The Secret Colors of Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli is beloved by many, (including me), namely for the group's inspiring, imaginative films and the company's visionary leader, Hayao Miyazaki. The company has been praised and talked about repeatedly over the years, especially on KZbin. In this brief video, I throw my hat into the ring to talk about the role color plays in the studio's films. I wanted to take many examples from the films to reinforce my conclusions about how the company used color to enhance the overall story of each film, but there is only so much time, and I didn't want this video to be 20 minutes long. Hopefully, you enjoyed the video, even though I didn't touch on the technicalities of color theory. Subscribe for design related content. There is a lot more content coming down the pike.
Support
Patreon: www.patreon.com/user?alert=2
KZbin: / @pausebetweenpanels
Stay Connected
Twitch: / sinplea
Twitter: / sinpleadesigns
Keep designing, and thank you for watching!

[@PauseBetweenPanels]

Huh... Look at that. This video gained traction out of nowhere. Normally, I would just quietly put my nose to the grindstone, but since this video is more than a year old and the only video on this channel, I just wanted to quickly say that I'm working on another video right now that is currently in the research phase. I'm glad a number of you have enjoyed the video. Thanks for the nice comments!

[@hmoody008]

Good luck!

[@enogimka7185]

Actually I'm gonna hop on by to see what this future video is gonna be about.

[@dreysantillan]

What does it mean to put your nose to the grindstone? Thanks

[@JayJay-nv2fs]

I was wondering where the rest of your quality videos were. Hope to see your channel grow.

[@froger7]

I’m glad that I got this in my recommendation)

[@iamb34]

you know what's sadder? Colourists almost never get the recognition or the remuneration they most times deserve. Their department is the least paid one in the whole industry. This just has to change.

[@quit4781]

Really?!? That's so messed up

[@iamb34]

@@quit4781 it is :(

[@esverker7018]

Colorists have historically been mostly women, which contributed to their lack of equal pay and respect. Sort of a vicious cycle. Coloring is lesser work, so it goes to women. Women do coloring, so it's lesser work. A tradition set in place when gender discrimination in the workforce was very strong. Early Disney restricted women to coloring/inking, writing to female animation applicants that "girls are not considered" and telling them to apply for the color department instead. They often went uncredited.

[@phosphenevision]

@@esverker7018 exactly! Its what happened inversely to programming, programming used to be seen as women's work and it had much lower pays, while engineering hardware for computers was men's work, when home computers started being sold to boys as video games they started to get into programming and then boom the field became full of men and now programming is one of the top paid fields worldwide

[@moon_on_the_clouds]

The same thing goes towards the comics industry as well! Colourists are really not given the credit they deserve for the work they do to make a story and the art what it is.

[@laia6548]

I had never heard of Michiyo Yasuda until this video. It has made me think a lot about why I only remember and pay attention to directors as if the genius of the film was only their merit. Thank you.

[@quit4781]

Same this seems like sone type of daja vue but i have never actually heard of it and i never really payed much attention to details so i have to give this vid credit for what it's due

[@linhthai611]

It’s sad to see great vids with excellent content like this not getting much attention

[@funnyapple9102]

Yeah man this is master piece

[@quit4781]

Yeah yet a child screaming from 10 years ago gets 1.5Mil views.. Im still salty abt that /j

[@afoxcatartvideos4877]

Idk what channel is it

[@seunqho1463]

Rest in Peace Michiyo Yasuda, you truly were a wonderful person who made us who we are today. Without you, we wouldn't have had those happy moments in our children. Your artwork and kindness helped us realise how beautiful the world can be, it's full of colour. I hope you live a wonderful life in your next life ❤️

[@otism4347]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZzXgWSsoJihrJI

[@seunqho1463]

@larose_rouge_ unfortunately yes

[@phantompiano4019]

The thing I have always find amazing with Studio Ghibli is how the plot is just a peace of the story, not the whole story. The animation, the colors, the music, the dialogue and the plot, all of these things tell a story, and when combined they form a masterpiece. When I here the scores for any Ghibli film I see a story, same with just the animation and the colors, I don’t need more.

