Evans
Princess Mononoke, 1997. Illustration: Richard J. Evans
For famed animation director Hayao Miyazaki, turning your vision to reality has a lot less fairy dust than it does construction equipment. “The work of animation is building up bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,” he said earlier this year, while discussing his claims of retirement. With a quote like that, it’s almost as though he was asking his fans to pay tribute to the many celebrated films of his Studio Ghibli. And one of them did—using tiny, brightly colored digital bricks.
In honor of the U.K. release of Ghibli’s latest international picture, The Wind Rises, Birmingham-based artist Richard J. Evans gave the studio’s work the full 8-bit treatment, collected above. Evans’ design work is typically far more fluid—lots of cool space stuff, for example—but he says he saw the project, which took him about a week and a half in all, as the perfect way to branch out.
“I’ve been experimenting in different styles lately, and I’ve always loved pixel art,” he says. He first encountered Ghibli in 2000 when he stumbled across a Princess Mononoke DVD. “I was trying to think of what to do, and I just thought there were already loads of 8-bit superheroes. Studio Ghibli would be something a bit different.”
There were some personal reasons, too, he says: “My wife and I are expecting our first child, and I thought that these would be cool illustrations to go on the wall in the baby’s room. Hopefully, it will help get the kid into Studio Ghibli, too. I also bought the baby a cuddly Totoro toy—I’m trying to hook ‘em young.”
Besides, there’ll always be time to mash both aesthetics together for an image of Totoro floating in a nebula.
