Studio Ghibli Animation: Top Colleges and Courses, Career Opportunities

Studio Ghibli Art has been in a trend these days, and it has increased the curiosity among animators to learn and utilize this pristine skill in their projects. Want to delve deeper into this majestic topic? Read all about its origin, story behind it, Ghibli trend, learning mediums, career opportunities, free apps to generate Ghibli art, limitations of Ghibli trend, etc. below on this page.   

Studio Ghibli Animation: About, Free Apps, Top Colleges and Courses, Career Opportunities

Studio Ghibli animation film studio was founded in the year 1985 by the two eminent directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. It was originated in Tokyo, Japan by these directors along with producer Toshio Suzuki. The term "Ghibli" is an Italian word that means ‘a hot desert wind’. The founders' aim is to symbolize "blow a new wind through the anime industry" through his work. The founders of Ghibli are known for their captivating storytelling, amazing animation styles, and quite a memorable characters. The Studio Ghibli has become a favorite name in the world of animation. Those who are eager to learn Studio Ghibli Art, can make use of online resources to add this skill to their animation career chart.

Miyazaki is celebrated for his imagination along with independent and powerful characters, while Takahata is well known due to his realistic and emotionally strong storytelling. When they came together, they created many iconic films in the animation industry. 

Also Read:

• How to Create a Strong Animation Portfolio: A Complete Guide for Aspiring Animators
• AI Courses After 12th in Animation– Top Colleges, Eligibility, Fees

About Studio Ghibli Trend

The trend began to achieve traction in the early days of 2025, following which the most popular tool was released for advanced AI image generation by companies like OpenAI. These tools are powered by sophisticated algorithms, which allows the users to create high-quality images in specific artistic styles.

One of the Seattle-based software engineers, Grant Slatton was given the credit for popularizing this trend. When the upgraded version of creating these Ghibli images was launched, Slatton posted a family photo that was AI-transformed on his social media, which quickly went viral. 

Why Did It Go Viral?

There are many factors which lead the Studio Ghibli go viral as listed below: 

• The childhood nostalgia appeal of Studio Ghibli's art deeply attracted the audience which in turn were highly attracted to try this trend.
• Another reason which played major role in spreading it is the platforms like Instagram and Twitter. The creators used hashtags like #GhibliAI and #GhibliStyle that helped others to discover and share their own creations as well.
• The easy-to-use AI tools made available for anyone across the world to create high-quality Ghibli-style images.

Also Read:

• Free Animation Software for Beginners
• Best Animation Courses for Beginners

How to Learn Ghibli Animation

Ghibli Art is a growing name among animators in India. Animators in India have developed a keen interest to learn and add this skill to their catalogue. Learning Ghibli-style animation can be an exciting journey, for that read the following pointers:

1. Understand the Basics: Start with the fundamentals of animation, such as drawing and character designing. Familirize yourself with the different phases of Ghibli's style, like emotional storytelling.
2. Online Ghibli Art Tutorials and Courses: You can try and attend online resources to learn Ghibli-style animation. For example, tutorials are posted on YouTube on creating Ghibli-style animations using various free software.
3. Practice: Consistent practice is key. Try to mimic the scenes from Ghibli movies to understand their techniques in detail.

Top Colleges and Courses to Learn Ghibli Animation

Interested students can enrol in animation colleges and learn the skill to upgrade their resumes. Below are some of the platforms to learn Studio Ghibli Style art and animation:   

• Outschool: It is an online learning platform that offers various animation courses for different age groups, including Ghibli-style animation. Interested candidates can learn Ghibli art online by paying a minimal fee. Courses offered at Outschool has a live video chat classes given by skilled and passionate teachers.
• Japan House: This platform under the University of Illinoise Urbana Campaign provides courses like ARTJ299: Such courses help explore Anime through the Works of Studio Ghibli. This course teaches to imparting the practical knowledge of animation to create extensive Ghibli style images or videos.

• MotionCue: It is another platform that has resources on animation lessons inspired by Studio Ghibli. This can be helpful for students on a journey to learn Ghibli art.

• Middlebury College offers some related courses titled "Studio Ghibli: Art and Industry" that explores the creative output of Studio Ghibli.

Apart from the above, there are several other US Colleges that offer classes on anime and manga studies, which often include creating Ghibli films. Pursuing animation courses are the best way to turn passion for this field into a real career. 

Also Read:

• How much do Animators Earn? Salary Guide
• What is VFX? Beginners Guide to Visual Effects

Studio Ghibli Animation Career Opportunities and Salary Expectations

Learning Ghibli-style animation can open up many interesting roles such as animator, background artist, or character designer. Studio Ghibli itself also recruits artists for their own projects. Such an opportunity can be aimed for, aspirants may require proficiency in Japanese language and experience with industry-relevant standard software like Adobe Photoshop. 

Animation Courses - Job Profiles, Salary 

Candidates who wants to join the animation industry have option to various job roles based on their academic qualifications, skill set, and experience. Here are some major job roles, along with the average annual salary. 

Some of the majorly used apps to generate Studio Ghibli images which are animated for free are Clipfly AI Ghibli Tool, Fotor's Studio Ghibli Filter, Ghibli AI Tool, etc. These apps can help you bring the magical world of Studio Ghibli to life in your own creations.

Also Read:

• Animation Courses after 12th: Eligibility, Course Fees, Career Prospects
• Multimedia Courses After 12th: Multimedia Courses, Eligibility, Fees, Colleges

Debates and Controversies Around the Use of Studio Ghibli Art

The invention of AI technology has also sparked a widespread debate on this topic. AI tools generators allow users to produce Ghibli-style images quickly and easily that lead in its popularity on social media platforms.

Ethical Pitfalls: The use of AI nowadays has given rise to one major concerns related to it mimicking the styles of Studio Ghibli. 

Copyright Concerns: The increasing use of AI for creating the Ghibli-style images has also given rise to the copyright and IP concerns. 

Impact on Artists and the Animation Industry: It highly impact the creators original work which is now done by the AI tools. This increases the concern about its impact on the livelihoods of artists and animators. 

Public Reactions and Criticisms: Some people accept and need the accessibility of AI tools, however, some others think of it as a threat to the originality of art forms.

Also Read:

• Top Animation Colleges in India 2025: Key Features, Career Opportunities
• Top 10 NID Colleges in India 2025: Fees, Admission, Courses, Eligibility, Placements
• Animation Courses After 10th: Colleges, Eligibility, Syllabus, Subjects Career Options
• Top Animation Colleges in India 2025: Key Features, Career Opportunities