[@love456music]

wait i though this video would be one of the well viewed and commented ones, the quality of this video is of someone who is pro and really passionately made. keep it up man! really amazing!

[@woozihae]

Ikrrr!!!

[@quit4781]

It really deserves more

[@red.velvet.pirate6987]

I've never really considered how colour contributed to the telling of a story. Of course, I always thought the studio ghibli colour palette looked great but I never questioned what it meant. Thank you for shedding a light on the individuals, like Michiyo Yasuda, who was responsible for the splendid colour of these movies, I now have a new appreciation of what they do.

[@EtamirTheDemiDeer]

Ohoho? Seems the algorithm has brought me something wonderful! This stuff is right up my alley and I couldn’t be happier. Subbed :)

[@AnYa3312]

even after ages the magic of Studio Ghibli will remain alive in our hearts and souls

[@idagergely6235]

Colors are everything in my life! Sometimes I even cry watching chibli movies cause the color design is just breathtaking! Not enough people talk about it, so your essay made me so happy!! I think your video is really hight quality well put together and interesting! I subscribed!!

[@julilenk5397]

wow didn't really think of it like that but it makes so much sense, i feel stupid for not noticing

[@princessthyemis]

Me too!!!! This is marvelous!!!!!

[@elimenoquite6705]

I LOVE color. It’s so cool when movies put thought into little details that can really make a whole lotta difference. This video is well done! Super underrated.

[@sarisari4521]

Wow, the colour in ghibli film always fascinates me. One of my favourite aspects of ghibli film is the colour. I don't know why I love the colour. Maybe because I don't have a knowledge about it before. After watching this video, I think I can understand why the colour in ghibli film fascinates me. Thank you for the video!

[@purvideshmukh6579]

Thanks to Hayao Miyazaki, Michiyo Yasuda & all Ghibli artists/staff for creating such beautiful movies ❤

[@mintman325]

I appreciate people like you. People who can see the nuances and draw conclusions. I have learned in my nearly 27 years to appreciate the people who bring stories to life. It is so much more then the director while they are important, it takes a team. Great work

[@niipo8313]

I wish you were my art teacher I had- have a lot of trouble with color theory. But I love Miyazaki movies and story telling . Watching them has really helped me learn so much about my own work and why I choose the colors I do and how they make people feel.

[@tangerineslice]

I'm studying studio Ghibli's style right now and this video was very helpful, thank you for helping me to understand this part of Ghibli's work instead of just copying drawings without understanding the depth of certain choices such as the color palette :)

[@akiangel1864]

The colors in studio ghibli are really awesome :'> I haven't watched all studio ghibli films yet, but for me the colors in the grave of fireflies convey the most emotions, like the mannnn the colors of that movie and literally everything about it broke my heart into pieces 😭

[@blancarivera7189]

Great video man, keep it up :)

[@PauseBetweenPanels]

Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it!

[@afoxcatartvideos4877]

Stopped saying “ oh this video don’t get enough attention bla bla bla” We should say thank you this video reached us now share it to others who are interested. 🙂

[@melissaanderson4093]

Thank you for dedicating this work to Ms. Yasuda!

[@pupiberto]

As an illustrator myself I love color and its meaning, but saying grayscale and black and white is boring couldn't be further from the truth and honestly pretty ignorant. When you can't depend on color the you have to use rely on value which is an artform of itself

[@Lilyium]

I'm glad this was in my recommendations. ♥️

[@Lilyium]

Also the reason why I like using the red heart is because it matches the red on my t-shirt.

[@lilyhammett4955]

Nice

[@obesewhale1899]

This was really insightful and unique, with excellent editing

[@mr.felixisagirlbossking9983]

This was explained so well it touched my heart and now i think i wanna cry!! This is beautiful

[@erufailon4723]

The quality of editing is that of a much more popular video essayist, yet this channel has less than 1K subs?! Insanely underrated.

