What is Cel Animation and How to Use It?

If you have reached a certain age, you likely grew up on classic cartoons, but you may have noticed that animated films today look quite different from how they used to.

You could chalk it up to nostalgia, but it also has to do with classic animation techniques that simply stopped being used in commercial films. The most well-known of these classic techniques is cel animation. Despite being a staple of the animation industry for decades, it fell out of use for a number of reasons, even though many people still have a soft spot for this classic style.

So, what is cel animation and how does it differ from modern films? Can you create your own cel animation? And will there ever be a revival of cel animation? Read on to find out.

How Does Cel Animation Work?

Despite how it might seem at first glance, cel animation is not something you would see in a natural science class. Rather, it is a classic animation technique known for its distinctive colors and hand-drawn frames, as well as a meticulous and patient testing process.

The foundation of cel animation is the cel itself. On these transparent sheets, short for celluloid, the animator draws characters and objects frame by frame to create the animation.

A major advantage of using transparent cels is the ability to layer multiple animated elements over a static background, saving drawing time and improving animation consistency. This efficiency is one of the reasons cel animation was so prominent in the early animation industry.

Once a scene was completed, the animated cels were stacked and sequentially photographed using a special "top-down" setup.

These photographs were then transferred to film, bringing the animated scene to life. A feature-length film made with cel animation can involve hundreds of thousands of individual cels, making the entire process extremely labor-intensive.

Essentially, the process of creating cel animation is very similar to modern 2D animation techniques, but using analog tools rather than digital paints and drawings.

The Evolution of Cel Animation

The invention of cel animation is generally credited to Earl Hurd and John Bray, who patented the process in 1914. While earlier animation techniques existed, they were less consistent and not suited for longer, more complex films.

The invention of cel animation revolutionized the animation film industry and became the standard process during the so-called "Golden Age" of animation and beyond. During this period, animation reached unprecedented heights in both short and feature films, nearly all of which were made using cel animation.

Despite its popularity, cel animation was not without its challenges. First, it still required hand-drawing thousands of frames, meaning dozens of talented animators had to work on a single film. Additionally, these thousands of cels had to be stored and organized.

And crucially, the original material used to create cels was also highly flammable, which could be a problem under the hot lights of a film studio. While these issues were solvable, there was plenty of room for improvement.

Like many other industries, animation changed forever with the advent of modern computers. Computers not only made 2D animation easier and more efficient but also opened up an entirely new world of 3D animation. With clear advantages over cel animation and increasingly affordable computers, the days of the old technique were numbered.

By the early 1990s, the first fully computer-generated 2D films were released, and in 1995, Pixar's popular "Toy Story" established 3D animation as a major competitor to traditional animation.

For a few years, cel animation coexisted with 3D animation, but over time it virtually disappeared from commercial filmmaking.

Nevertheless, cel animation is not entirely forgotten today. For one, the cel animation era gave us some of the most beloved and charming cartoon characters that still delight audiences today. Moreover, it laid the foundations of 2D animation that are still used, albeit with digital tools.

The classic look of cel animation is still emulated in 3D techniques like cel shading, as well as in flashy animation seen in works like Cuphead. Finally, thousands of cels created for animated films have become collector's items.

Fans of classic movies can literally own a piece of their favorite film in the form of a cel, and cels from famous films sell at auction for tens of thousands, showing the clear affection many have for this style.

While some amateur animators continue to try their hand at cel animation, it is unlikely that major studios will revive the style, mainly due to cost. But who knows? In a world where vinyl record sales are rising and retro-style video games are gaining popularity, maybe there is still hope for a cel animation revival!

Special Tools Used in Cel Animation

A number of special tools are used in cel animation, each crucial to the final product.

First are the cels themselves. These sheets are transparent, so animated objects easily layer over the background. Additionally, some cels have perforation holes along the edges to help align them during drawing and photography.

Next is the paint used to create the animation. The traditional method used a special type of vinyl paint because it adhered well to the cel and prevented peeling, but for DIY methods, even regular paint will work.

One of the most important tools in cel animation is the camera, which you don't see in the final product. The camera setup for cel animation, also known as a multiplane camera, is typically positioned to look down at the frame.

Below it are one or more transparent surfaces on which multiple cels can be stacked. This entire setup helps keep the camera in place and align all the cels, creating a cohesive product.

Another useful tool in cel animation is the exposure sheet. This sheet helps animators keep track of the many different elements in a scene, helping to organize the thousands of cels and make the filming process more efficient.

What It Takes to Be a Cel Animator

Strong animation skills required for cel animation
As today, animators in the cel animation era were highly skilled artists who often underwent extensive training to produce the best work. The first and most important requirement to work as a cel animator is, without a doubt, strong animation skills.

You also need to be a proficient artist capable of accurately recreating characters hundreds of times. Additionally, a cel animator must have a good understanding of the medium's possibilities and limitations to use it to its fullest. For example, scenes and even individual characters in cel animation can consist of several layers.

Animators must understand how to draw so that everything lines up in the end.

How to Get Started Creating Cel Animation

Cel animation is somewhat of a lost art, and traditional tools are not easy to find nowadays. Still, with a DIY spirit, you can certainly create animatics today.

If you can't find genuine animation cels, transparent sheets like those used for presentations will work—they can be found in most office supply stores. Paint is also easy to find. Any camera will do as long as it can be securely mounted above the frame. Alternatively, some animators prefer to scan their cels and composite them digitally.

The traditional process can be very long and labor-intensive, so it's worth attempting only if you are confident in your animation skills.

If you like the look of cel animation but aren't keen on the classic process, you can simulate it digitally. Any 2D animation software can approximate the cel animation look, but you can go a step further. If you really want to replicate the classic style, consider using hand-painted backgrounds, frame-by-frame animation, a limited number of layers, and possibly a film grain effect.

Films Made with Cel Animation

Nearly all 2D animation created from the 1920s through the 1990s used cel animation. In fact, many of the great films you might study as a budding animator were likely made using this technique.

The most famous examples of cel animation are probably the works of Walt Disney, who early on sought to push the technique to new heights. Films like "Cinderella," "Fantasia," and "Alice in Wonderland" remain shining examples of this style.

Other notable American studios include Warner Bros (famous for Looney Tunes), Hanna-Barbera (The Flintstones, Spiderman), Paramount (Popeye, Felix the Cat), and many others.

Japanese studios also produced numerous famous works using cel animation, such as Astro Boy, Akira, early Studio Ghibli films, and more.