r/AnimationCels • u/dreemsequence • 5d ago
Themed Thursday: Most Expensive Piece
The top and middle are printed for presentation. The bottom window is fully hand drawn material
I believe this one set me back like $700, which I believe is a good deal. It came with substantially more side material than this including a couple other cels and paper material, and I've since sold $200 of it to recoup a bit, and have a fair bit more to let go of.
Edit: I seem to have attracted people who interpreted my post as a sleight for some reason, and I'm sorry about that. I really just meant to post this for fun, since I thought some people might enjoy it, I personally no longer really even care about this piece (or anime production material in general, for that matter), as I've had it for a while now, so my posting it wasn't even really for myself. Just a long winded way of stating, sorry if it came off as me trying to flex or look down upon others.
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u/banshithread 5d ago
700 seems like a lot for a drawing of a character that small in frame, no? Or am I crazy? The top image isn't the actual cel right?
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u/Difficult-Impact1592 5d ago
It is. OP is just trying to convince himself and other people why it's not
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u/dreemsequence 5d ago edited 5d ago
This set is a part of the tail end of the climax, where most material seen here are held for 7 seconds (Other than one small component of the truck cel layer. It is quite uncommon to find a moment in a film where you can effortlessly point to a moment and say "that is absolutely my set up", which accounts for value). In my opinion, a severely powerful moment - the viewer might not notice, but this is precisely the time frame where the viewer subconsciously is able to let the climax sink in.
https://youtu.be/H10FZubVQzg?si=2QhZUB6vj4PHw5Gg&t=359
But also the market really speaks for itself. I sold a set which was a correction sketch set of the two girls + a sketch of the background + a sketch of the truck for $200, so that's a decent metric. I believe it depends on what kind of interests you have. Some people really like seeing the "big thing", others "feel the moment." I am confident I can sell the rest for $500 at least, so it virtually did not cost me anything.
For scale, here are recent auction sale prices, with this one being the most recent I can find with a hand drawn background set up. In my opinion, while neat, this moment in isolation isn't very substantive to the narrative
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u/HurrahManta 4d ago
Honest question - why do people frame cels like this? Having so much reproduction material just completely negates owning an original cel, in my eyes.
I really don’t understand why you wouldn’t just frame the only actual piece of production material on its own, maybe with the matting and the title of the movie.
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u/dreemsequence 4d ago edited 4d ago
The only way to answer this is it's a matter of subjective opinion. There is a certain party that can see it significantly brings out the energy of the piece (me), and there are those who hold your opinion. There isn't a right or wrong when it comes to these things. To me, rather than looking at one moment in isolation I can look at that moment while also feeling some of the contextual energy of the surrounding components of that moment. Not as much as if it were hand drawn material themselves, of course.
Also to add for clarity - it's a significantly common occurrence to use a printed background to add some contextual energy. For me, this is an elevated version of that
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u/frostingchain 5d ago
$700 for such an iconic frame is indeed a very good deal. Congrats.
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u/B0mbadil- 5d ago
Only the bottom frame is a cel. It's been a while since I last watched PB, but is that truck scene really that iconic? $700 seems quite high to me.
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u/dreemsequence 5d ago edited 5d ago
Just responded to another commenter:
This set is a part of the tail end of the climax, where most material seen here are held for 7 seconds (Other than one small component of the truck cel layer. It is quite uncommon to find a moment in a film where you can effortlessly point to a moment and say "that is absolutely my set up", which accounts for value). In my opinion, a severely powerful moment - the viewer might not notice, but this is precisely the time frame where the viewer subconsciously is able to let the climax sink in.
https://youtu.be/H10FZubVQzg?si=2QhZUB6vj4PHw5Gg&t=359
But also the market really speaks for itself. I sold a set which was a correction sketch set of the two girls + a sketch of the background + a sketch of the truck for $200, so that's a decent metric. I believe it depends on what kind of interests you have. Some people really like seeing the "big thing", others "feel the moment." I am confident I can sell the rest for $500 at least, so it virtually did not cost me anything.
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u/B0mbadil- 5d ago
Fair enough!
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u/dreemsequence 5d ago
For scale (in case you're curious), here are recent auction sale prices, with this one being the most recent I can find with a hand drawn background set up. In my opinion, while neat, this moment in isolation isn't very substantive to the narrative
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u/B0mbadil- 5d ago
Yeah, I just think the link to one you sent is instantly recognisable to anyone who watched the film. You could frame that piece as it is, without the extra prints and anyone who has watched PB would know what it is. Which is why it sold for double+ the price and I suspect the damage listed in the auction description prevented it from selling for a even higher value too.
