Animation Cel Painting Process | Step by Step

I share my process for creating a traditional animation cel painting.
This video was re-uploaded because of a video encoding error
Supplies Used For Cel Painting:
-Clear Cel Film: bit.ly/2LGJ9R5
-Atelier Acrylic: bit.ly/36nUX45
-Brush Pen: bit.ly/2Xq5rMC
-Brushes
-Nib and Ink
-Sketch Paper
-Colored Pen
-Pencil
-Eraser
🌐 www.madebyedgar.art
Main Camera: amzn.to/2CZUEhA
Main Microphone: amzn.to/2MJ19dj & amzn.to/2TmvBwg
Music From: www.epidemicsound.com/
Video Color Graded on Davinci Resolve
Video Edited on Adobe Premiere Pro
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[@cemsengul16]

Anyone else desperately miss the old hand drawn animation cartoons?

[@ceciliacutuli3888]

Too much

[@TheOnlyDamien]

I kinda hope Netflix or something will pay for an old creator to come back and do some cel animation, wouldn't that be awesome? Like get together some old gods from the animation industry of old and pump out something beautiful. I could see it happening!

[@bluesolace9052]

I’m trying to research ways to make digital animations look like cell animation so I can make a 90’s reminiscent cartoon

[@TheOnlyDamien]

​@@bluesolace9052 I think besides the art style a lot of it definitely has to do with the camera being used to record the cels and the techniques around implementing the layers on that and how it constrained the animation. In the same way that having the ultimate freedom of technology is freeing you slowly realize a lot of what made some amazing entertainment/cinema cultural moments great were artists working within their constrainments and using that to work even more creatively to get their vision out there. That probably would really help lock in the feel if you can manage all those limitations that affect that animation form (See brickfilms and the way the Lego Movie team had to work with the brick limitation us old brickfilmers had to work with but with the bonus of their digital assistances to make the process more efficient/better while still making it as authentic as possible) plus obviously the art style, that sounds like a fascinating project that is probably a ton of fun to work on! I'm jealous!

[@georgiecota1991]

Yes, I never really grew up with this animation. Becides some underated cartoons like adventures of sonic which was on netflix.

[@hollyhock9638]

Now I understand why 60's cartoons were kept simple in design this is a lot of time to make

[@shinypaintf588]

except for anime. those crazy horses

[@shinypaintf588]

@I am me oh yeah that's right labskdhd i forgot they did that

[@robscallon]

Really makes you appreciate those cartoons even more knowing how much work went into making them. So cool this art form is still being created as well. Awesome video!

[@gibsonflyingv2820]

Huge fan and animator in college right now!! Trying to make a fully traditional cel movie some day, appreciate that a brilliant musician recognizes this art form as well!

[@hadestheconfused4660]

trying to recreate that traditional look using digital recourses is already hard enough, i could only imagine the absolute pain it was animating stuff like fist of the north star, where it was a tv show with deadlines

[@Guigley]

Just imagine doing this process 24 times for one second of film. Awe-inspiring.

[@DerSchneb]

Technically, 12fps... rarely do they animate at 24fps. Also, there are many “hold” and “loop” frames. But, arduous nonetheless!

[@npc6817]

Imagine being the guy having to pre-plan so the nightmare you just described doesn't happen

[@DerSchneb]

@@npc6817 which is why storyboarding was so important.

[@npc6817]

@@DerSchneb yeah storyboarding for animation is a whole different beast

[@Guigley]

@@DerSchneb So does that mean that only 12 drawings are done for every second of film? I love animation and would love to learn more.

