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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Nizō Yamamoto: Art for Animation - the first English-language book dedicated to the legendary art director behind Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, and more. Pre-orders are open now: €39 until September 30. www.riekeles.com/shop/p/book-...

riekeles.com

Nizō Yamamoto: Art for Animation — Riekeles Gallery

Title: Nizō Yamamoto: Art for Animation Editor: Stefan Riekeles Language: English Publisher: Riekeles Gallery Design: Annika Paetsch Publication date: October 2026 ISBN: 978-3-00-087124-5 Format: 24...

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Black Week Specials at Riekeles Gallery! From Monday, 24 November to Saturday, 29 November, we offer a 20 percent discount on all our poster prints. All orders over 100 EUR receive free worldwide shipping. riekeles.com/shop/poster

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Shūichi Kusamori's original drawing for his graphic novel Fuyu no Ō (冬の王, Winter King, published by Graphic-Sha, 2018), page 1, pencil on paper, 407 × 321 mm. Original artwork now available at Riekeles Gallery.

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Art for Animation: Shūichi Kusamori October 16, 2025 – March 14, 2026 Riekeles Gallery, Potsdam Opening reception: October 15, in presence of the artist. www.riekeles.com/kusamori-exh...

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

We are proud to announce the first solo exhibition of Shūichi Kusamori. Art for Animation: Shūichi Kusamori October 16, 2025 – March 15, 2026 Riekeles Gallery, Potsdam Join us for the opening on October 15, 2025, 6:00 pm – in the presence of the artist. www.riekeles.com/kusamori-exh...

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

This background from In This Corner of the World shows Hiroshima after the atomic bomb. In the foreground stands the building that today serves as a memorial. Despite the destruction, the city is bathed in radiant light. #この世界の片隅に #InThisCornerOfTheWorld @k_hayashi_1202

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Playing Time – an original painting by Kosuke Hayashi, created in 2018 with watercolor and Nicker Poster Color. Shown at his solo show at our gallery. Size: 23 × 34.5 cm. This unique piece is now sold. #KosukeHayashi #StudioGhibli #RiekelesGallery #OriginalPainting #アニメ背景 #君たちはどう生きるか

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Now open: Art for Animation: Kosuke Hayashi at Riekeles Gallery, Potsdam. Hand-painted backgrounds from In This Corner of the World & The Boy and the Heron, plus personal works. Thu–Sat, 12–6 PM, until Oct 5 → www.riekeles.com/hayashi-exhi... #KosukeHayashi #RiekelesGallery

Exhibition view of "Art for Animation: Kosuke Hayashi" at Riekeles Gallery.

Personal Work (left & right) of Kosuke Hayashi and his background artwork for The Boy and the Heron.

Kosuke Hayashi's background artwork for In this Corner of the World. Top row are the original paintings. Our reproductions below.

Kosuke Hayashi's background artwork for In this Corner of the World.

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Photos from the opening of our exhibition Art for Animation: Kosuke Hayashi are now online. Thanks to everyone who joined us for this special evening! → www.riekeles.com/hayashi-exhi... #KosukeHayashi #AnimeBackgroundArt #ArtForAnimation #InThisCornerOfTheWorld #TheBoyAndTheHeron #RiekelesGallery

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Art for Animation: Kosuke Hayashi First solo show in Germany dedicated to a Japanese anime background artist — feat. works for In This Corner of the World, The Boy and the Heron & original artwork! riekeles.com/hayashi-exhi... #この世界の片隅に #君たちはどう生きるか

riekeles.com

Art for Animation: Kosuke Hayashi — Riekeles Gallery

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

We’re proud to present the first solo show outside Japan by background artist & art director Kosuke Hayashi, featuring work from The Boy and the Heron & In This Corner of the World and his personal work. Opens June 5 at Riekeles Gallery, Potsdam. 🔗 www.riekeles.com/blog/art-for...

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Catsuka @catsuka.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

First image from "Sunny" animated feature by @michaelarias.net ("Tekkonkinkreet"). Based on the manga by Taiyo Matsumoto (again). Produced by GKIDS. variety.com/2025/film/gl...

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Boooooooooooooooowerks @bauwerks.net · 07/04/2025

I'm a sucker for long background paintings drawn in different perspectives that turn simple animation camera pans into an in-camera optical trick.

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Katsufumi Hariu explained his work as the art director for Macross Plus. The background art for the series and feature film are of outstanding quality and conceptual depth. Digging into the artist's archive made me think it would be great to present these works to a larger audience.

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Catsuka @catsuka.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

"Handpainted backgrounds in modern animation films" workshop with Liu Yuxuan (Ghibli, Ponoc, Look Back, Hosoda films...) & Arnaud Tribout (Le Collège Noir, Scavengers Reign...). May 8 & 9 in Bern, Switzerland (on registration / for pros). >> www.catsuka.com/news/2025-03...

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Hiromasa Ogura was very busy with a current production. Nevertheless he was generous enough to let me browse his archive.

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

With Mika Nishimura I discussed the difference in style between the work of art directors Shinji Kimura and Hiromasa Ogura. Nishimura was once an apprentice of Ogura and is now working as a respected art director herself.

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Nippon Connection Film Festival @nipponconnection.com · 10/03/2025

Wir freuen uns sehr, Künstler Kosuke Hayashi als Gewinner des NIPPON RISING STAR AWARD 2025 bekannt zu geben! 🏆 Die Preisverleihung findet am 1. Juni beim 25. Nippon Connection Filmfestival in Frankfurt am Main statt.

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Kosuke Hayashi presents his work for "In this Corner of the World" to select the best pieces for his upcoming exhibition at Riekeles Gallery and leaves me thinking.

