OpenAI’s ChatGPT now includes a feature that allows users to generate images in the distinctive Studio Ghibli art style. This blog explores the origins and characteristics of Ghibli art, details how ChatGPT’s new image generator works, and provides a step-by-step guide for users to create their Ghibli-style images.

Studio Ghibli is a renowned Japanese animation studio celebrated for its hand-drawn films featuring rich watercolour and acrylic visuals.

Their art style is characterised by warm, soft-coloured environments that evoke a sense of cosiness, often employing a pastel palette with watercolour textures.

Studio Ghibli: Founders and History

Studio Ghibli was founded on June 15, 1985, by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki. The studio’s name, “Ghibli”, comes from the Libyan Arabic word for a hot desert wind and was also the name of an Italian aircraft, the Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli.

Founders’ Contributions:

• Hayao Miyazaki: Known for his imaginative storytelling and iconic films like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.
• Isao Takahata: Contributed with emotionally deep films such as Grave of the Fireflies and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
• Toshio Suzuki: He played a crucial role in producing many of Ghibli’s successful films and ensuring the studio’s global reach.

Unique Art Style

The Ghibli style is characterised by:

• Hand-drawn animation: A commitment to traditional techniques that give their films a tangible and organic quality.
• Richly crafted worlds: Detailed backgrounds and environments that immerse viewers in fantastical realms.
• Emotionally resonant storytelling: Films often explore universal themes like nature, identity, and human connections.

Prompts for Ghibli Style:

• Popular prompts include “Transform photos into Studio Ghibli-inspired characters”, “Show me in Studio Ghibli style”, and “What would I look like as a Ghibli character?”
• Users can also specify details like aspect ratio, colours, and backgrounds to customise the output.

 Technical Aspects:

• The GPT-4o model is capable of generating ultra-precise and photorealistic visuals but is particularly noted for capturing the soft, dreamlike quality of Ghibli’s style.
• Rendering times may vary, potentially taking up to a minute due to the model’s complexity.

Limitations and Updates

• Content Restrictions: OpenAI has implemented restrictions to prevent generating images in the style of living artists, though broader studio styles like Ghibli are still allowed.
• Technical Issues: Some users, particularly on the free tier, have reported issues with failed prompts due to content policy restrictions

Currently, free users of ChatGPT cannot access this feature, as it is only available for Plus, Pro, and Team subscribers. However, users can try alternatives like Grok or Gemini to create similar images.

To generate a Ghibli-style image:

1. Open a new chat window.
2. Enter your prompt and include “in Ghibli style” for the desired effect.
3. Download the image and use it as needed.

However, if you’ve got ChatGPT Pro, you can generate the Studio Ghibli-style image. But how? Here are the steps:

• To generate an image, click on the three-dot icon in the prompt bar and select the “Image” option, which will appear alongside the “Canvas” option. Enter a detailed text prompt describing the desired image, then proceed with the generation.
• Once the image is created, download it and share it across your social media platforms. OpenAI has also enhanced the text rendering capabilities of GPT-4o by training its models on a vast dataset of online images and text.
• This approach helps the model understand not just the relationship between images and language but also how images connect with one another.
• With rigorous post-training, GPT-4o has achieved remarkable visual fluency, enabling it to generate images that are contextually aware, consistent, and highly useful.