The Artist Who Colored Ghibli
This article explores the critical role of color designer Michiyo Yasuda in defining the aesthetic identity of Studio Ghibli films. It emphasizes how her nuanced approach to color and texture contributed to the studio's unique visual legacy.
Why it matters
It highlights the often-overlooked contributions of technical artists in the success of globally recognized creative works.
146 8 17 Share A still from My Neighbor Totoro (1988) We’re back! With the mid-year break over, the Animation Obsessive newsletter returns with a new issue. We’ve done a ton of prep over the past few weeks to get ready for the rest of our 2026, which begins today.
The art of Studio Ghibli isn’t really duplicable. People have tried: the internet is full of attempts, the bulk of them machine-generated. Even when those images vaguely recall Ghibli, though, it’s not so simple to paint light like Kazuo Oga did in My Neighbor Totoro , or to animate a smile like Makiko Futaki did across the ‘80s.
Many tiny and hyper-specific choices, down to the individual frames, made Ghibli films what they are. These choices came from stars like Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, but also, critically, from the way less famous people on their teams.
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