Yoichi Nishikawa: The Art of Clouds (AX 2024)

Studio Ghibli is known for many things: fantastical stories, engaging characters, gorgeous 2D animation. But all of that is built on top of stunning hand-painted backgrounds. One of the most acclaimed background artists working at Ghibli today is Yoichi Nishikawa, and I was thrilled to attend his panel at this year’s Anime Expo, where he went over his career and shared thoughtful & amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes about working with some of the biggest anime directors in the business.

However, Nishikawa didn’t set out to be a background painter for anime. He started off with explaining that he went to college to be an art teacher, but then saw a flyer from Ghibli, looking to hire new talent. He passed the audition, and within two weeks, he was working on “Howl’s Moving Castle.”

So how is it working with the great Hayao Miyazaki? If he likes your work, he’ll simply say “it’s good.” If he doesn’t, he’ll let you have it. “When are you going to work for real?” It’s tough work, but Nishikawa says everyone works really hard to get that “it’s good” from the master.

Since “Howl,” Nishikawa has worked on a variety of projects outside of Ghibli as well: “Summer Wars” and “Wolf Children” from Mamoru Hosoda, “The Sky Crawlers” from Mamoru Oshii, “Land of the Lustrous” from Studio Orange, and even some American productions. He likes that American companies are very upfront about the schedule and salary, unlike Japanese productions that often run long and underpay. The panel consisted of a slideshow with photos from each film he worked on, and he went into detail about the unique challenges for each project.

Back at Ghibli, he worked on “Tales from Earthsea,” “The Secret World of Arrietty,” “From Up on Poppy Hill” and “When Marnie Was There.” He said he really struggled with the small details of “Arrietty,” such as the intricate veins of a leaf. On “Marnie” he was the head of the Art Department, so unlike other productions where you are assigned specific scenes, he oversaw every background.

I was able to ask Nishikawa a question, so I asked him about the differences between working with Hayao Miyazaki and his son, Goro Miyazaki. He replied that they are actually quite similar: both are quite shy, but if you get them talking about something they like, they won’t shut up. When asked about research, he said he’s comfortable painting anything Japanese, but if it’s something historical or foreign, he’ll spend days studying books and photos before even beginning.

Finally, Nishikawa is probably most famous for his work on Miyazaki’s “The Wind Rises” and last year’s “The Boy and the Heron.” On both films, he was in charge of painting the many gorgeous vistas of clouds, which earned him the nickname of “The Painter of Clouds.” For “Rises,” Miyazaki had all of the painters at Ghibli submit a sample painting of clouds, to determine the right person for the job. Nishikawa’s painting was picked, and actually ended up in the film, as the final shot. He actually didn’t know this until the premiere, where he was shocked to see it on screen. His work on “The Boy and the Heron” impressed Miyazaki so much that he suggested that Nishikawa put on an exhibit of his work, which he did.

Now, Nishikawa has an art book of his work. He signed copies at Anime Expo, and you can order the book from Gallery Nucleus in Los Angeles. As a massive fan of Studio Ghibli, it was an incredible treat to hear from someone so intimately involved with the artist vision of so many great masterpieces of animation.