Now an Anime Production Cel Collector.

[McMurphy]

Has anyone else ever been tempted into collecting production cels from animation? I finally dipped my toe in, and this will likely be the closes I will ever come to art collecting.

The attached image is a scan of my cel purchase. It is of Abel, the main character of the a series by Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragonball and Dragonball Z, entitled Dragon Quest. In fact, DQ was developed in Japan before Dragonball Z, and it is an adaption of the long running Dragon Quest/Warrior video game series (the best selling video game franchise of all time in Japan) that Akira had also been a part of from the very beginning.

The problem is that both the anime series and cels are a bit harder to come by compared to other series because the episodes were never released on DVD State-side, and very little of it was ever English dubbed or even subtitled.

[Azure]

Neat that's from Dragon Quest: Yuusha no Abel . I've got some of the design work in the Toriyama world artbook though I've not seen it. I have seen a few episodes of Dai's adventure which is based on a manga by someone else.
Still with the release of DQVIII we can hope that we get the anime at some point.

That's a pretty cool cel, I'm tempted to try getting a few at some point but it's such an expensive hobby!

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by Azure

Neat that's from Dragon Quest: Yuusha no Abel . I've got some of the design work in the Toriyama world artbook though I've not seen it. I have seen a few episodes of Dai's adventure which is based on a manga by someone else.
Still with the release of DQVIII we can hope that we get the anime at some point.

That's a pretty cool cel, I'm tempted to try getting a few at some point but it's such an expensive hobby!

Yeah, it is an expensive hobby from what I have seen, and I defidently will not be able to get too far into it. The cel above of Abel actually came to me pretty cheaply because I found a fantastic seller. She even, when finding out that Abel was my first purchase, sent a burned data cd with the first two episodes (or "levels" as the anime liked to call them) on it.

You should go for it! The advice I got going into it was start with an inexpensive price range (for me, $50 was my absolute ceiling), but stay picky. That way, from what I have been told, you will get the most for your money and have no regrets. I guess a big problem with cel collectors is that some people suffer from impulse buying, and that is where the habit gets really expensive.

[McMurphy]

Since I started the thread, I have acquired two more animation cels. The first one, the red head, is of Tasuki from the anime series, "Fushigi Yuugi." It came with the original sketch for the cel. The second cel, the group looking up, is an oversized shot of the supporting cast of the '80s anime "Dragon Quest." The latter has two animation layers: the layer with the characters, and the layer with the ground work detail. The original painted background also came attached to the cel.

I received the Tasuki cel via an ebay sale, and the DQ group shot was found at this year's Anime Expo.

[Marya]

Do you make your decision to buy based on the artistic merit and/or is the subject matter important (i.e. it needs to be a series you're a fan of)?

They're striking.

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by Marya

Do you make your decision to buy based on the artistic merit and/or is the subject matter important (i.e. it needs to be a series you're a fan of)?

They're striking.

I know collectors have incredibly conflicting stances on the subject of how they pick the cel they wish to purchase, so I appreciate all the methods.

For myself, I lean more towards the artistic merit. It can be of an anime that I love, but if the shot looks like it is trying to be a pose and an action sequence at the same time, it doesn't come across well. It is hard to pass over something, even out of context, that still looks visually appealing.

That said, I haven't and I doubt I ever will be buying a cel from a series that I am not acquainted with on some level. If nothing else, it helps myself understand exactly what I am purchasing. Great shot or not, if the cel is of a character that is in the background for three seconds, has no dialog, contributes nothing to the storyline, and not seen again in the series, I am not going to put in a bid. I am too afraid to buy from a series I don't know in case I accidently engage in that very kind of mistake.

I know some people pick cels dependant on how significant it is in the series. For example, the Tasuki cel is of the character while attempting suicide after facing the ramification of his demon possession. Not only does the shot look appealing due to the bright colors and the way his face is framed on the cel, but it is of a powerful moment in the series.

In the end, I don't have a whole lot of money to be buying in quantity, so I, in my own incredibly subjective viewpoint, aim for quality, which forces me to take all three ingredients of cel purchasing into consideration.

[Marya]

You put a lot of care and thought into your purchases. I'm sure it makes collecting them much more fun and meaningful (versus just picking one up because it might sell for a lot of money one day).

[McMurphy]

Has anyone else bought a production cel that they are willing to share with the rest of us?

I have two more to add that I bought in the last six months. One is, again, from the Dragon Quest: Abel anime series, and the other is a headshot of the title character from Inuyasha, which has wrapped up its American run on Cartoon Network not too long ago.

[Dr. Atomic]

I don't collect anime cells, but I still found this post pretty fascinating. It's interesting to hear you discuss the qualities you look for in a piece. I don't collect any art that has such a strong narrative component to it, so the idea of the image being from a particularly important moment in the story never comes into play. However, it's really a compelling reason for purchasing a particular cell, and I can see how it adds a whole different layer toy the piece.

So you've got the aesthetic appeal, the appeal of the series, the appeal of a particular character/characters/giant freakin' robot/whatever, and then the narrative appeal.

Which peace in your collection accomplishes all of those the best? Or do they all, to one degree or another?

Are you only into the fantasy-style series? Or do you have any of the aforementioned big freakin' robots?

How big are the cells? Were they all used in production, or are any of them redrawn? (I know a lot of the old Warner Bros. cells were redrawn by Chuck Jones due to a fire on the Warner lot.)

