← Animation Glossary

Cel Animation

Cel animation is a type of animation where pictures are drawn by hand on transparent sheets called cels. These cels are then layered on top of each other and photographed in sequence to create the illusion of movement. It's like drawing a flipbook, but instead of flipping through the pages, a machine quickly shows one picture after another to make it look like the characters are moving! This technique was used in many classic cartoons you might have seen, like Looney Tunes or Tom and Jerry.

Cel animation is a highly intricate and time-consuming process that requires a great deal of skill and patience from the animators involved. Each individual frame of animation must be carefully planned and executed in order to ensure that the movement of the characters and backgrounds is smooth and fluid. This means that even a short animated sequence can take weeks or months to create.

The hand-drawn nature of the animation allows for a level of detail and nuance that is difficult to achieve with digital techniques, which can often feel cold or sterile by comparison. This is why many classic animated films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, and The Little Mermaid continue to be loved by audiences today.

Despite its popularity in the early days of animation, cel animation has largely been replaced by digital techniques in recent years. This shift has been driven in large part by advances in technology that have made digital animation faster, cheaper, and more versatile than traditional methods. However, there are still some animators who prefer to work with cel animation for its unique look and feel.

There is also a trend towards trying to replicate cel animation styles using modern techniques. Cartoon Saloon are particularly adept at this making Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers, and The Secret of Kells. They work digitally, using Moho animation software, but they have developed a style that looks like it was created using traditional cel animation techniques.

In addition to its use in animated films and TV shows, cel animation has also been used in other forms of media such as video games, commercials, and music videos. One notable example is the popular video game Cuphead, which was created using traditional cel animation techniques to give it a distinctive 1930s cartoon style.

While cel animation may no longer be as widely used as it once was, it remains an important part of the history and evolution of animation as an art form. Its unique look and feel continue to inspire new generations of animators, who are constantly finding new ways to push the boundaries of what is possible with this timeless technique.

Animation Terms

2

2D Animation

3

3D Animation

A

Alpha Channel

Ambient sound

Animation

Anti-Aliasing

Anticipation

Aspect Ratio

B

Bezier Curve

Bitmap

Blue Screen

Bone Animation

Bounce

Broadcast Standards

C

Camera Angle

Camera Shake

Casting

Cel Animation

Character Animation

Character Design Sheets

Cinematic lighting

Claymation

Clean-up

Close-up

Color Correction

Color Grading

Compositing

Composition

Concept Art

Continuity editing

Cross-cutting

Cut

Cutout nimation

D

Depth of Field

Dialogue

Dissolve

Distributed Rendering

Dolby Atmos

Dope Sheet

Dutch Angle

E

Easing

Emitter

Exaggeration

Eyedropper

F

Foley

Follow through

Forward Kinematics

Frame Rate

Frame

Framing

Freeze Frame

G

Ghosting

GIF File Format

Golden Ratio

Graph Editor

H

High key lighting

Hue and Saturation

I

Inertia

Infographic Animation

Inverse Kinematics

J

Joint

JPEG File Format

Jump cut

K

Keyframe Interpolation

Keyframe

Kinetic typography

L

Layers

Lens distortion

Level of Detail

Lighting

Line of action

Lip syncing

Low key lighting

M

Match cut

Matte painting

Montage

Morphing

Motion blur

Motion capture

Motion graphics

Motion path

Motion trail

Mouth shapes

MP3 File Format

MP4 File Format

N

Network rendering

Non-linear editing

O

Occlusion culling

Onion skinning

Overlapping action

P

Pan

Parallel rendering

Particle system

Persistance of Vision

Phonemes

Playback speed

Plot

PNG File Format

Pose-to-pose animation

Props

Puppet animation

R

Render farm

Rendering

Resolution

Rigging

Rotoscoping

Rule of thirds

Run cycle

S

Safe zone

Scene

Score

Screenplay

Script

Shot

Silhouette

Skeletal animation

Slow Motion

Smears

Sound Design

Sound effects

Soundtrack

Special Effects

Split screen

Squash and Stretch

Staging

Stop Motion Animation

Storyboard

Straight-ahead Animation

T

Time Remapping

Timeline

Timing

Title Card

Title Sequence

Tracking shot

Tweening

V

Vector graphics

Visemes

Voice acting

Voice-over Narration

W

Walk cycle

WebM File Format

Weighting

Wide shot

Z

Z-depth

Zoom

Icon for Brush Ninja: Online Animation Maker Brush Ninja Online Animation Maker
Icon for Paint Ninja: Draw and Paint Online Paint Ninja Draw and Paint Online
Icon for Code Ninja: Make Art with Code Code Ninja Make Art with Code
Icon for Emoji Art: Make Emoji Art Emoji Art Make Emoji Art
Icon for Photo Collage: Make Photo Collages Photo Collage Make Photo Collages
Icon for Comic Maker: Make Comics Comic Maker Make Comics