What is a Cel

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What is a Cel?

What is an anime cel? A cel what is used to make anime or cartoons come to life! It is a clear piece of plastic acetate that professional animators paint an image on to "animate" a character or scene. By painting several cels just slightly different from one another and then photoing them and running it together, you can create a sequence, which is just one of many used to complete a single action in an episode. It takes a lot of cels to produce just a single second of animation. That's a lot of work!! So how is it done??


Primarily, animators use a story board layout to help guide them in how each scene in the show should look. After drafting out the episode, the animators are given xerox copies of the rough drawings in a book like this one! ^_^ (This is a genga book for Rurouni Kenshin, episode 31.)	This is a page from the inside of the book showing scenes from the show. The circled image is an example of a rough drawing displaying what the final cel should look like. There are notations to the animator telling them how many cels to make for the sequence. (In this case there is only one!)	Here is the final cel! ^_^ ( I own it!!) Because there is only one cel for this sequence, it is considered rare to collectors and marked A1 Tome. (A is the layer, 1 is the number in the sequence, and tome is a camera direction.)

Cel Layers, Sequence numbers, Sketches, and Backgrounds

So how does a cel actually get made?? There are several parts to a cel. The genga books are used to create gengas, or rough drawings. Gengas are drawn by the lead animators, and are used to create pencil sketches, also called dougas.


Here is an example of a douga or pencil sketch. It has some animator's notes on it with directions for painting a cel. The color pencil markings indicate shading or special effects. They can also be utilized as a painting guide to indicate color shifts like shadows.	Animators make seperate dougas for each part of the cel which moves on the screen. For example, in this sketch the character's hands move, but the body and head do not. There is one corresponding pencil sketch for evey cel that will be produced.	The dougas are put into a special xerox machine which xeroxes the image onto a cel. Now the cel is ready to be painted! ^.^


Here is a layer of a cel. Cels are often broken down into seperate layers since different parts of a character can move at different times. The animators can create movement in the same fashion as sequences by further breaking down the cels so that only a part, or certain characters move while others remain stationary. For example, in this sequence, Machi's body and head does not move. This means that the animators make only one cel. This saves them the trouble (and paint!) of having to re-draw her body multiple times just because her hands and mouth move.	Heh, heh... Can you see something on the cel? It's really tiny, but this is a mouth layer. There are maybe 2 or 3 cels of differnt mouths which are used with the body to make Machi talk! ^o^ This layer is put on top of the body, and thus is labeled the "B" layer. Cels are layered from bottom up, starting with "A" at the bottom, and can advance up to any letter depending on how many layers there are. The number after the letter indicates the sequence number. For example, this mouth is "B3", meaning it is the third mouth, second layer.	Here is the final layer of this cel! The 3rd layer, so can you guess what letter it is? That's right! The "C" layer! ^_^ Notice the sequence number is visible on this scan--it is usually in the top right corner of the cel, written in permament marker. Also you can check out the cool spray special effects the artist did on this cel which was indicated in the sketch! It's all coming together now!

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This is a background! It is hand painted like the cel, and done by special background artists. Background artists are different from cel painters. They have to do a lot more work and their backgrounds can range from a simple wash to highly detailed buildings or landscapes! There is usually only one background per sequence, and backgrounds are often re-used for multiple sequences. Backgrounds are usually done in watercolors and are highly prized by collectors if you can get a matching one! Sometimes the studio produces a color copy or laser copy background for cels to cut down on the poor background artist's work! Although these are used in production, they are less valuable to collectors.

Whew! I hope you stuck with me! Here is the FINAL finished cel as it would appear on the show!! It has all the layers intact, and is placed upon the painted background, ready to be photographed and used in the show! ^.^ Backgrounds are usually larger than the actual cel and hang off on the sides. In my gallery I have trimmed all my cels to appear as they would on the screen. ^_^

Cel Terms and Types

Key cel: These are the primary cels which represent the best possible poses in the sequence. Literally, the "key" positions which make up the animation. There are usually 3 key cels--beginning key, middle key, and key end. The key cels are done by the lead animators, and generally higher quality than the rest of the sequence. Collectors value key cels more than non-key cels, and the distinctive way to tell if you own one is by a marking on the cel's pencil sketch. The key cel is indicated on the genga by a circle around the sequence number.
END cel: The last cel in the sequence, usually indicated on the cel itself with the words "end" next to the sequence number. The end cel is also the key end cel, being the final expression or pose in the sequence.
Tome: This is a camera direction meaning stop or hold and is usually used for cels which remain on the screen for several seconds. The cels marked "tome" also are usually the only cel in the sequence! The tome mark is on both the cel and pencil sketch, and indicated with a Japanese kanji character.

Hanken Mono cel: These are special cels which are probably the most expensive and valuable to collectors. The hanken is a completely original cel which was never used in the actual show, but rather used to make a product or advertisment picture for it. A hanken can range from being a product picture--i.e. used to make a small "good" you can buy like a folder design, to a magazine article picture, or VHS/DVD cover. They are the best quality cels since only the top animators get to paint them, and are usually oversized for photoing fine details.
Opening/Ending cels: These are cels from the intro or ending theme animation sequences. The credits are usually played over them, and these cels are shown in every episode! These cels are also highly sought by collectors as special cels, and are often more expensive too.
Eyecatch/Commercial cels: These are also special cels used to "catch your eye" when the TV show is about to cut or return from a commercial break. They are usually stylized in some way, like being SD (super deformed) or manga style (sketchy). There are also REAL commercial cels used in animated commercials! ^_^
Reproduction cel: These are officially licensed cels produced by the animation studio, but were never really used in the actual production of the anime or show. These can range from hand painted repros of limited quantities, to machine repros which are less valuable and more common.
Fan cels: These are cels made by fans of animes shows which are essentially "fake" since they are in no way official. Fan cels are hand painted like production cels, but a true collector would never pass these off as real. They are mostly for personal enjoyment, and a fun item to make or commission if you want to see your wishlist cel in "cel form." ^_^

One final note... So why collect Anime Cels?? Cels are highly collectible since they are very limited and no one can ever have "exactly" the same cel as you. Collectors enjoy "the hunt," and looking for their favorite characters or memorable scenes at various stores, personal gallery sales, and auction sites. Buying and trading cels is also a great way to meet fellow fans and new friends! ^_^

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