Have you ever met any of the artists/creators? Would you ever get a cell signed? Or is that not really done in the anime cell world?

Sorry for all the questions -- I love when someone ELSE collects something I find cool... it means I can live vicariously!

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Atomic

I don't collect anime cells, but I still found this post pretty fascinating. It's interesting to hear you discuss the qualities you look for in a piece. I don't collect any art that has such a strong narrative component to it, so the idea of the image being from a particularly important moment in the story never comes into play. However, it's really a compelling reason for purchasing a particular cell, and I can see how it adds a whole different layer toy the piece.

So you've got the aesthetic appeal, the appeal of the series, the appeal of a particular character/characters/giant freakin' robot/whatever, and then the narrative appeal.

Which peace in your collection accomplishes all of those the best? Or do they all, to one degree or another?

Are you only into the fantasy-style series? Or do you have any of the aforementioned big freakin' robots?

How big are the cells? Were they all used in production, or are any of them redrawn? (I know a lot of the old Warner Bros. cells were redrawn by Chuck Jones due to a fire on the Warner lot.)

Have you ever met any of the artists/creators? Would you ever get a cell signed? Or is that not really done in the anime cell world?

Sorry for all the questions -- I love when someone ELSE collects something I find cool... it means I can live vicariously!

Oh, such wonderful questions! The following are my opinions on the matter, but be forewarned, I am still quite new to the hobby, so vet collectors like found at rubberslug.com may be better sources.

1.) Of my small collection, I would venture that the Tasuki cel is the best purchase I have made within the guidelines for buying which were posted earlier. I hope that all of the cels appeal to those requirements to different degrees, but the Tasuki one seems the best placed for appeal, series significance, and character importance. The best deal was, hands down, the last Abel cel posted in which I only had to pay a mere ten bucks.

2.) It does appear that I have been only interested in fantasy related anime, but I haven't consciously excluded mecha. The first anime I ever watched all its episodes was Escaflowne, to which my girlfriend introduced me. Heh, I have been told that my anime favors are "girly" by some, but I would love to be introduced to a good robot series. At this time, unfortunately, I have no mecha related cels.

3.) The common size of an anime production cel is 10.5 inches in length and 9.5 inches in height. Japanese animation tends to use a lot of pan and oversized cels, which the capturing camera literally scrolls across or up and down the cel, to save on frame count. The only oversized cel I own is the Dragonquest group shot. All the cels I collect are original and not reprints used in sales. I would recommend steering clear away from any cel labelled with a "collector item cel" sticker since this usually means it is a reproduction or a cel made just for promotions. The value of these cels are greatly less than key original cels for a series because a limited amount of copies are produced. The only exception to this is a production cel or dooga made for poster work or book/cd/dvd covers since there is one original copy in existence.

4.) I attended my first Anime Expo last year, and I did have the chance to meet several anime related people, such as voice actors for Dragonball Z, Bleach, Naruto, and Hellsing. I was tempted to get one of my Dragonquest cels autographed by the Japanese voice actor for Abel, but changed my mind. From what I understand, autograph copies of cels can be a bit of a crapshoot in regards to future possible value. I have heard horror tales of an artist signing their name of the faces of the characters in the cel, which would bring the value down greatly. If someone is wondering whether or not they should get their favorite cel autographed, just make sure to do it for the right reason: for his/her own fandom and not for market value possibilities. Cel signing does happen on a regular basis at Anime Expos.

Jeez, don't apologize for asking questions...I have been more than thirsty to share this interest of mine on this site. I am part of the rubberslug.com society, which is dedicated to cel collecting, under the same username as here, but I really enjoy the conversations at Chronicles far more.

[Talysia]

I have to say, I'm jealous. Collecting anime production cels is something I've always been interested in, but for some reason I've been holding off doing so, settling for art books instead.

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by Talysia

I have to say, I'm jealous. Collecting anime production cels is something I've always been interested in, but for some reason I've been holding off doing so, settling for art books instead.

I can't knock artbooks. I got a pretty decent Terry Pratchett artbook not too long ago.

Are there are certain reasons why you have been putting off your interest in cel collecting?

[Talysia]

Why have I been putting off getting production cels? Largely because of funds, but another reason is that up until now I've been finding them hard to get in the UK - specialist shops etc are few and far between - and because I've only recently got easy access to the internet to look there. Now that's different, that might change!

[McMurphy]

It has been some months since I bought my last cel, but I am happy that I have another one to share, and this time it is from one of my favorite series: Dragon Ball Z.

When I first started collecting, I had wished to start out with a Picollo, who is a personal favorite of mine, but I ultimately went the Dragon Quest route instead.

It is a complete shame Picollo didn't have more moments later in the series, but Vegeta and Goku were just too popular.

[McMurphy]

I have out nerded myself with the last anime production cel purchase, although it is only fair since I did grow up in the 1980s. There were so many commercials for action figures guised as Saturday morning cartoons during that decade that I just can't help but have fond memories with the eye candy.

Which leads me to the She-Ra cel below. It was an American cartoon from the 1980s, and I believe the series is out on DVD now. One interesting thing to note between American animation and Japanese animation---one which will hopefully stir up further conversation---is that the American studios placed their pegholes (the holes punched through the cels to keep them in place during the recording process) on the bottom of the cel while Japanese studios exclusively placed their holes on the top.

The cel is duel layered and is oversized.