Aelith's cel gallery!
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Tips and stories?
last modified: Saturday, September 28, 2013 (7:42:02 PM)
I know very little about cells, and I'd love to know some basic facts!

I myself only own one sericel from Don Bluths Anastasia, and I wanted to get one or two to hang because I can't get over how cool cels are and how awesome it would be to own at least one from my favorite show.
I know what they are of course, and what they're made of but I still have some questions.

What is the size of a usual cell?

How would you frame a cell?

How exactly would you buy a cel from yahoojapan? what additional cost do you need to pay using a proxy bidder or something?

Are there other places than yj and eBay to find cells?

What are bad things I should look for in a cel damage wise? And what are the signs?

How do you make replacement backgrounds, I can draw up my own if I have to, but what would you print it on?

Where could I maybe find some Case Closed/Detective Conan cels?

When/where/how did you get your first cel?

What kinds do you collect?

And any other cool stuff you might wanna tell me? C=

You guys have no idea, this hobby is so mind blowingly awesome to me. Tell me all the cool stories/things!


-sorry if my questions are stupidly basic, I don't know a lot since Ive never seen a production cell n reality. I guess thee probably be a bit different than a sericel. C=
re: Tips and stories?Saturday, September 28, 2013 - 10:03:38 PM
Trudy

I''m new to cel collecting, too, but I''ll offer whatever help I can!

>How would you frame a cel?
I highly recommend getting your cels framed professionally in UV-protective glass. If they are a professional framer, they''ll know how to take care of your cel.

>>I use rinkya (http://www.rinkya.com/) for bidding on Yahoo! Japan auctions. They have everything outlined pretty well on their website.

>>Are there other places than yj and eBay to find cells?
Sometimes people post in the forums when they''re selling something -- or put a notice on their rubberslug account. I just got a really nice cel from another rubberslug user that I''m super stoked to have.

>>When/where/how did you get your first cel?
I actually JUST started collecting at Otakon 2013. I got it from one of the booths at the con. It was an Allen cel from the last episode of Escaflowne -- during his duel with Van.

>>What kinds do you collect?
Right now, I only have Escaflowne, Utena, and Rayearth cels. I want to collect more quality cels from all three of those series -- and a few more.



Re: TrudySunday, September 29, 2013 - 9:40:12 AM
Aelith


Thanks for you''re help!!

>How would you frame a cel
I usually avoid hanging things anywhere where sunlight can hit them directly, I own a few collectible stuffed animals and I put those away, would I still need the UV glass if it will be out of direct sunlight, or should I get it anyway if light reaches into the room?

>Rinkya
I''ve seen that website, what kind of payment do they accept Paypal? I guess I should check their site first lol.

>
Wow, they sell stuff at booths at conventions, how cool would that be to see! We host a small convention in my town, but we don''t get dealers who sell cels or productiona rtwork, I really wish we did. * A*

> Thats cool! I''ll have to try and peek at your gallery! Do you plan on collecting a lot more? =D

> I haven''t seen escaflown, but I wanted too. But I own the entire collection of magic knight rayearth on DVD. I love the colors, a nice cel of ferio or ascot would be cool, but I''d much rather prefer one from Detective conan!


re: Tips and stories?Sunday, September 29, 2013 - 3:03:36 PM
simonseville27

I''m not the most experienced collector myself, but I''ll toss in a little input.

What is the size of a usual cell?

All of mine are from Alvin and the Chipmunks, and they''re roughly about 10x13.

How would you frame a cell?

I actually never use professional framers. The reason is that even though they''re really knowledgeable about framing, they will usually know nothing about cels. For example, I recently bought a cel that was already framed, and the seller went on and on about how expensive and wonderful the frame is. Well I popped it open and found they had used an adhesive which not only damaged the cel by itself, but held it so tightly that it had no room to expand and cost bends in the cel.

Because of that, I always buy a custom sized frame online with an acid free backing, acid free mat, and UV-coated plexiglass. Instead of using adhesive strips for the framing, I like to use acid free photo corners to hold it into place. Hope that helps.

Are there other places than yj and eBay to find cells?

I''ve bought all my cels either from eBay or directly from collectors. Rubberslug is a great place to start looking for new cels to add to your collection.

What are bad things I should look for in a cel damage wise? And what are the signs?

Look for line fading, bends in the cel, missing paint... pretty much all of that kind of stuff.

How do you make replacement backgrounds, I can draw up my own if I have to, but what would you print it on?

When I buy a cel without a background, I''ll just frame it on a white background. I know some people will print off a non-matching background and frame it with that, but I prefer a plain white background to some random scene that doesn''t match. If you can find someone with a cel that has the same background, you can always ask for a scan of it though :D

When/where/how did you get your first cel?

