Kubo and the Two Strings

Kubo and the Two Strings is a 2016 3D stop-motion fantasy action-adventure film produced by LAIKA. This film is about a young boy named Kubo who must locate a magical suit of armour worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past. I watched this film today and I really loved how this film was presented through the use of stop motion and the visual art style it had. After the film, I watched a video behind the scenes of the making of this film, here you can see the animators moving the characters, creatures and set pieces frame by frame. LAIKA creates these movies by shooting layers and characters separately, and then composite them together digitally.

Kubo and The Two Strings

Early Saito-inspired concept art by texture artist Dan Casey

Later concepts by texture artist Dan Casey

This film's visual influences delved into lots of Japanese art including origami and its paper-cutting variation kirigami, ink wash painting, Noh theatre and ukiyo-e (‘pictures of the floating world’), an art form most identified with classical Japanese woodblock prints such as Katsushika Hokusai’s 'The Great Wave'.

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Katsushika Hokusai- The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Kubo was inspired by the work of Japanese artist Kiyoshi Saito [1907-1997], who was trained in traditional Japanese block printing. One piece particularly 'Village With Persimmon Tree' which organises nature into distinctive shapes and beautiful textures within those shapes. These textures and colours were used to represent detail in order to illustrate the world of Kubo, from rivers to mountains to distant wheat fields. Studying Saito's stylized approach to illustrating both natural and architectural subjects helped create this art style. I like the art style they have used throughout this film, using the woodblock like texture across most of the surfaces to imply detail gives the film a slightly grainy look.

Kiyoshi Saito- Village With Persimmon Tree