[@jamieeisele3974]

Definitely underrated!

[@nonsensetv_]

Color blind people: *sad noises

[@user-zg3gh8xg9v]

Blind ppl *even sadder noises

[@arshdeep-tg5qw]

mute people: *

[@user-zg3gh8xg9v]

@@arshdeep-tg5qw mute ppl: *clap hands... and then cheeks

[@naomililith9350]

Thank ypu for your thoughts and insights. Damn you explained it well. It makes me want it rewatch all the ghibli movies and study the colors of it. Break down every scene😭

[@bubblegumrapper1167]

I ran out of words to describe this video as someone who loves studio ghibli’s colors and always wonders how do they find these magnificent colors i absolutely love how they draw clouds and grass their movies are full of joy and happiness in colors that reflects its joy upon us as viewers Thank you for this video❤️

[@XxxUpturnedHydraxxX]

I can't believe is your first video, it's awesome!!! Thanks for this analysis!!!

[@omniscientomnipresent5500]

Yes ! Color really is overlooked when analysing characters despite being often chosen with great care.

[@jakeil7912]

i wish you continued growong this channel, I loved this video

[@Kunizuka]

This deserves so much more attention! Incredibly well done video!!!

[@saylenatsea2149]

Thank you for bringing to light such an important part of Ghibli that is so often overlooked!

[@flickermist3104]

Woah! This video is of very very high quality content! I anticipated you talking about Michiyo Yasuda and yes she is brilliant. I hope you make more videos just as this because I find it entertaining and informative!

[@fravs22]

Loved your analysis! Commenting to help this video reach more people, bc you deserve it

[@pddlivros3332]

I loved this video. I had never thought about the color aspect on these movies, it's just as amazing as everything else.

[@shnozzz]

This was so interesting to watch thank you so much for this, I gained so much more insight on the significance of colours in storytelling and made my love for ghibli even greater!! Keep it up :))

[@maryhe3721]

damn the last minute hit hard

[@lapsina112]

Thank you for this video. it made me want to study their work even more

[@zafiraanindita4192]

i just want to say i like the way you narrate the video, its very enjoyable

[@quit4781]

Wow for a year old video this is hella(is that a word) underrated it's so well put and thought out

[@Schneeeulenwetter]

Your editing is so good!

[@giulianonigro7800]

Excellent work and analysis, well done!

[@ImOnNirvana]

What a great video, truly! Can't wait for the next :)

[@Amayram21]

This is an amazing video colorists deserve much more credit than they receive they bring so much life to a story it’s truly underrated

[@bimgus3907]

This is video is really well made

[@MorningThief_]

Thank you for the video on Michio Yasuda. I'm hoping you'll do another video, but this time on Katsuo Oga & his gorgeous background work.

[@meziens15]

Fantastic video! Thanks for sharing all this information, it's realy wonderful that gems like this are on KZbin and are just 100% free! I learned a lot about animating, and color is very veryyyy important! Wonderful video, thanks a ton. Keep rocking!

[@alexandriaduong4312]

the algorithm has been recommending me so much ghibli recently! i'm glad i got to see your video too (even tho i am a year late ^-^')!

[@tanmayyadav7798]

Such good videos for such a small channel is unbelievable

[@derangeddiction5870]

I love how you made this video. Thank you very much.

[@rimjhimdhusiya699]

I wish this video gets more attention since it is beneficial for young artist like me and others who want to give full justice to the story they portray

[@camira288]

What a beautiful video! Thank you for sharing!

[@ingfa_punpun80]

OMG this is so good

[@sonictimm]

This is exactly the video I wanted and more, thank you! (Currently trying to learn more about art direction for video games)

[@CDHfilms]

"Always make you stories with color, Nothing more, nothing LESS."

[@kewlozer7979]

Great video! Keep up the good work

[@me_atal]

It was awesome, please do more of these❤️❤️❤️

[@Spartacular]

One of the most inspiring videos. thank you. do u have more content?

