UPDATE, 9/1/17:
It’s been over two years since we told you about Bill Mudron’s amazing woodblock-inspired landscapes based on six of Hayao Miyazaki‘s amazing films. Now, Mr. Murdon is back with a new set of six portraits depicting the other five Miyazaki films, plus one of the man himself in front of the Studio Ghibli production office.
The movies in question, interestingly, have a lot to do with steampunky edifices. From top left, we have Howl’s Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Bottom row, it’s Ponyo, the elegiac The Wind Rises, and finally the Ghibli/Miyazaki. If he waits a little bit, Mudron could add the as-yet-untitled CG feature for which Miyazaki came out of retirement. For now, though, these new six will look plenty beautiful when placed near the original six.
You can buy the new set at Mudron’s site for $100, and the original set of six are still available, also for $100.
Check out the original article, and the original six, below!
2015:Â The films of Hayao Miyazaki have always been the perfect melding of Japanese and American mentalities with regard to animation. They also happen to be 11 of the most beautiful animated features of all time with characters and stories that have become indelible and can make anybody feel like a kid. But above and beyond that, they’re pieces of art and art deserves to be displayed on walls. This is why I’m particularly excited by these prints from artist Bill Mudron that combines Miyazaki’s work with the Woodcarving-style landscapes by Japanese artist Kawase Hasui.
Hasui is a name you probably don’t recognize but you’ve undoubtedly seen his work. He worked in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, painting on woodblocks and working almost exclusively in the landscape and townscape arena, allowing the land or buildings dwarf any people or living creatures in them. Below is an example of one of his paintings from 1936.
Mudron has adopted this style for a series of paintings based on six Miyazaki movies: The Castle of Cagliostro, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away.
Though characters like Kiki, Lupin, and Totoro take up but a tiny fraction of the size of the print, the aesthetic and feeling of each of their respective films is completely on display with the color schemes and textures perfectly matching the original. See the full gallery of these prints below.
You can pre-order prints of these six paintings, either individually or as a whole set, between now and May 31st, with the product shipping in June. And for more of Bill Murdon’s work, which includes some expensive and awesome Legend of Zelda maps, go to his website.
Images: Bill Mudron
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He’s the writer of Studio Ghibli retrospectives Miyazaki Masterclass, Takahata Textbook, and Ghibli Bits. Follow him on Twitter!
