This App Turns Your Photos Into Studio Ghibli-Style Scenes

PetaPixel turned the photo on the left into a Studio Ghibli-inspired animation still.

An AI-infused camera app for iOS that turns photos into different universe styles, such as Ghibli, Lego, and Minecraft, has been released.

Called Lentil, the app has gone viral on Reddit where it was shared by the app’s developer who is apparently still in school.

The developer describes the app as “kind of like your regular camera, but with a twist — it turns your photos into things inspired by universes like Ghibli, Minecraft, Coraline, LEGO sets, and more.”

Lentil also offers users the opportunity to mix different styles together to “see what happens.” It also has a feature that switches the edited image to the original photo by tilting the phone back and forth — like a lenticular print.

“Lentil photos work like holographic cards. Tilt your phone to see your photo shift between real life and your newly created AI world. Blend your reality with other worlds in seconds,” reads the app’s description on the App Store.

Lentil

The app is currently free and users can make as many photos as they want. Sign-up requires a phone number to “prevent spamming.”

It’s not clear how Lentil is powered but Reddit users speculated that it runs on an img2img version of the AI image generator Stable Diffusion with ControlNet on top.

Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli is a renowned Japanese animation studio known for creating some of the most beloved animated films worldwide, including My Neighbor Totoro (1988), which is considered the studio’s mascot.

Founded in 1985 by directors Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and producer Toshio Suzuki, the studio quickly became famous for its beautifully animated, imaginative, and heartfelt films.

Lentil

Studio Ghibli’s work is often distinguished by its hand-drawn animation style, detailed backgrounds, and profound storytelling that appeals to both children and adults.

One of the studio’s founders, Miyazaki, may not be impressed with the app as he reacted in horror when being shown AI technology last year.

Lenticular Images

Lenticular prints are a rare art form having periodically become fashionable and unfashionable at different points in time.

Last year, PetaPixel interviewed a photographer who creates lenticular prints — dubbed real-life GIFs — for photographers who still shoot with stereoscopic cameras such as a Nimslo.