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If you weren’t living under a rock in March of last year, then your social media feed was probably packed to the brim with Studio Ghibli-inspired art. There wasn’t some sudden paid service from the celebrated Japanese studio that allowed people to get their photos drawn in its art style—everyone began using ChatGPT’s image generator to do it themselves.
While this trend was met with plenty of vitriol from avid fans of the animation studio and those decrying AI’s ability to easily churn out art lifted from copyrighted sources, it still managed to go viral as everyone and their grandmother joined the trend. If you missed out on it or just want a refresher on how to turn your favorite photo into a piece of Studio Ghibli-themed art, you’ve come to the right place.
Use our advice and you’ll emerge with Studio Ghibli-style photos in no time
To get the process started, make sure you’re using the latest version of ChatGPT on desktop or mobile since it more than likely supports image generation and edits. Be sure to have your own photo on hand to make all this work—going with a picture that features you and a beautiful landscape or a self-portrait works best.
Then do the following from the front page of ChatGPT:
- Click/tap on the + sign in the chat bar
- Select the Add photos & files option and upload the picture you want to use
- Once the uploaded photo is successfully attached, use this prompt to tell ChatGPT how you want to mimic Studio Ghibli’s signature animation: “Turn this photo into a Studio Ghibli-style animated scene”
- If you’d like to go with a more descriptive prompt to get better results, try this one: “Recreate this image in a hand-drawn Studio Ghibli-inspired animation style. It should feature soft watercolor texture, warm lighting, and detailed background scenery. Make sure the person in the photo has expressive anime-art style eyes.
- You can also provide more details on how you want your Studio Ghibli-inspired picture to come out by telling ChatGPT about the time of day, the mood, and background elements (a sunset glow, a whimsical mood, and tall grass in the background are good examples of what we’re talking about here)
If the image ChatGPT gifts you doesn’t meet your expectations, no need to crash out—there’s a few follow-up prompts you can use to fine-tune it for the better. You can check them out below and use them for yourself to get the best results:
- “Increase the magical glow effect”
- “Add more environmental detail in the background”
- “Make the main character look slightly younger/older”
- “Make the colors softer”
What should emerge from ChatGPT is a gorgeous Studio Ghibli-edited photo that matches the soft shading, painterly skies, gentle facial expressions, and warm lighting the animation studio’s storied films are known for.
Bottom line
Now that you know how to turn your best picture into a Studio Ghibli anime art piece, feel free to take to the social media platform of your choice and join in on the craze that’s been going on since 2025.
Then do yourself a favor and bask in the wonder of the studio’s legendary collection of movies so you can see what all the hype is about (we highly recommend subscribing to HBO Max if you haven’t already and checking out the 21+ film lineup of Studio Ghibli films on offer).
Check out the studio’s latest release, The Boy and the Heron, and thank us later.
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