Want to Paint Studio Ghibli Backgrounds? It’s Easy

How about taking a break from drawing the same human figures or body parts of anime characters? Just go ahead and try what’s trending. If you want to paint a landscape in studio Ghibli backgrounds, go through this tutorial.

Generally, the studio is known for representing colorful, serene and beautiful nature. You can choose any landscape image for reference. The specializations of Ghibli studio artists are in painting an impression out of their subject matters, that will feel like the original subject but won’t be exactly the same. They resemble the impressionists in this area.

The Art of Detail: Ghibli’s Precision vs. Impressionist Impression

While both Ghibli artists and Impressionists offer unique approaches to visual representation, their focus on detail diverges significantly at a micro level. Impressionists, with their loose brushstrokes and emphasis on capturing fleeting moments of light and color, often simplify the intricate details of their subjects, allowing the overall impression to take precedence. Ghibli artists, on the other hand, exhibit a meticulous attention to detail in their animation and backgrounds. Every leaf, every texture, every subtle expression is rendered with precision, contributing to the immersive and believable worlds they create. This dedication to micro-level detail, while distinct from the Impressionist style, serves to enhance the emotional resonance and narrative depth of their work.

While directly replicating the Ghibli style might not be the goal, studying their masterful handling of detail, their deliberate simplification of form without sacrificing richness, can provide invaluable visual inspiration for painters seeking to develop their own unique artistic voice. By observing how Ghibli artists imbue even the smallest elements with character and purpose, we can learn to infuse our own paintings with a similar level of thoughtful observation and evocative detail.

Step 1

You can block the masses that represent the shadow of the tree and its light side. Separate the whole subject into dark and light sides.

Step 2

In order to emulate the expressive Ghibli brushstrokes, you can add more detail and experiment with various brushes. You can use opaque brushes and then the smudge tool to blend the shapes. To have a better result, you can make every darker element go back and lighter elements step forward in the space, with adding detail. Remember to identify the two distinct things early.

Step 3

If you wish to achieve the heartwarming and eye-soothing Ghibli look, context will help you a lot. If you are focusing on a tree as your main subject matter to be painted in the studio Ghibli backgrounds, place the tree in the context of the environment. Then you can add hills in the distance horizon as a background and also add clouds.

If you use Procreate, use the smudge tool to blend the clouds well in the sky. Don’t need to draw every single leaf, represent them in bunches to create an overall form instead.

It’s crucial to focus on how the clouds will peak through the tree.

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Creating an illusion of distance and depth for the viewer to identify the background and foreground easily will be nice. Ensure that the edge of the tree and the clouds don’t interact confusingly.

Adding a cast shadow onto the grass from the tree will make it look fine. You can situate the tree in the surrounding environment properly by this. If you do that early, you can visualize the rest of the drawing better.

Before you try the cast shadow, gather a thorough knowledge on drawing light and form from useful tutorials.

Step 4

Let the color be your storyteller, yes that’s an attraction of studio Ghibli backgrounds. Envision colors for your painting first, and then play with them to achieve what you imagine. When you are working digitally, you have the liberty to change the color palette and bring an effect that you wish for. It can be anything like shifting the time of the day, and representing an entirely new narrative. Color is a powerful tool to explore all these things.

Finally, look for adding as much detail as you can, to get your desired tree shape with detail, color and an overall tranquil feel like studio Ghibli backgrounds.