[@TheLunatrick]

God I wish somone would fund a show using this artform today

[@gheeman42]

the time consumption would DEFINITELY pay off for such a satisfying raw look :D

[@jokestermasteroflaughter7754]

Modern day: " Traditional cel by cel animation is dead, nobody has the patience to teach that." Made by Edgar: Hold my Beer

[@shaynaramos8769]

GREAT WORK! I LOVE AND MISS CEL ANIMATION SO MUCH. IT IS TRADITIONAL AND CLASSIC. AS AN ARTIST I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO CREATE ANIMATIONS. I USED TO WANT TO DRAW FOR DISNEY OR NICKELODEON AS A CHILD. RUGRATS WAS MY FAVORITE SHOW. SO MANY NOSTALGIC MEMORIES. I REMEMBER WATCHING THE CEL ANIMATION FOR BAMBI. THE DEDICATION OF THOSE ARTISTS BACK IN THE DAYS IS SOMETHING WE DON’T SEE ANYMORE. SO MUCH TIME AND PATIENCE PUT INTO THOSE MOVIES I LOVED. I MISS THE RAW CREATIVITY AND EFFORT PUT INTO THE CELS AND ALSO ANIMATRONICS. TOO MUCH CGI NOW A DAYS. THIS IS GREAT!! KEEP IT UP.

[@notyocheese1234]

whenever im overwhelmed i come back to this video. its so calming and the finished product blows me away every time. good stuff

[@MadebyEdgar]

I’m super THANKFUL!!! 😇

[@funballer7461]

Yeah so satisfying

[@gunier.j.kintgenanimations]

One thing you should know: Cartoons from this era usually weren't hand inked, bur rather Xeroxed. To save time & money, most studios would use the original pencil sketch or a more cleaned up version of that, & basically photocopied that onto the cel. More often than not, there were some portions hand inked in a different color, but the majority of the cel linework came from that xerox. You can achieve this effect by running your pencil sketch through a photocopier & have it print on your plastic cel. Hope this helps!

[@BlueFawful]

You can also use a toothpick instead of an x-acto knife for removing paint that goes outside the lines. Although really, from my experience, it's better to catch the paint while it's still dry.

[@Nic_2751]

I felt anxious the whole time knowing I’ll do this some day.

[@nat7611]

why not now?

[@rocksteadyska6933]

Bro your presentation style is so thorough and relaxing, I’m a fan.

[@elliotbufu]

Back in high school in 1990, my AP Art teacher has us ink and paint our own animation cels. She had us mix a substance with acrylic paint which made the paint possibly thinner and/or more opaque, and the substance was some household item. Do you know of this little trick to making your own cel paint? I simply can't remember what it was and it's driving me nuts!

[@elliotbufu]

Floor wax. It's floor wax. It's a polymer. That's the chemical X.

[@ferretace]

@@elliotbufu What was the reason behind mixing it with floor wax?

[@abrahemsamander3967]

Thomas. Glad you found it on your own. Would’ve drived me crazy lol.

[@Iron_Wolf_365]

How do traditional 2-D animators produce the "glow effect" in cel animation? Like morning sunlight pouring into a room? Some tell me that a seperate cel is used. But when it comes to painting the light color on the surface, what techiques are used? I love drawing line art and painting. But I want to take it to the next step! Thank you for sharing this video with us!

[@Felamine]

Different animation studios used different methods to achieve this. For most of them a technique called "underlighting" was popular, where a sheet of black paper as well as a light were placed underneath the scene/cel being filmed. Whatever area or object in the scene that the animator wanted to glow, patterns were cut into the black paper to match what was in the cel, and light was then projected up through the cel to create the effect. By the 90s, glow effects started to be keyed in digitally during post-production.

[@Chafalota]

IT CAME OUT LOOKIN BEAUTIFUL.

[@mr.knutson1850]

Dude, this was wonderful to watch! You did a great job breaking down your process and the art piece turned out great. When I looked up "coloring cels for anime" I was inspired by Yoshitaka Amano's current gallery art that looks so much like the art that goes into animation. Thank you for making such a thoughtful video

[@practicadetoons]

(Hi, I'm Santiago, I'm 12 years old and I use my dad's account, and I wrote this comment) Your video was very useful, I made a cel art with my dad, based on 'Peep and the Big Wide World' (Search in Google if you don't know this wonderful series) in which Chirp (the red bird) is embroidering something. And we exactly followed your advice, I did the sketch process and the painting process, and my father inked the acetate. Thank you very much for your help! Greetings from Venezuela!

