Forest Spirits: An Interview with Bruce Yan
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Bruce Yan
American artist Bruce Yan grew up knowing he wanted to be a creative, from his initial drawings as a child to now being able to produce work for a series of properties and clients his love of art and design has grown from an initial passion to now shaping that passion into a career. He discusses his work on Studio Ghibli with us and breaks down the concepts, what went into them and what is important when tackling a piece specifically related to Studio Ghibli.
What is your professional background?
I always knew I wanted to be in the creative field. I drew a lot when I was young, but didn’t really know how that would develop into a career. I eventually discovered graphic design and earned a BFA in Visual Communication. I feel very lucky to be able to make a living as a professional creative which includes Art Direction, Design and Illustration for several different clients.
Did you grow up watching Ghibli movies? What kind of unique inspiration do you find in Ghibli movies that you don’t get anywhere else?
I didn’t watch Ghibli movies until much later in my life, but I have always had an affinity for anime and animation. With Ghibli films, I find that I’m inspired by the environments as much as the characters themselves.
As a creative what are some of the themes from Miyazaki’s films that resonate with you?
I think the key theme that resonates with me most is his obvious love for nature. Miyazaki’s immersive worlds and environments are rich with beauty and mysteries which play an important role in his films.
Your Totoro, Mononoke and Nausicaa all seem to be a part of a series, did you always know you wanted to tackle those three particular properties?
I didn’t initially set out to create a series, but it made sense to try to keep some similarities between them. That’s reflected through the use of primary characters and environments. Also through typography layouts and placements.
When crafting a new property do you always think about the possibility of doing more in a particular series? And does that affect your design process?
I always have that consideration in the back of my mind, but it doesn’t dictate how I start any project. It doesn’t affect my design process because my focus is primarily on that single piece. I can always create cohesion later in the series through use of design elements, color, layout or typography.
What other Ghibli property would you like to do next? Why that particular property?
I’ve started on Kiki’s Delivery Service, but haven’t gotten around to finishing it yet. I really enjoyed Kiki’s process of self-discovery. This is also my wife’s favorite Ghibli movie, so it seemed like the next logical choice.
What do you look for when starting a new design or project, is it a theme or a mood you're trying to get across? Or perhaps a tone or scene that needs to be displayed?
It really depends on the project. With the Ghibli posters, I mostly focused on particular scenes that resonated with me visually. The rich environments really help to sell those scenes and moments.
Do you prefer to know a concept going into a piece or discover as you go along?
As a designer, I usually try to start with a strong concept, but with the Ghibli pieces I felt it was more important to try to capture the essence of the animations and the emotions of the characters.
How much does a poster or piece change throughout a process of design for you? Do you ever get to a point where something might come up and be worth it to change it entirely?
I’m generally really locked down with layout and composition when I start a piece. The only things that are more fluid are colors and additional details. There have been times when I’ve scrapped pieces entirely and started over, but fortunately it’s not often the case.
What was it about that particular scene in Nausicaä that made you focus on it for this piece? Were there other ideas you also wanted to explore?
I loved that Nausicaä was able to find the beauty in the falling toxic spores. This is one of those moments where the environment was just as important as the character in the scene. It was an image stuck in my head and I really wanted to bring it to fruition.
What about Mononoke that made you choose this composition? Was this always your first choice?
I wanted to create an image that felt like a quiet moment with San and her wolf brothers emerging from the forest. It was always my first choice and I don’t think I considered drawing anything else.
Your style also changes dramatically depending on the property, for example your Kiki and Ghibli scouts are a dramatic change from your traditional poster work into more of a flat 2D style, why go with this style for those?
Kiki and Ghibli Scouts were created as branding/logo pop culture mashups, so it made more sense for those to be flat and two dimensional for easier recognition. They were inspired by the Hawaiian Airlines and Girl Scout logos. I wanted the relationship between the properties and logos to share a common theme.
In all of your Ghibli posters, you capture quiet or reflective moments from each respective film. Do these moments stick out the most to you when you approached this series?
When I watch the Ghibli films, I notice many contrasts between the quiet serene moments and the parts of the film that are filled with exciting action. Both of these create such a range of highs and lows but also create balance. I do find that the quiet moments are the ones that I enjoy the most versus the chaotic. I feel that the sense of calmness has a lot more to reveal emotionally.
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