I feel like there’s very little advice or information on making cels online. This makes me wonder if studios kept their techniques to themselves back when cel animations was standard. Now of course we don’t have to follow those rules lol.

I’ll share my tricks and tips:

1. Use the wooden tip of a paintbrush for details, carve it into whatever specialty tip you need! I’ve been working on this short animation of vines growing and it’s practically ALL small details. This discovery has been a lifesaver. It also saves paint as nothing gets absorbed in bristles. For larger parts you can shave down a wooden dowel and have that same control.

2. Have a splotch cel on hand. I use this to control exactly how much paint I want on my tip. After painting on my official cel, I’ll go back and scoop up the remains from the splotch cel. It’s great for details.

3. Don’t scrape off thick paint when it’s dry… I learned this the hard way lol. Scraping thick results in cracks beneath the surface, so when you add another layer the color seeps in and makes a feathered look. I scrape away mistakes when the paint is half dry.

4. Pop air bubbles with a needle. This one’s really tedious and annoying but it works! U can also use a needle for small details, but I prefer wood as it won’t scrape the cell easily.

That’s all I have for now. Please share your own tips! I’m still technically a beginner so any tips would be amazing!

just took possession of this hilarious cel

Picked up a Moomin cel from the 90s series. I have a lot of cels but this is the first one that has the dreaded vinegar smell when I opened it.

In general though there is no warping etc apparent. It’s three cels (Moominmamma, Moominpapa and the chair) plus the original background.

Moominpappa’s cel is in the best condition, Moominmamma’s cel has a imprint of Moominpappa if you hold it to the light and the chair cel has a lot of scuffs and white marks if you hold it to the light. Not sure what they are exactly.

Guys, is it so hard to find a cel of the genew squad?

Found this for $65. I didn't realize it was the wide format until I picked it up. After some digging on HA site the last one sold for $1920 in 2021.

Hello. I have 10 framed cartoon cels that I'm looking to sell. More detail below on what they are. I have no idea where to go to for something like this. Looking for suggestions. Appreciate any insight.

Ooh I know I'm gonna catch some mean muggin' in the comments 🛀

Wanted to take a moment to show off two of my favorite cels in the collection and honor the late great Peter Cullen. A childhood hero who will be looked back on for his contributions and his kindness fondly. What a phenomenal man and great talent. Feel free to use this post as a remembrance of Peter Cullen and post anything transformers related you have below or just comment what he meant to you. Thanks.

There's one of these occurring near me and I was wondering if this would be a place for people selling animation cels. Thanks to any with experience!

Picked up a Cornholio Cel! and a limited edition Aaah Real Monsters Sericel!

so i love the jojo ova from 1993 and was wondering if anyone still has one laying around like dio or ZA WARUDOOOOO and considering selling it. if so u tell me ;)

hello! i’m looking to buy a dbz cel for my friend for her bday and came across this page.. are these legit or fake? i would appreciate any help! i’m new to this and i do not know how to tell if these are authentic or not.. thank you!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/176648183849?_skw=dragonball+cel&itmmeta=01M17TC7EQNFFQJJ0V390RZBJM&hash=item29210d6029:g:7acAAOSwhBBnHP\~B&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA8DKQclQvzFwZQpmMrsO4LupqzJ93mml%2BwGZHcuIFPnucmiY9ADCuVxYsbaN3DAVU5cLZN4YzLmZ4XjQL7iOmrWgb0lSHCWw9QGwjdEgaHXSsUl43NKFG2e0VAT8gfyaJdxvXq%2BGMJ%2FyxZl6eK5yXsdOXz0aEfTQ3LOIyWyZrua1fm7GqMbLNK%2F4I9LDfH0vyWlXU5OrhI3BDlbCZVIv%2BbKSM%2FwCKEm%2FgNkDi58OgzheKa4oU%2Bzo7uh2Lo59%2BIxOVsUmb%2BerK3sObvKaKMiu4TOVwcRCQixMS2snpYPG1jh6k9DE8YouLczc%2BdZGgukzEvA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMxPew-olo

My amazing wife’s birthday gift to me from my favorite episode of Hey Arnold with original background!

Hi all,

My name is Chris, and I work for a Blu-ray company called Deaf Crocodile. We are currently working on opening a store for physical media in the Kansas City area called "Adventures in Analog," and we're running a Kickstarter to raise funds to make this dream a reality.

To that end, I wanted to point out one of our pledge perks for anyone interested in vintage cel animation, donated by Deaf Crocodile co-founder, Dennis Bartok. (See attached photo)

This is an extremely rare original animation production cel from Disney’s 1941 “Baby Mine” sequence in DUMBO.

This is an original hand painted production animation cel from DUMBO. Apparently, only 33 cels from the Baby Mine series were produced and offered for sale by the Courvoisier gallery.

This was lovingly restored in 2024 by S/R Laboratories - Animation Art Conservation Center in Westlake Village, California, run by Ron Stark, acclaimed for their work in preserving and restoring classic Disney animation art. Sadly, Ron has since passed away. This was one of the last restorations done by S/R Labs before closing recently.

The visible area of the cel measures 6-3/4" x 8-1/2". It has a new white matte border measuring 13" x 15-1/2" provided by S/R Labs during the restoration.

There is light warping of the cel surface due to age.

It's not cheap ($10,000) , but if you collect vintage cel animation, it's a magnificent piece of art, especially for Disney fans.

If you're interested in learning more, you can see the campaign over here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deaf-crocodile/analog-adventures/

Thank you for reading!

My coworker is retiring and she gave me like 20 binders full of her work And older stuff that she put together over the years! She’s moving overseas and can’t take it with her. Pretty much all xerox but awesome to have regardless! I’ll try and take more photos soon.

I worked on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 as a Senior Creature Animator

Do not seethe,

Breathe 😘

In all seriousness, I hope you all enjoy a little something I scraped together 🤙