I’ve been waiting eagerly for Ponyo’s artbooks to be released ever since watching it last month, and what a lovely surprise I was in for ! Ghibli Studios have been publishing their animation films’ storyboard books for many years now, but its the first time that they have released one in full color.
What absolute delight to see Miyazaki-san’s gorgeous watercolors…enjoy !
For Ponyo on the Cliff, Miyazaki-san decided to forgo all use of CG and revert back to the old, traditional hand drawn cell animation ( more than 160,000 cells in all ), giving the film a classic, timeless look.
The film uses a color palette that emulates the feel of pastel ( notably in the background plates, I will show more artwork from the official art book in part II ) and watercolor paintings, very much like these storyboards.
I always enjoy the scribbles and notes that accompany the boards, very often providing interesting insights into the director’s filmmaking process.
You can get a copy of the storyboard book here.
Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon CA | Buy From Amazon UK
You might also be interested in these items :
Ponyo on the Cliff Art Exhibition at the Ghibli Museum – Preview
The Art of Ponyo Part II : Concept and Background Art
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
Lupin – The Castle Of Cagliostro Storyboard Book Review
Howl’s Moving Castle Storyboard Book Review
August 20th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Sugoi! I loved Ponyo, and the storyboards look gorgeous!
August 20th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
its really quite enchanting in full color…
guess will have to wait for both the film and the book to appear back home…
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:42 am
Thank you for posting about this, I’m definitely going to order it.
When you say that there’s more than 160,000 cells does that mean they’re actually drawing and painting on cells or is that just a term that’s still in use? I guess I’m a little confused about what that actually means.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Phil – I can’t agree more ! :]
tragic comedy – I’m sure Singapore will be screening it soon, considering they released Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle in the past.
Cameron – I guess cells is the term they stuck with, although most, if not all “cells” are digitally painted these days. That said, I think 160,000 drawings sound more accurate. :]
August 24th, 2008 at 12:46 am
Awesome. I have some of Miyazaki movie books myself. Spirited Away, Earthsea. This book looks tempting. You’ve a cool blog, will be linking to it. My blog also sort of feature art books, more on 3D computer generated movies. You might want to check it out. Oh, Singaporean here also. heh.
October 7th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Where do you buy all your Anime Art Books ?
I’m looking for some but couldn
‘t find a good Anime book store yet〜！
Do you know some good ones ? in Akihabara ?
Thanks 😉
December 20th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
sweet! Thanks for sharing.
October 9th, 2010 at 4:09 am
The movie is coming to austrian cinemas on 22nd/Oct./2010.
The same with germany I think.
Even if I hav seen the film on Blu-Ray, I think it would be fun watching it on the big screen now.