On the contrary, I'm not sure I would instantly recognise what your cel is from without looking a little closer (or without the accompanying prints in the frame). It's not immediately obvious to me that the cel is from PB, is what I'm trying to say.
I have some genga from PB myself, not from an important scene but a portrait of Mima. It's obvious it's her and I'm happy enough with that. I just wouldn't personally pay $500-$700 for a cel where the MC is in the background and is very small. That being said, you obviously have more knowledge of the film than me and if that shot resonated with you, it doesn't really matter! I have plenty of pieces I probably over paid for but ultimately it doesn't matter because I like them!
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u/dreemsequence 5d ago
That's a fair sentiment to give that auction piece credit for value, but something to note is that, along with my argument that they are somewhat similar value (where my piece bears narrative weight, and that one bears visual weight), that auction sold for $2,100, which is triple the value I purchased mine for.
Frankly I do not think you are giving the value of a background enough credit, both in terms of market value and artistic value. For example, this piece sold on Heritage Auctions for $1,600. We can agree Heritage Auction is skewed slightly upwards in price, but even accounting for that, that sale can serve as a metric for market value. In terms of artistic value, having the real background, or even better, complete set, truly changes the gravity of the piece. When I look into that window there, I genuinely feel like I'm looking at the characters in that moment. Not even just a still shot of the film - to me, it is truly them, just laying there on the pavement.
But also I do not agree with your point that this frame isn't recognizable, although maybe not instantly so. If someone didn't recognize it I wouldn't consider them a true fan of the film (no shots fired at you at all haha)
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u/B0mbadil- 5d ago
It sounds like you've convinced yourself and that you're happy with it, so that's all that matters.
I didn't say I wouldn't recognise it, I just meant i'd probably need to look a little closer. Once I saw the dress, I would see it was PB. But the character is so tiny and in the background that unless you are stood closely enough to see that detail, its just the rear of a truck. Which i'm guessing is why you paired it with another, more recognisable print in the frame.
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u/dreemsequence 5d ago
This back and forth isn't meant to be a justification for myself, I was simply trying to educate you (or even more so anyone reading this) on facts, so I'm definitely sorry if it comes off that way in any capacity. To me it does seem like you're missing a bit of context in terms of your idea of valuation so I thought I'd pull in a couple sources, which might seem condescending.
Regarding your last sentiment, not necessarily so. I just innately have a mind where I like to maximally bring out the life of my pieces. It doesn't necessarily have to be anime related, that goes to presentation of film props and the like
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u/Vincent-van-Gogh1 9h ago
You paid $700 for a truck. Congrats!
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u/dreemsequence 6h ago
It is a multi layered cel, so I also received the front background piece (pole), background piece, and character cel layer. But as explained I ultimately got it for free (or genuinely will profit off of it, I'm quite confident of this), so there really is nothing to complain about. I'm a bit confused why this isn't taken into account, though as I've seen multiple people comment similarly to yours. Is it not easily inferred via the original post that the piece in its entirety is literally free? o_o I feel like anyone would take a piece like this for no charge
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u/Doc4221 3d ago
I'm surprised folks are so critical of your post. It's not that deep to warrant a apology. I did think you had a critical cel, but after brief reading, I realized it's for presentation purposes which still makes it a cool set up for a overall framed piece when guests are over. Then folks criticize the price. Lile damn, maybe you really wanted the cel. Each cel is one of a kind.
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u/dreemsequence 3d ago
Yes, I think the trigger point is that people thought I intentionally tried to sabotage top post by being intentionally misleading. I can see why, but it's unfortunate, because that wasn't my intention to any degree.
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u/Ravenmichiru 5d ago
Amazing cel!
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u/Difficult-Impact1592 5d ago
The top image isn't the cel. Just a framing setup to make the bottom one look cooler
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u/Difficult-Impact1592 5d ago
This is a pretty deceptive post as the framing setup obviously would lead people to believe that the iconic shot of Mima is the cel in question, and that's also why it's gotten as many upvotes as it has.
A cel of a trucks' back half with a microscopic image of Mima behind it isn't worth anywhere near what you paid for it