[@chase7409]

What an insightful video. Also very pleasant to watch.

[@hunterbartley7071]

Storytelling with color is amazing. One great example is in re:zero. There’s an episode where one character shares a story with another. The use of color there is phenomenal.

[@jamieeisele3974]

Fabulous Video! Keep it up!

[@rafikanaura9183]

Your voice is so calming

[@ThatGuyKumbirai]

Very good video. You have talent. Its good to see someone who gets it. Keep it up.

[@Zeta_la_formica]

Underrated video

[@jemimahdelrosario4452]

I am so glad I watched this video!!

[@vikasbalu294]

Great video dude!! Keep up the good work...✌️

[@cainalopes7141]

Thank you for this video, you express exactly the same love I have for Ghibli, the love I'm not capable to translate to words.

[@kaidowind2370]

Really well done!!

[@theresabanana6682]

this is so well done

[@nikosaurus4238]

Underrated channel

[@weenirandom201]

I feel admiration, gratitude, pressure, and excitement.

[@milddiffuse]

Beatiful films and very nice video!

[@mal9369]

Wonderful video. Really well done. You've earned a new subscriber. Keep up the good work, my friend

[@ww4I432ww]

the contents are awesome!

[@marleenmeijer6148]

Great work! Keep it up!

[@crossmyheart7]

Thank you for this 🙌🏼

[@dianasofia1669]

This is beautiful 🥺❤️

[@avimehenwal]

I have seen almost all studio ghibli films , I love em so much

[@aakankshasangwan4130]

The starting of this video is super cute 😍

[@gegele1394]

what colors can convey... it’s incredible. thanks for your vid

[@rrmez9743]

Thank you so much!

[@rcmajo7946]

Great video!

[@alejandrodelcastillowestte8721]

Great video, thank you.

[@maxileevans6982]

Splendid Work Sir🥺🥺👏👏👏🙌🙌🙌👏

[@DoubleBeamRifle]

Fantastic video :]

[@caramelgirl6962]

I needed to know, very well. Tnx.

[@kesh7518]

Thanks mannnnn i was freaking sad then this popped up on my recommendation ahhhhhhhhh

[@PureAnimationToolkit]

Great informative video and fantastic voice over though.

[@adacskipper]

Great analysis! One thing I would disagree slightly with though is your interpretation of the meaning of Nausicaa's blue outfit. I would argue that it actually is meant to signify Nausicaa's character and her relationship with the forsest, as well as foreshadowing the end of the film when her clothes are literally soaked in blue Ohmu blood. Blue is a colour traditionally seen as calm, gentle, and peaceful; all traits Nausicaa uses at the film's climax. Her blending in and becoming a part of the forest also indicates visually to the viewers that she is in a way one with the forest; comfortable and intimate with it. She moves through the forest world as a part of it, instead of storming through like Princess Kushana who stands in stark contrast to the forest in her bright gold and white armour, a colour that, not so coincidentally, more closely matches the dead and dry landscape of Acid Lake and the desert. Regions that have been destroyed and are yet to be reclaimed by the forest. You also see this same contrast with Asbel, who flies a bright red ship when he attacks the fleet, and the Pejitians, who also engage in the same senseless violence Nausicaa is trying to stop. You make a great point about the importance of colour in Ghibli films, but I feel like this topic requires a much longer video to analyze properly; there is so much thought and depth put into it; you've really kickstarted my brain 🤯

[@e.1672]

Beautiful

[@samm9101]

Loved it

[@viniciusmanasses154]

Keep doing more videos

[@Linnytic]

Underrated

[@Iasgo]

sad to only have this video on the channel

[@najda2004]

thx for the palettes

[@lunasol1738]

This content deserves more recognition!! 🙌 🌈

[@lilnooboverdose1999]

Gibli is the number one for me❤❤❤❤❤❤sad❤😭😭❤I love !!! God bless you Miyazaki sense!!!!