[@activemotionpictures]

This is the best inking and paint cell shading video tutorial of modern YT out there. Thank you very much. Very insightful, I did not know the inking outline was done in the front, while the paint was on the back. This explains a lot of things when the lines "go to photography" later on the process of TV show making. Thanks. What a crucial detail.

[@powercut4336]

Thanks for showing this process man, I love cel animation. It always blows my mind how well the cels turn out

[@jokestermasteroflaughter7754]

Every time I see the ending I feel like i just got a bit of my childhood back, and no amount of the bitter changing world will ever take that away from me.

[@kofiperry19]

Nothing else like this on youtube thanks a lot!! Atelier is prounounced "ah - till - ee - ay" btw, as in a small art school

[@onedoveabove7929]

this was such an excellent, straight-forward process video! the editing was perfect. i really want to try making one myself now :D

[@kaironcr]

Tommy! De los rugrats😍

[@MadebyEdgar]

Corecto! 😁

[@smoha1996]

Great video, mate! I don't draw but had a passing interest on how cel animation was done as like yourself, I grew up in that era. Super informative even for people who aren't going to attempt a cel painting!

[@fammnak852]

This is so cool! Thank you so much for sharing, Edgar!!

[@kerronmcsween6095]

Oh my gosh😱, I wasn't expecting it to come out so😃👏👏👏, I'll give it a try sometime

[@stellasilverstone]

Thank you, for this. You’re a hero to artists who can’t afford school, like M e I want to be an animator and film writer and director, more than anything…. But I figured I would start with cel painting storyboards.

[@ihcrenrut]

Incredible work man. Wow! 🙌🏾

[@faithhope1985]

I would like to say Thank you for the tutorial I have an idea on how to do this now . I have always wanted to learn this :) many many blessings 🙏

[@kevinegan2820]

Excellent tutorial. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills.

[@luismonroyRealtor]

Wooow, this came out so cool

[@jackregrubmah6477]

Love your content! Keep up the good work!

[@MadebyEdgar]

I greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

[@amata415]

That purple pen is a good idea!

[@haydenwhiteford7421]

Brilliant video thank you, can't wait to start practicing

[@Moses_Kanneh]

This is still just a very unique way of painting. Very Nice.

[@kewlozer7979]

This is awesome! Thank you for making this video

[@pilotdrift05]

I’ve done a goofy cel and now I have a dope idea for future projects 2-D/3-D cel art

[@greenday12341]

This is so awesome! Great work

[@greybarema]

Well done my man!! Good tutorial!

[@joaquinv1659]

Edgar muchas gracias! Es tan dificil encontrar un video bien detallado del proceso de este arte. Espero puedas hacer otros donde muestres como es el proceso de sombras y highlights en celdas de animación o hagas un estudio breve de estas cels. Saludos desde Perú.

[@sourourrouis8812]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and tips !

[@homerogarcia405]

Wow! nice I will try it for sure.

[@MissusHow]

This was a great tutorial! Thank you so much :)

[@machineman6498]

Thank you for making this!

[@TJ-129]

I love the nice artwork. :) I love to draw cartoons too!

[@barneythedinosaur4283]

STU-U-UPENDOUS!!!

[@ryanlafond9488]

Really cool video!