I bought my first cel off eBay about a year ago. I didn''t know anything about cels then, but I''


re: Tips and stories?Sunday, September 29, 2013 - 5:42:39 PM
teggacat

Hi there! I love your enthusiasm!! Well, cel searching, often private collectors open for offers, just keep watching RS and check out Anime-Beta too, great forum with lots of info, yes, YJ proxy services charge a seller fee, but there''s not much way around that, there are also alot of online cel shops to find decent cels, many in US, and I have seen Detective Conan cels around too but not my area so I cant send you in a direction there, dont really know about framing, never did it myself, I got my 1st cel off ebay about 10 years ago, and I remember the excitement very well, it cost $15, I just wanted to see what the cel hobby was all about, when I first held that cel in my hand, felt the acetate and the "good" cel scent, gosh, never did turn back! Keep browsing RS galleries, its alot of fun! And never, never feel funny about asking! We all started somewhere in this collecting arena!


Re: simonseville27, teggacatSunday, September 29, 2013 - 6:06:16 PM
Aelith

Simonseville27:
I was planning on, if ever got a cel, to buy a cheap frame and matte it myself without using glue or anything thanks for your tips * U * Acid free stuff sounds good lol.

There isn''t ever a very wide selection of Detective conan cels.
How would you go about asking a collector?
I''m afraid to ask because I don''t want be rude.

-
Teggacat:
Hahaa I''m glad you think I''m enthusiastic! It''s on my list of things to do before I randomly stop existing. Thanks for your kind comment! =D
I''ll poke around anime-beta! > u >


re: AelithSunday, September 29, 2013 - 11:24:41 PM
simonseville27

That''s basically what I do for framing. The UV glass is a big thing to have to preserve it. One of the first things to go on cels, from what I''ve seen, is the line art, and the UV glass will keep the lines from fading since it keeps the UV rays from getting into the frame. You can buy the frame, the acid free stuff, and the uv glass on pretty much any online frame store.

As for asking collectors to buy cels, I''m in the same boat as you. There aren''t a lot of Chipmunk cel collectors, and the ones that are out there are usually pretty attached to their cels. I don''t think too many people would be offended by you asking to buy a cel. I think they probably also ask enough people the same question that it doesn''t bother them to hear. Plus it''s actually pretty flattering to tell a person you like their cel enough to want to buy it. I usually like to compliment their collection, and add a line in that I''d love to buy one of their cels if they would be willing to part with it. The only thing I would suggest is not asking to buy cels from collectors who clearly say that their cels are not for sale.


re: Tips and stories?Monday, September 30, 2013 - 9:25:01 PM
Aelith

Simonesville27:

I''ve seen chipmunk cells, though not for sale xD just here on rubberslug. My two brothers want I all liked the show, I''m surprised our mom didn''t make us be all three for Halloween lol!

Alright! I''ll definitely invest in UV Glass, line fading can really take away from a pretty cel.

Lol yeah I''ll definitely stay away from asking on stuff that''s nfs.
I wish I knew this site well enough to see your gallery, or to be able to ''comment'' like on deviantart, lol thaw the layout I''m used too.

Thanks tons for your tips!
Does a sericel Need UV glass too? Not sure how different they are. Mines just tucked away in a frame... Itstheonlycelihavehahaaaa.




re: Tips and stories?Saturday, October 05, 2013 - 8:47:32 PM
60something-sensei

Dear Aelith,

Cel collecting always starts with "just one" item. I got mine on July 21, 2000, a nice cel of Sakura and Kero-chan from "Cardcaptor Sakura." I wondered if I''d over-paid, until I went to an art fair at a college campus. Ugly, pretentious, rub-your-nose-in-the-grunginess-of-life stuff. And all lithos, prints, photos, none of it one-of-a-kind. And ALL of it way, way overpriced. I never doubted that I''d found the right hobby afterwards.

You''ve gotten good advice on most topics. And good luck on "Case Closed." My impression is that as this ran a long time, cels are still plentiful. You''ll want to look through other RS galleries with sections on this series. They''re gathered under "Detective Conan" in the "Gallery Tags" section but you might find a few more by doing a Google search for "Case Closed" + Rubberslug.

The main thing in cel damage you want to watch for is trace line fading. It''s not clear what causes it, but exposure to light is one factor. A cel with bad line fading has probably been mistreated.

Also, with older cels, you''ll need to watch for vinegar syndrome. That''s where the plastic in the cel matrix starts to deteriorate. I sniff cels when I get them. Healthy cels smell like photocopy machines in use. Little by little, though, harsher chemical smells start to develop. You''ll want to store your cels in a way that allows these fumes to vent freely.

Both these issues need to be considered when framing a cel. A sericel, being produced by silkscreening rather than hand-painting, probably is less delicate than a one-of-a-kind production cel. But you should proceed with caution, and in particular hand the framed cel in a place that gets indirect light.

Good luck! It''s still a great time to start collecting animation art.


re: Tips and stories?Thursday, October 10, 2013 - 1:16:53 PM
Trudy

If you find someone who has experience framing animation cels, you shouldn''t have a problem with having someone else frame it. That was one of the first questions I asked when I was looking for someone to frame my cel. :]

Anyways, good luck!