Book Sources:

Miyazaki

(2005)

The Art of Howl's Moving Castle

To extend my research about the artist Hayao Miyazaki, I have read a book about his film called Howl's Moving Castle. The film is set in the late 19th Century in Europe. The 18 year old protagonist, Sophie, is put under a spell by the witch of the waste. This spell turns her into an 90 year old lady. In the film she meets a wizard named Howl. The film has received a Golden Osella Award. 

I like this book because it is full of illustrations and concept sketches. These sketches show clearly how Miyazaki begins his work process. The sketches appear to have been drawn in pencil. To add colour , Miyazaki has used watercolors. Within this book, I have seen two concept sketches that I like. Both of these Illustrate the moving castle. The first image shows a lot of mark making. I think that the marks work well because they add tone and texture to the metal on the castle. To reveal more uses of tone, different shades of blues and purples have been applied. The second sketch reveals a close up of the castle. I like this sketch because Hayao Miyazaki has focused on showing further details. Also, I like how he has applied Visual Communication to the sketch by drawing Sophie, who is about to enter the castle's door. Miyazaki believes that detail is important. 

 After making concept sketches, Miyazaki starts to produce storyboards. He creates the storyboards by making notes and sketches as a guide. The storyboards are more effective as they reveal more information about the story and where it may lead. An example of an effective storyboard can be seen on pages 20-21. The storyboard is for the opening credits of the film. It shows the castle moving through the fog. Hayao Miyazaki has continued using pencil and watercolor. Also, he has made notes next to each scene. I believe that this makes his storyboards successful because it shows how he profusely reflects upon and develops his ideas. 

To extend his work process, Miyazaki begins to produce character sketches. This book shows sketches of characters such as Sophie when she is 18 and 90, Howl etc. These sketches are effective as they reveal the characters facial expressions, movements and visual hints that reveal their personalities. 

What I like about his work in particular is how detailed his landscapes are. They set the scene based on the uses of colour schemes. These colour schemes can suggest the mood within the scene. For example, on pages 61-62, he presents two illustrations of the outside and inside of a building. Both pages reveal the same building, yet, the colour schemes are different. They clearly show what time of day it is and the mood. Altering the colour schemes is effective because it can communicate to viewers a certain emotion/ feeling presented within a scene. 

Most of his films are targeted towards children. However, certain topics within his films can seem scary for children. This film is set during a war. This is revealed when "giant battleships bomb Sophie's city."(page 164) However, I think it works as Miyazaki's cartoon style makes the story seem less threatening to children. 

Hayao Miyazaki mainly focuses on using the technique of traditional (2D) Animation. Yet, within this film, there are "198 shots that contain digital animation." This has made his film successful as he has evidenced how he is open to experimentation. 

Throughout this book, I have learnt about the development of Miyazaki's ideas. From beginning with concept sketches to the final outcome. Reading and analyzing this has been helpful as it has allowed me to gain more knowledge about his methods, work process and how he visually communicates within his films.