Animation Cel Artwork

[matrix]

Im not sure if this has been discussed, also not sure if this should be posted here anyway please move it mods if it's not right.,

What I was wondering was, does anybody collect Animation cels artwork or is thinking about collecting them? Would anyone like to comment as I know very little about this topic.

Thanks.

Edited to correct spelling of cel.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I worked for Spielbergs' animation unit in the early 90s, Matrix-----I have a couple of original hand-painted cels here. [yes I'm a committed cartoon buff!] Most folks who worked on the film got only one cel, but I got two as I done loads of overtime. Dunno if they are actually worth anything, in fact I've never yet got around to framing them.

I can't scan them in as the heat from the scanner may crack the paint, but I'll see if I can take some photos shortly.

The best cels in my view were the early hand-inked ones, after Sleeping Beauty in 1959 most studios [including Disney] switched over to xerox for reasons of economy, but the quality was never the same I thought......Jungle Book [1967] is a great film, but it has a very scatchy line around the characters. 101 Dalmations [1961] was far more suited to the Xerox technique, I thought.....the very early shorts by Disney and others from the 30s-late 50s was the best period for cels I reckon.

[matrix]

Thanks Rab, thats interesting what were the movies you worked on? The photos of those would be good to see.

I recently read that this form of artwork is a collectable of the future the examples they were talking about were all handpainted but as you mentioned, is the quality not there for recent works? These are from the 90s.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Thanks for your interest, Matrix, and your care in using the 'cel' spelling! Actually one of my British animation books uses the spelling 'cell' as you did, so maybe you were right! The Americans all but invented the technique of animation, though, so I adopt their spelling of 'cel' usually.

Animation that is hand-drawn [it still crops up, like the fairly recent Princess and the Frog by Disney] still use acetate cels for the artwork, which as I'm sure you know is a flexible, transparent sheet of acetate . The artwork is on the front and the trace-and-paint dept apply the coloured paint on the back.

I did hear that computer-colour is used even here these days, though! It wouldn't surprize me.......

I know where my original cels are and I'll let you see if you recognize the films I worked on, after I add the pics on here!

The cels I have were xeroxed not hand-inked, but by the early 90s the vogue was to use thinner, more refined pencil lines for the artwork, instead of the earlier rougher lines seen in THE BLACK CAULDRON [1985] for example.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

OK, Matrix, as promised, here's the two cels I 'earned' while working for Universal-----I hoped to make this a quiz, but the title of the film is clearly labelled here, along with the official Amblin crest:





I really should get these framed and up on the walls.

To prove this is genuine, I still also have the packaging from Universal the cels were posted in--sorry it's so blurry, the light is really poor in my house today.

Universal closed down this unit in 1995, so the premises of the studio are obviously something else now. I remember the day I got the job offer from Amblin: I was jumping around the house with joy! [only the second time I ever done this in my life]:




I left this address eons ago

[matrix]

Thanks Rab, they are excellent what a bonus receiving those. I would definately frame those and have them up somewhere such a waste stuck in a draw or cupboard especially as you have history with them. What size are they?

Could you have a look at this link Rab and give me your expert opinion on what's on offer, not really my thing but I could see how in a few years they might be sought after, some of them might look good framed.

http://www.profilesinhistory.com/flipbo ... index.html

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I don't recognize this cartoon series Matrix, but they're very expertly done, by accomplished animators and designers. They're quite expensive obviously, but the Americans go in for this sort of thing a lot more seriously than we do!

I do rate these as worthwhile pieces, although I assume the coloured backgrounds are possibly good-quality colour photocopies, although the cels will be originals.

The cels I have shown above are roughly 18 inches accrross--fine for drawing characters to the scale shown, but everything was drawn to this scale, including microscopic-sized characters way in the distance, and sometimes you got pretty bad eyestrain!

Although I was grateful to work in a film environment, I don't especially miss it----films are so expensive to produce, a lot of aspects are controlled by accountants etc, and I prefer drawing making up my own cartoons, unlike a studio, where the characters and gags etc have already been put forth by others.




If I WAS able to obtain cels of my choice, it would likely be something like this:



above from Tex Avery at M-G-M, I doubt if these still exist anywhere on cels, and in fact some of the studios actually wiped and washed finished cels so they could save money by re-using them!

I have some blank cels here [you can order these even in the UK,] and keep meaning to 'create' my own fake Popeye and Tex Avery cels, well I am a cartoonist after all. I have the ink and paint, I really should get onto this.....

[matrix]

Thanks again Rab for the reply, how intresting, could that mean that if a lot of these cels were wiped, yourself and a few fellow workmates have the only cels left for American trail II? No wonder the movies cost so much to produce especially if everything is drawn to that scale, how long would it have taken to produce American Trail II?

In respect to the link I posted I guess it's very speculative, but at least you get something to look at for yout money better than Mr Inflation nibbling away at it in your bank account!

[Digifiend]

^American Tail. Did you misread it, or did you somehow make the same typo twice?

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Anyone who appreciates olde-style animation should take a look at these 1940s Fleischer SUPERMAN shorts, just recently on you-tube in sparkling clarity.

For many years, you could only see these at home on very poor, blurry video; this is much more like it!:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VyZ3TMGXcU

[matrix]

Nice stuff Rab! Tommy guns shooting at the bullet car! One clip there, where they are in the bullet car cockpit reminded me of one of my favourite cartoons which was 'Jonny Quest' I loved that cartoon, along with many more!

[philcom55]

I was also a huge fan of Jonny Quest. I particularly loved the opening sequence with dinosaurs, giant mechanical spiders and disintegrator rays!

- Phil Rushton

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Thanks for your interest, Matrix and Phil!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Looking back through one of my earlier postings on here, it's obviously inspired me to purchase this item, which is exactly the sort of unusual visual I am looking for to decorate my living-room.

It's not hand-inked/painted [and thus much cheaper] but I doubt if anyone will notice the difference:

[matrix]

That's a great conversation piece Rab especially on your movie nights! Very close to the example you mentioned earlier. Excuse my ignorance but what movie is that from? Are you going to frame it the same as your 'American TAIL' cels?