It hasn’t even been a full day since OpenAI rolled out its new image-generation feature in ChatGPT, and the internet is already obsessed. Feeds on X (formerly Twitter) are now bursting with familiar faces and pop culture moments, reimagined in the Studio Ghibli animation style. Here’s how you can create your Ghibli-style images or memes, but for free.
From Elon Musk and Donald Trump to Lord of the Rings characters and even Jesus Christ, people are turning everything and everyone into Ghibli-style characters. It’s all thanks to GPT-4o’s built-in image generator, which lets you upload a photo and recreate it in Ghibli-style art. Like making it into a painting or removing/adding any specific object, etc. However, X was caught on fire with the Studio Ghibli animation style.
In case you are wondering, it’s the Japanese animation studio behind classics like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, where you see a soft anime-style image with big eyes, glowing skyes, and all.
People are using it to transform childhood photos, wedding pics, pets, movie scenes, memes, and more. It’s turned into a Ghibli-fied internet in less than 24 hours. We couldn’t help ourselves either.
Even Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, seems to have joined in. His new profile picture? A Ghibli-style version of himself.
How to Generate Studio Ghibli-Style Images
You can now turn your photos into a Studio Ghibli-style animation yourself. However, you currently need either a $20/month ChatGPT Plus subscription or a $200/month ChatGPT Pro subscription to do so. Here’s how to do it if you are subscribed:
- Open ChatGPT and make sure GPT-4o is selected.
- Upload your photo.
- Select the Create Image option.
- Prompt: Turn this into Studio Ghibli style.
- Wait a few seconds to a couple of minutes.
- Download and share.
OpenAI also planned to release this for free users, but due to massive demand, the rollout has been delayed. If you still want to try Ghibli-style images for free, you can use Grok AI.
- Open grok.com.
- Select Grok 3 model.
- Upload your photo.
- Prompt: Turn this into Studio Ghibli style.
- Wait a few seconds — this is usually faster than the ChatGPT version.
- Download and share on social media.
From our tests, ChatGPT’s results are better compared to Grok. It follows the original style closely and tries to recreate everything in the Ghibli style. Whereas Grok changes the image heavily, like background, clothes, details on the face, etc. However, until we have the ChatGPT Image Generation available for free, Grok can be a free alternative.
And it’s not just Studio Ghibli. These AI tools can mimic styles like South Park, Minecraft, Lego, voxel art, watercolor, marionette, rubber hose animation, and more. People are using them to create logos, posters, infographics, and even product mockups. They’re surprisingly smart — they follow prompts well, handle detailed scenes, and even render text clearly (something most AI tools struggle with). You can also edit existing images, add or remove elements, adjust lighting, facial expressions, accessories, and more. It’s like having a designer who never says no.
The Ghibli trend is especially interesting because it sits in a legal grey area. While OpenAI blocks requests that mimic the style of living artists, it allows broader “studio styles.” That means Ghibli’s dreamy aesthetic is fair game — for now. Still, there are copyright concerns, especially if these AI models were trained on copyrighted material without permission. Courts are still working through these issues.
That said, people are loving it. Meanwhile, Google’s Gemini Flash image tool is also gaining traction — though side-by-side comparisons show ChatGPT’s results often look more accurate.
