Cel Animation

セル・アニメーション / 1915–1990s / Technique / Animation Techniques

The division-of-labor technique of painting only the moving parts on transparent celluloid layered over a still background. It defined the industrial structure of commercial animation for nearly a century.

Layered transparent cels / Uniform paint / Background separated from movement / Traced ink lines

Cel Animation — ウィンザー・マッケイ『ルシタニア号の沈没』セル 1918 — セルへの彩色作業（CC BY-SA 3.0）

Cel Animation — セルへの彩色作業（CC BY-SA 3.0） — セルへの彩色作業（CC BY-SA 3.0）

Dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Earl Hurd's 1915 patent / Havoc in Heaven, Shanghai Animation Film Studio / the transition to digital ink and paint

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