What is a Cel?

A cel--short for celluloid-- is a transparent sheet on which images are hand-drawn or painted. Cels have been an important innovation in traditional animation, as they allow parts of a scene to be repeated from frame to frame and thus save on cost. This is achieved by drawing characters directly onto a cel, laid over a static background, which allows studios to reduce the number of times an image has to be redrawn.

With the advent of computer assisted animation production, the use of cels has been all but abandoned in major productions. However, digitally produced animation cannot compare with the artistry and refinement of traditional cel-based animation. Our cels are specially created for artistic display, and are valuable, limited edition art pieces for anime fans and collectors.

Anime Cel Art is cooperating with VIZ Media and Funimation to bring fans exclusively hand made cels. These cels have been carefully crafted and produced by Art Anime Studio in conjunction with Studio Pierrot, Toei Animation, and the original Japanese creators.

Each cel is placed over a background image, and then framed in a mat bearing the Studio Pierrot or Toei Animation insignia. At the lower portion of the mat is a seal with the anime logo, license and copyright information. The cels are protectively wrapped in clear plastic with the official sticker. All cels are in available in limited quantities due to the time and effort required to create each one.