[@dawoodmarion]

Sick video bro…thanks

[@willynillysillymonobear]

Thank you for posting this. 🌻🌻 As someone getting over my fear of failure w/ art, I realize that I'm passionate about learning how to animate. But I just don't feel like digital is for me. So I'm interested in traditional animating like this, especially because it's a beautiful form that we rarely see anymore. 🌸🌸 It's more hands on, and I think it'll be fun! 🤗

[@rayshawnlamarbutler120]

I’m very interested in learning about cartoons, filmmaking and animations. I was figuring that I can go to a trade school and participate in the animation program and create my own cartoon. My cartoons will be called The Cat In Fear (a slapstick horror-comedy aimed at young children) and The Kids of Butler Academy (a Sweet Dreams Fueled slice-of-life comedy-drama aimed at older teens/adult audiences). If I attended a trade school, I would ask one of the people if I could use CelAction2D for my cartoons: they’ll be digitally produced on computers but they’ll also be stylized as vintage cel cartoons from the 80s and 90s. Does that sound like a good idea?

[@DrnDraw]

thanks for this great video it’s so helpful 😍💯🎬👍

[@westwoodwaters]

super well made video, thank you :)

[@bamtraditional1336]

Love this thanks for sharing

[@CerealBox64]

This was awesome, man! I’ve got a couple of cels from “Doug” and they’re fascinating to look at!

[@anthonyislas5414]

I remember that episode. Spitball boy was my favorite concept in that episode. Best cartoons ever.

[@illumardimago2307]

very nice i love it very very traditional

[@Ashleyforreal]

Dang this is super helpful thank you so much

[@danthemanspear]

Thanks for the help!

[@mrb250]

Great vid keep it up

[@theanalogzone5724]

One of my projects will be using Ink and Paint, this video will help me drastically.

[@deanduffy4722]

Woah

[@sidart3325]

Nicely done 👍cool stuff

[@MadebyEdgar]

SidArt Thank you so much 😁

[@marblegarden8456]

This is motivating me to make my own. Would really like to have some cells like the Sonic Anime from Sonic CD.

[@Dilemma009]

Amazing, i have a rugrats production cel right above me !

[@creativelytoonsproductions9569]

imagine how thicc the inking pen must have been to ink the Powerpuff girls

[@yuutoasmr]

really want to try this

[@fireice2585]

Thanks for the video. I am trying to mix some specific color and paste them onto the cel sheet. The problems that I ran into were that the paint drying up too fast and the paint getting too thick that I had a hard time brushing it onto the sheet. Looks like the solution for both problems is the acrylic slow dry medium which I'm missing.

[@CaptainTaylor1990]

my inside voice when I saw your finished product: (my nine year-old-old voice) "Woooooooow"

[@gremlincomicsr.mackey4276]

Before the computer for animation. Thank you for chuck Jones < I created phantom Raven >for the fallen.

[@curlypop]

Thanks now I know what to do

[@jokestermasteroflaughter7754]

Modern day: " Traditional cel by cel animation is dead, nobody has the patience to teach that." Made by Edgar: Hold my Beer

[@Flux_One]

Great video, very inspiring. Can I ask, have you ever tried using Posca paint pens on the Dura-Lar?

[@TheIamtheNoodle]

Tommy Pickles from Rugrats!

[@andrefiorimancera986]

❤️

[@wierdsmabob]

Nice demonstration. I took an animation course at Sheridan College, Oakville Ontario Canada 1970-1972 and learned many things there. I have some of that on my KZbin page.

[@nategarcia7694]

Very cool! question: you would lay alot of these cells over one background to get a sequence. Does having the paint from the back of the cell do any damage to the painted background. I know you wait until it dries but sometimes it can still be sticky

[@doodlebobanimations7727]

👍

[@brennandacool]

Stay Grindin'

[@CorinaDoesAnimation]

This video reveals that true reason why _digital_ ink-and-paint is simpler than _traditional_ ink-and-paint.

[@MoonStudio95]

You read my mind , I started watching rugrats a while ago.

[@garbage638]

KZbin algorithm read your mind

[@kannoaww]

Why is not touching the cel with a hand so important? Will the ink not stick if you do or something like that? Also, after everything has dried, did it happen to you that the ink would get scrached off if you weren't careful with it? I'm planning to mix animation on cels with cut-out, and with the second one there will be a lot of handling the cels and shoving them around. Thanks a lot, great video :)

[@joshpritt2146]

This is where i think the original 20th Century Fox logo was done in the mid 1930s (the logo was based on the original 20th Century logo from 1933) though with several layers of glass.

