Customer Reviews

The Art of Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea)

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Length:: 0:22 Mins

I can't believe I actually held off purchasing the original Japanese art book when it came out in August 2008. The long wait for the translated version from Viz Media is finally over! It's cool that they have also used the smooth matte paperback covers typically used by the Japanese Studio Ghibli art books. Nice touch.

The Art of Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is a very beautiful book presented just like the other Studio Ghibli art books. There are background paintings, pencil watercolour sketches and film stills. This time, they have included more concept art than the film stills. We have lots of character designs and town paintings. That's over 220 pages of art work followed by the complete voice-over script.

All the concept sketches are drawn by Hayao Miyazaki in his usual pencil and watercolour wash treatment. The concept art and backgrounds by the art staff were supervised by art director Noboru Yoshida, and character sketches and design are by supervising animator Katsuya Kondo. There are interviews with those two as well as with Michiyo Yasuda (Chief Colour Designer) and Atsushi Okui (Director of Digital Imaging). They talk about the watercolour storyboards, how Miyazaki works, how they create the sea and other production stories.

This book is highly recommended for all fans of Studio Ghibli. It will put a smile on your face.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

I was excited to see this book on amazon for a few reasons, the biggest being that it's actually by Hayao Miyazaki. I would have been less inclined to order it if it were through a Disney representative. This way I know I'm getting what Hayao wants me to get, and not just whatever the 3rd party feels like printing.

The book has nice, full colour, somewhat glossy pages. It has concept art on the characters, as well as the scenery, and also shows complete frames. It goes without saying that with 268 pages there is little that the book doesn't touch on.

An excellent buy for artists (who are into this sort of thing), and Studio Ghibli film enthusiasts. If there was a second volume, I would buy that too.

I love everything having to do with Miyazaki. This is a wonderful item to have along with a copy of the movie. It shows a lot of how the art came about. I got this as a gift and I am so pleased with it. For anyone who liked this movie and books like this, I recommend Howl's Moving Castle too.
Howl's Moving Castle

This is a lovely detailed book that brings the magic of Ponyo to the coffee table

The Art of Ponyo is probably my favorite title in the Studio Ghibli Library series. Unlike the other titles in this series, this one is not hardback, but does have a dust cover. This particular title is 272 pages.

The book is divided into the following chapters:

"A Small Seaside Town" Hayao Miyazaki
Introduction
Interview, Katsuya Kondo, Supervising Animator
Interview Noboru Yoshida, Art Director
Making the Scenes
Interview Michiyo Yasuda, Chief Color Designer
Interview Atsushi Okui, Director of Digital Imaging
The Complete Voce-Over Script
Credits

The beautiful watercolors are primarily what make this my favorite title. I also enjoy being able to read what other important artists from the film have to say about the process. I also enjoyed seeing Kazuo Oga's work (one of my favorites from Studio Ghibli).

Highly recommended.