Welcome to my cel collecting information page.  If you've been here before, you'll notice I've changed some things.  I have divided it up into two sections.  On this page I will present some information on where and how to buy original production anime cels, how to store them and how to frame them.  Hopefully you will find this information useful to you.  If you have any questions about cel collecting, drop me a line. 

What's a cel?

A cel is a piece of celluloid acetate, a sort of clear plastic that images are painted on and then photographed against a background.   Each cel is slightly different and when shown in sequence, give the illusion of movement.  Voila!  You have a cartoon.  A lot of work and drawings go into making an animated feature.  Several sketches are made and the final sketch is photocopied onto the cel and then painted on the opposite side so the paint does not obscure the lines of the drawing.

But Jen, why do you collect animation cels?

When I met my husband, John, he was already a big animation and Japanimation fan and owned two cels from "The Secret Of NIMH". He introduced me to the world of anime and we started buying cels from favorite anime series, especially when we saw how much cheaper they were compared to cels from more mainstream animation. For example, the three cels we have from "The Secret of NIMH" were bought from animation cel galleries and cost around $450 each! Holy Moly! Compare that to a couple of cels from "El Hazard" I picked up with production backgrounds for $25 each.  Much better, no?   I love art in general and I think it's great to own an actual piece of a movie, like some folks who buy props and costumes and such.  I don't have the outfit Tenchi Masaki wore in "Tenchi Muyo in Love", I have Tenchi Masaki!  Besides, where else can you pick up such wonderful pieces of original artwork by talented artists for so little?

So I want to buy some cels, what do I do and where do I go?

The first thing you need to do is decide what series you would like to collect cels from and then go looking.  The best place to find Anime cels is going to be here on the good ol' internet.  Click here for a list of cel collecting resources.  Once you've found the sites with the cels you're looking for, you need to start looking for cels with the most desirable features.  "What are those desirable features?" you ask?  Here are some general guidelines:

Character--Make sure it's a character you like or are interested in. Nothing is worse than having someone you hate on your wall.

Pose--The pose of the character is very important. Most desirable is a full frontal shot, least desirable is a shot from the back. You also want to have as much of the figure in the picture as possible or a really good close-up.

Facial Expression--A good facial expression is key, you don't want a cel of a wooden doll. The best is to have both eyes visible and wide open and a trademark expression is choice.

Action--This makes it more interesting to look at. Again, if you can find the character in a trademark pose, i.e. Snoopy dancing, it's all the better for you as collector and beholder.

Background--An original production background paired with a cel is a great find and relatively rare.   Rare because there are thousands of cels that go into a movie, but several cels will be used against the same background, making fewer backgrounds available to be paired with a cel.   They are more expensive, but well worth it.   Sometimes you'll find a cel slapped on a background that was not even remotely involved with the cel, but hey, they look better and the backgrounds are great watercolors!

Most important of all:

BUY WHAT YOU LIKE!

I got my cel!  Now what?

Congratulations!  Now that you have your very own animation cel, you have some choices to make.  Most cels you buy on the internet won't be framed, they'll usually come in a protective plastic bag.  If you are not going to frame your cel for a while, you need to find a cool, dry place to store it.  Celluloid, the material cels are on, is not the most stable material around and it must be stored away from direct heat, sunlight, and extreme cold.  It must also be stored flat, so don't go rolling it up and sticking it into a poster tube!  There are a couple of places on the net that also sell cel books, binder-like things with clear plastic pockets to put your cel in, plastic baggie and all.  I don't currently have one of these, but one of the online places I buy from, AnimeNation, ships cels flat in really sturdy cardboard taped all together and I have kept several cels in these with no ill effects. 

When the time comes to frame the cel, call the professional framers in your area and see if any of them have had experience framing cels before.  If you have friends who regularly frame art and care how it's framed, ask them for a recommendation.  Also, galleries can be helpful in choosing a framer.  When you decide on a framer, don't be afraid to ask them questions and if they balk at answering them, you don't need their services.  Remember, you are basically interviewing them for the job of framing your piece of art.  Most frame shops employ more than one framer and if the one you're working with doesn't seem to be up to snuff, do not hesitate to ask for someone else.   When selecting the framing materials, it is very important that all museum or conservation quality materials are chosen.  This would be acid free foam core, matting and uv protection or conservation glass.  Conservation glass does not look different when looking through it, but if you look at the edge, where regular glass is green, true conservation glass should be a dark gray color.  Something very important here:  MAKE SURE THE FRAMER DOES NOT DRY MOUNT THE CEL!  Dry mounting is a process of permanently fusing the picture to the foam core and will destroy your cel.   The actual frame that holds it all together does not need to be of any special museum quality, all it has to do is look good. When I lived in Albuquerque, I got all of my cel framing done at Weems Gallery on Eubank and Candelaria and it usually cost around $120.  When it's all done, take it home, hang and enjoy!