[@ferofferd7429]

Animators really do be thankful nowadays for going digital. The time saved from doing all these things really cuts down a lot of money spent.

[@neilcarson6489]

5:20 hey Edgar great video! Can you share what the specific song is that you used here? I know it’s from the Epidemic sound library…wondering if you know the specific track. Thanks!

[@JiM-SWEET-art]

You can cut the paint the goes over the edge by keeping the blade along the ink line, so you don't scratch the cell. Push the blade a little more into the paint along the ink line itself, then with a fingernail or something push and pull off the small piece of paint you cut off.

[@nategarcia7694]

why can't you just use acetone or rubbing alcohol and q tip?

[@JiM-SWEET-art]

@@nategarcia7694 I don't know, that might work okay too. It's just when the paint is dried it takes a while for the alcohol to break it down and the Q-tip is so big you really can't really focus in on a small overflow section of paint. You can try breaking down the paint a bit with the alcohol and see if it comes off easier, but I still think it's easier to cut it and carefully pull it off with something less sharp, like a wooden stick of something to pry it off the cell rather than scrape it with a blade.

[@npc6817]

I'm having trouble with the inking part, I'm using india ink and while it sticks good to the acetate it always beads up and I can't get a consistent line

[@krystianhinz4575]

Digital animation is produced, cel shaded animation is crafted

[@TheDarkmaleX]

Hello. Just wondering, what kind of brands did you use for colored pen and pencil? I don't see a link to it.

[@serenal8832]

Hey, does anyone have experience with the clear cels he used and whether they scratch easily? I have used acetate from the craft store and when I lift them to the light there's a looootttt of mini scratches visible/

[@truiteteam3428]

What I don't understand is how series like Dragon Ball Z were made ? Was it the same process ? It look time consuming to paint every layer, also I don't understand how the paint is so soft at the end when it clearly leaves marks during the process, like bumps in the paint ?

[@DVDVAMPIRE01]

So do you offer the cel creation/painting process as a service? I'm looking for someone to create cels from my Justice League production art (everything was done CG).

[@shunganeva9115]

I tried making a cell of my own but the ink didn’t stick well from my nib pen I was using? I was just wondering since yours seemed to be fine, I’m also using the same film as yours too. I ended up using a micron and it was fine, but I had to be really careful since it would smudge really easily

[@aidanhever3369]

Can you make a cel of Ariel as a human from The Little Mermaid ?

[@2003jujuba]

Do you do animation cel commissions?? :0

[@kmbs1827]

Is it necessary for it to be that type of nib? I'm not very good with them, but I'm used to markers, which use the same type of ink as far as i'm aware?

[@BlissOn47]

I thought this be some kind of an animation

[@MadebyEdgar]

T U R T L E R A B B I T sorry bout that. I should have worded the title differently 😅

[@9cookie2monster]

It says Cel PAINTING process .not animation so....

[@nckk2009]

Im going to make cel animation

[@robin9999x]

😸😸😸

[@chopytroncosooficial1933]

Cual es el valor de los materiales que ocupaste? Me lo puedes decir por favor

[@eps4560]

Great vid! But Please. What song starts at 1:30 ? Name & Artist pls!!

[@Langkowski]

I remember seeing Return to Never Land from 2002. I was looking forward to seeing another Peter Pan movie, but noticed how cheap the movie looked. I'm not saying it to insult those who worked on it, but the animation felt more like a Saturday morning cartoon than classic Disney. Back then I knew absolutely nothing about animation, and assumed both the original and the sequel had been made the same way. But I could still clearly notice the differences. Today I know much more. If the cheaper look was because the original used cels, or some other reasons, I can't say.

[@CinemaGatesPictures]

Cel animation is coming back.