Cel facts for kids

Cel is a word that can mean a few different things. Most often, when people talk about "cels," they are referring to a special transparent sheet used in traditional animation. It can also be the name of a place, like Barenton-Cel, a small town in France.

What is an Animation Cel?

An animation cel, short for "celluloid," is a clear sheet of plastic material. In the past, these sheets were made from cellulose nitrate, but later they switched to safer cellulose acetate. Animators use cels to draw and paint characters or objects for cartoons and animated films. Because the sheets are transparent, artists can place them over a painted background. This allows the background to show through, making it look like the characters are moving within a scene.

How Cels Were Used in Cartoons

Creating a cartoon with cels was a detailed process. First, animators would draw each frame of a character's movement on paper. Then, these drawings were traced onto the cels. One side of the cel would have the outline of the character, often done with ink. The other side would be painted with colors.

Once painted, many cels could be stacked on top of a single background. For example, a character's body might be on one cel, their arm on another, and their mouth on a third. This allowed different parts of a character to move independently. Each stacked cel and background combination was then photographed, one frame at a time. When these photos were played back quickly, it created the illusion of movement, bringing the characters to life.

The History of Cels in Animation

Cels became a key part of animation in the early 20th century. They made the animation process much more efficient. Before cels, animators had to redraw the entire scene, including the background, for every single frame. This was very time-consuming. With cels, the background only needed to be drawn once. Only the moving characters on the cels needed to be changed for each frame.

This method was used for almost all animated films and TV shows for many decades. Famous cartoons like those from Disney, Warner Bros., and Hanna-Barbera were all made using cels. However, by the late 20th century, computers began to take over. Today, most animation is done digitally, and physical cels are rarely used in new productions. Old animation cels are now often collected as valuable pieces of art and history.

Images for kids

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  Painting with acrylic paint on the reverse side of an already inked cel.

See also

In Spanish: Cel para niños