The Internet has a new obsession AI generated style portraits. From celebrities to politicians, everyone is eager to see themselves transformed into the dreamy, hand drawn world of Studio .But how did this viral trend explode overnight? Meet Grant slat ton, the Seattle based engineer whose simple tweet turned AI powered portraits into the internee's latest sensation.
Studio signature animation style, known for its whimsical characters and storybook like visuals, has taken over the Internet in a new we through AI generated portraits This trend has captivated social media users across the globe, with celebrities, athletes, and even politicians joining in on the craze.
The viral phenomenon gained so much traction that open CEO Sam Altman humorously pleaded for users to slow down, saying his team needed sleep and couldn't work 24/7. But how did this trend explode in popularity?
Meet Grant slat ton: The man behind the viral Ghibli AI trend
While AI generated style images were possible before, Seattle based software engineer Grant slat ton played a crucial role in making the trend mainstream.
Shortly after open introduced its upgraded image generation tools, slat ton shared an AIgenerated style photo of his family and dog at the beach on X (formerly Twitter). His post, captioned: "Tremendous alpha right now in sending your wife photos of y'all converted to Studio anemia," quickly gained momentum, racking up 44,000 likes and over 46 million views.
His tweet sparked a flood of similar posts, as users across social media rushed to transform their own photos into Ghibli inspired works.
Though slat ton wasn't the first person to use the tool, his viral post helped catapult the trend into global popularity.
How to create Ghibli-style images for free
Following the trend's success, OpenAI has made its AI-powered image-generation feature accessible to free users on ChatGPT. Here’s how you can try it out:
Open the ChatGPT website or app.
Click on the ‘+’ sign at the bottom left corner to upload an image.
Type ‘Ghiblify this’ or turn this image into a Studio Ghibli-style portrait’.
Within seconds, your Ghibli-style image will be ready to download and save.
Why is this trend so big?
AI-powered image generation has been around for years, but text-to-image tools gained massive attention recently, thanks to ChatGPT's new native image capabilities. Previously, these features were limited to paid subscribers, but OpenAI's decision to allow free users access has accelerated the trend.
Meanwhile, xAI’s chatbot Grok 3 also gained popularity, with users leveraging its AI tools to create similar Ghibli-style transformations.
The enduring magic of Ghibli
Studio Ghibli, founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, has enchanted audiences for decades with films like Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, and Howl’s Moving Castle. Their distinct hand drawn animation, soft color palettes, and dreamlike worlds have influenced generations of animators and artists.
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