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Michael Arias @michaelarias.net · 16/02/2025

Really, no one makes BG like this anymore 🪦 #Tekkonkinkreet BG crew at work 🏗️ Hideki Nakamura, Akemi Konno, Hiroyuki Itō, Keita Sakai, Makoto Shiraishi, and of course the great Shinji Kimura. 🎼 = #Plaid 🎉 #AmerBeton #鉄コン筋クリート #Anime #AnimeBG #HandPainted

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Animation Obsessive @ani-obsessive.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

It's incredible to watch a master artist work. So, in this issue, we bring together clips of the greats practicing their crafts -- Hayao Miyazaki using watercolors and beyond: animationobsessive.substack.com/p/watching-m...

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Nippon Connection Film Festival @nipponconnection.com · 03/02/2025

Call for papers: Kinema Club Conference for Film & Moving Images from Japan XXIII at the 25th Nippon Connection Film Festival in Frankfurt a.M., Germany Dates: May 30-June 1, 2025 Proposal Deadline: Feb. 10, 2025 Info & Proposal submission: kc.at.nc.2025@gmail.com

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

First artbook of legendary animation art director Shuichi Kusamori! Featuring iconic works from Innocence, Metropolis, X: The Movie, PSYCHO-PASS, and more. A 40-year journey of crafting breathtaking, imagined worlds brought to life. Available from Feb 21st. pie.co.jp/book/i/5987/

pie.co.jp

草森秀一アニメーション美術画集 | PIE International

アニメーション美術監督の草森秀一の初作品集

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Michael Arias @michaelarias.net · 12/12/2024

More shot 6 BG (video to follow). These elements are shown painted over the 3DCG layout, in perspective, as seen by our 3D camera. Completed paintings were scanned and mapped back onto the geo. <see ALT text for more info> #TEKKONKINKREET #AMERBETON #鉄コン筋クリート #anime #animebg #handpainted

The "King You" sign (the joke being that "kingyō" = "goldfish")

If I remember correctly "M S T" stands for "Montessori School of Tokyo," where my kids went to school ☺

Corrugated metal roofs and rustic factory windows!

There is a bunch of stuff going on here.

On the front-facing billboard: ニッカー if I'm not mistaken, a portmanteau or pun combining "Nicker" (the maker of Poster Colours, the opaque watercolors favored by BG artists in Japan) and "knickers," as in underwear. アリアス = "Arias" (that's me！). And 靴下 = "socks." So it's a billboard for a socks maker ("made by Japanese wool craftsmen").

The other billboard, on the left side, says "SAKAMOTO," presumably for Takuma Sakamoto, Tekkonkinkreet's CG sup., who I've worked with many times over the years.

😅😅😅

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Yusuke Takeda explains his work on the harmony cels of Patlabor - the Movie (1988). He brought in a technique he had previously learned when working at Mecaman Studio. The desired effect was to blend in the parts painted on cels perfectly with the paper based layer of the background.

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

‘BL’ stands for BLACK. #HiromasaOgura uses an original production background from #GhostInTheShell (Cut No. 506) to explain his technique for achieving deep black tones. By painting on both the front and back sides of the cel, he created a layered effect that defines this tone.

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Michael Arias @michaelarias.net · 19/11/2024

#TEKKONKINKREET shot 6 workflow: (a) Kimura's map of Treasure Town → (b) 3D model / camerawork guide → (c) hand-drawn layout for painted BG, projected back onto (b)... 😅 #鉄コン筋クリートカット６ワークフロー: 木村さんの手書き地図 → 3Dガイドモデルとカメラワーク → 2D L/O → 描きBGを元の3Dガイドにパースマッピング...😵‍💫 #AMERBETON #TaiyoMatsumoto #松本大洋 #anime

(a) Kimura's hand-drawn map of Treasure Town

(b) 3D guide model derived from hand-drawn map

Final frame showing hand-painted BG texture mapped onto 3D model

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Michael Arias @michaelarias.net · 22/11/2024

#TEKKONKINKREET shot 6: (a) "3D layout" guide pics for various buildings, and (b) corresponding Shinji Kimura BG paintings (with perspective and lighting, of course)😅 #鉄コン筋クリートカット６: (a)様々な建物の「3Dレイアウト」ガイド用の画像、(b)それに適する対応する木村真二のBG画（当然、パースとライティング込みで）😵‍💫 #AMERBETON #TaiyoMatsumoto #松本大洋 #anime #animebg

"3D layout" guide pictures for various buildings

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

I'm in Tokyo for two weeks to work on new projects. Hello hello!

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Review of our current exhibition "AKIRA - Architecture of Neo Tokyo" at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in the Miami New Times: www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/return-... Thank you @dougmarkowitz.bsky.social for the article!

miaminewtimes.com

Return to Neo-Tokyo: Akira Exhibition Explores Legendary Anime World

A new exhibit at the Morikami Museum in Delray Beach details the painstaking process of creating the Japanese anime film Akira.

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Designing Film @designingfilm.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

One of Syd Mead’s matte painting concepts for Blade Runner (1982). Once the plates were shot, Mead painted over enlarged prints. These were then accurately reproduced as full scale mattes.

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Original production background for AKIRA, cut no. 207. This piece was created by Hiroshi Ohno, when he was a member of the AKIRA art department. It’s made of two layers, called a “book” in anime terminology. The top layer was cut out from paper and mounted on a cel. #AKIRA #animearchitecture

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Stefan Riekeles @reallyriekeles.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Hi there! Introducing myself and my work. My book Anime Architecture presents the background art of some of the most important and revered directors and illustrators of Japanese animated films. More info here: www.riekeles.com/shop/p/anime... #animearchitecture

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