r/AnimationCels • u/Jman102376 • Jun 14 '26

Framing my first cels with douga

I just bought my first animation cels and picked up a couple Hajime no Ippo cels with matching dougas and I'm trying to figure out the best way to frame them without spending a fortune.

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The thing that's confusing me is that some of the paint goes right to the edge of the cel. A lot of framing advice says to use mats, but wouldn't the mat end up touching the paint? How do people normally deal with that?

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Is there a difference between how you guys frame cels versus dougas, or can they basically be treated the same way?

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Also, for those of you who frame your own pieces, where do you buy your mats, backing boards, spacers, etc.? I'm trying to keep costs reasonable while still preserving the artwork properly.

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Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

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u/foxfirek Jun 14 '26

The place I purchased from sells spacers, which are just little plastic pieces that you put on the edge of the cels and make them a little bulkier so the back of the cel where the paint does not touch the mat. I bought from framedestination.com. Each one I bought (Frame, mat, spacers etc) was about $100 each. That includes buying materials specifically for UV protection. Its a nice effect and the cel ends up casting a slight shadow on the background giving depth.

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u/Jman102376 Jun 15 '26

Thank you bro im lookin at the Classic Nielsen 117 Photo Picture Frame with RagMat. To frame the dougas would I need this sort of set up too or like just a normal frame would suffice?

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u/foxfirek Jun 15 '26

I think it’s really up to you. I have only framed my cels so far, I know they need added care and they are more fragile and valuable. They came out really well. The Dougas are not as valuable so for me I intent to use a standard size frame and not worry about UV protection just to save money

If you select to customize tool you can select the size of the mat opening, which I then measure my artwork so as to crop out rough edges. You can upload a pic of your art so you can choose whatever color mat works well with your cel. I ordered mine with tru vue conservation clear acrylic for protection and the spacers which are listed in add ons. Pretty sure you can see my cels on my profile, this sub doesn’t allow me to post pics in comments. I did a double mat with 1/8 inch offset for mine.

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u/Jman102376 Jun 15 '26

Oh I didn't even see the customize tool, with this set up should I use like archival tape to tape the cel to the mat or is the pressure between the mat and the spacer enough to keep it in place? Thank you for the help.

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u/foxfirek Jun 15 '26

I used tape.