cel animation research

I feel that it is very important to understand the way cel animation was traditionally done in order to recreate the process. From my research, I learned things about cel animation that I never knew before, such as, the different types of tools used, the history of it, the tedious process, etc.

It was fun to learn about the process of how all of my favorite cartoons growing up were created. I can't believe how many hours went into one 30 min. cartoon show. Some of this time consuming process includes: creating the storyboard, voice recording, animatics, design and timing, layout, animation, background, etc. The most tedious of all the process is during the animation stage. During this stage, animators will begin drawings sequences of animation on sheets of paper. They will use colored pencils to create one "frame" at a time. Each frame must match exactly what is going on in the soundtrack at the moment the frame will appear. Animators will have to re-do a scene of animation before it's every approved. These animations were inked by hand tracing the outlines of the artwork using different colors. The next step was cel overlay, which was when "the background was first painted as shapes and figures in flat colors, containing rather few details. Next a cel with detailed black lines was laid directly over it, each line drawn to add more information to the underlaying shape or figure, giving the background the complexity it needed." Doing this research helped me a lot when it came time for me to create an animation cel because I had a more definite grasp on what types of elements I needed to incorporate into my illustration. 

All in all, researching the way things are traditionally done helped me have more of a direction on what details I needed to add to create a more credible illustration with the qualities of cel animation technique.

cel animation research:

http://animatedtv.about.com/od/thesimpsonsfaq/a/celanimation.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_animation

http://www.digitalmediafx.com/Features/animationhistory.html

http://www.justdisney.com/animation/animation.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_5021440_paint-animation-cel.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_5063665_identify-original-animation-production-cel.html

http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Traditional_animation

artists:
1) CHUCK JONES: http://www.chuckjones.com/
                      
Chuck Jones was an animator for over 60 years, making more than 300 animated films He won 3 Oscars as director, an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and an honorary life membership from the Directors Guild of America. I admire how dedicated Chuck Jones was to his work. He was the creator of the classic famous Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Marvin Martian, Pepe le Pew, Michigan J. Frog, etc. And as one of my all time favorite Christmastime movie, Chuck Jones directed and wrote the screenplay for "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas." I admire the dedication and the creative mind of Chuck Jones bringing to life so many memorable and classic animation cartoon characters. http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=chuck%20jones&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1490&bih=891

2) WALT DISNEY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_disney

Walt Disney is " undoubtedly the most influential cartoon producer who had great vision and the ability to push the quality of drawn animation to almost impossible heights, bringing to life cartoon characters that have iconic status in modern culture." What I admire about Walt Disney, is his great imagination and vision and then having the ability to execute his vision to a level no one has achieved as well as Walt Disney has. I grew up watching all of the disney cartoons, and couldn't imagine my childhood without them. I think Walt Disney gives artists a great hope that if we have enough imagination and a strong vision, we can create immeasurable heights. http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=walt%20disney&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1490&bih=891

3) WINSOR McCAY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winsor_McCay

Winsor McCay is the pioneer of early animated films and has influenced generations of artists including William Joyce, Bill Watterson, Chris Ware, etc. One of his best known creations is "Little Nemo in Slumberland,"  a newspaper comic strip. I love the style of Winsor McCay. It's charming, simple, and unique. He is a great influential artist still to this day.