Naohisa Inoue a fantasy artist influenced by both the Surrealism and Impressionism movements. Most of his paintings are set in the fantastical land of Iblard (イバラード). He created reference and background art for the Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart and also provided a cameo appearance as the voice of Minami. More recently, his works were given a more direct adaptation in the short film The Day I Harvested a Star (星をかった日 Hoshi o Katta Hi?) which will be shown exclusively at the Ghibli Museum. He directed the 2007 OVA Iblard Jikan, produced by Studio Ghibli.
Inoue is currently a professor at Seian University of Art and Design.