Editing Princess Mononoke (section)

=== Computer graphics ===

[[File:Mononoke hime cgi.png|thumb|[[3D rendering]] was used to create writhing demon flesh that was [[Digital compositing|digitally composited]] onto a [[Hand-drawn animation|hand-drawn]] Ashitaka.{{sfn|Denison|2023|p=114}}|upright=1.1|alt=Ashitaka draws a bow with dark demon flesh on his arm.]]

The film was created using a combination of [[hand-drawn animation]] and [[computer-generated imagery]]; approximately five minutes were animated entirely using digital processes. A further ten minutes use [[digital ink and paint]], a technique used in all subsequent Studio Ghibli films.{{sfnm|Denison|2018|1p=13|Napier|2018|2p=177}} The company's hand-drawn methods were becoming outdated by the late 1990s,{{sfn|Denison|2023|pp=106–107}} and by 1997, members of Studio Ghibli's computer graphics team felt that the adoption was made largely out of necessity.<ref>{{harvnb|Shimamura|Sugano|1997}}, cited in {{harvnb|Denison|2023|p=107}}.</ref> According to [[Mamoru Oshii]]{{nbsp}}– a contemporary of Miyazaki's{{nbsp}}– digital painting was adopted at the insistence of [[Michiyo Yasuda]], a senior colorist at Studio Ghibli.<ref>{{harvnb|Oshii|Ueno|2004|p=89}}, cited in {{harvnb|Napier|2018|p=275|loc=note 3}}.</ref> While Studio Ghibli had already begun experimenting with digital techniques a few years prior on ''[[Pom Poko]]''{{nbsp}}(1994), its computer graphics department was opened during the production of ''Princess Mononoke''.{{sfn|Denison|2023|p=108}}

Miyazaki's distaste for digital animation techniques was well known in Japan before the film's release, so his use of computer graphics came as a surprise, according to Denison.{{sfn|Denison|2023|p=107}} He made the decision to use the new techniques early in the production, starting with the demon god in the opening sequence.{{sfn|Denison|2018|p=12}} Certain sequences were created using 3D tools and then processed to resemble a traditionally animated sequence using a program called Toon Shader, developed by [[Microsoft]] at the studio's request.{{sfnm|Denison|2023|1p=113|Kanō|2006|2p=203}} Some of this work was outsourced to the animation studio [[Toyo Links]].<ref>{{harvnb|Clements|2013|p=200}}, cited in {{harvnb|Denison|2023|p=108}}.</ref> Three broad categories of digital techniques were applied to the animation: the use of digital ink and paint to finish coloring hand-drawn frames; [[3D rendering]] and [[digital compositing]], which put the hand-drawn images in a three-dimensional environment to create more visual depth; and [[morphing]] and [[particle effects]], which create additional detail and smoother transitions.{{sfnm|Denison|2018|1p=12|Denison|2023|2p=113}} {{ill|Yoshinori Sugano|ja|菅野嘉則}}, the head of the computer graphics department, recalled that the most involved uses of digital techniques were to mask the transitions between the digital and hand-drawn elements on screen. Some characters, particularly the gods, alternate between rendering approaches in different shots.{{sfn|Denison|2023|p=114}}