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:)

( denkimouse) wrote in @ 2010-02-04 12:15:00

pokemon,

How the Anime Is/Was Made (production cels and sketches!)

(i wrote up all this stuff for my site, and i wrote it with all my heart, so i'm just going to use the same text here... sorry that it's incredibly mushy!)

I owned stacks of cel sketches from this episode already and to be honest, I thought that would be as good as it got, and I was happy

and content to own the sketches only -- works of hand-drawn art by the animators, and BASICALLY exactly what hundreds of thousands of people around the world have seen in this episode. Yet... not EXACTLY what you see on your screen. Those are the hand painted animation cels. To be honest, I never ever thought I'd find Raichu. Most Pokemon cels are destroyed or kept private by the studio, and unless you're after characters who appear in every episode (Pikachu and Ash, Team Rocket, etc), you'll have an extremely difficult time finding a specific character or Pokemon. In fact, since August of 2002, Pokemon has been all digital, ceasing hand painted cel production entirely, and making sketches even more scarce. Under these circumstances, to be able to own these gorgeous cels of a character, Lt. Surge, who only appeared in one episode, and a Pokemon who appears rarely in the anime, is a dream come true. They are key cels, iconic images from the episode that made me love Pokemon, made me want to study Japanese, made me want to collect Raichu, and changed my entire life in more ways than I could possibly write on this website. To own these real pieces of it - the originals artwork from scenes that have been viewed by people all over the world, a classic episode - rather leaves me feeling speechless, to be honest. Let's move on to the cels <3 There are far more detailed descriptions on the site i set up to display them if you'd rather see that! First! Is possibly the best cel I could have ever, ever found. I was actually watching the episode last week as I do sometimes, and thought to myself how much I wanted the SKETCH from this scene. Aaaah!!

You might wonder, why are Surge's facial lines lighter in the cel? He actually lifts his head and then speaks in this part, and what I own is the main base, without the additional layers of his mouth moving, etc. I believe there is a different layer that could go on TOP of this one to make him speak, and so the main layers leave only his facial features a bit light. The second cel~

Look at how much of the picture is cut off! This frame in the anime pans a little bit, so actually more is included, but you still miss out on most of his paws and big tail. moving on... How is a Pokemon episode made? This package of cels came with much more than cels, but the proof of how much work goes into even a tenth of a second of the show (or did at this point!) Enjoy seeing this process come to life! This is perhaps the scariest Raichu ever drawn by an actual animator of the show... this is the first sketch idea of this 3 second long sequence.

This looks like something I drew when I first saw this episode at age 15!

After all that, they mashed out a storyboard. Keep in mind this shot only lasts for about 3-4 seconds, tops. I like how Surge's hand was originally going to be in his pocket in the storyboard! Also, the lightning bolts make Raichu look like a kitty =(^.0.^)= Dat's right.

The final artwork has a lot of paint on it, as the cel was sitting on top of it for 13 years at this point. Also interesting - Surge's head is a different layer in both the sketch and cel. I lined them up for you so you didn't have to see just his body with a head-stump - but you can see it here on the sketches even after I lined them up together!

Onto the second cel, no amusing scribbles, but the storyboard was still included!

Where's the cel sketch for this one? Actually it didn't come with this cel package - BECAUSE I ALREADY OWNED IT! Haha!! But I scanned it nicely so it's all friends together :D

here's the cel and bg split up, for fun!

to end... ever wanted to see what a cel looked like from behind? if you could stick your head into your TV and see what was on the other side of the images, it'd look like...

i hope you enjoyed! i have over 60 cel sketches from this episode as well, including 3 animation sequences, if you want to have a look. the whole section needs to be redone badly, with nicer scans, i'll take care of that in march! the animation sequences are cool though:

thank you for looking~

Study 2D Animation
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(41 comments) - (Post a new comment) eclisis 2010-02-04 03:23 am UTC (link)

wow, to be able to see how the pokemon anime (or any anime) is made like this... it's like going backstage *A*

thanks so much for sharing this ^^

shinshi 2010-02-04 03:25 am UTC (link)

Omgosh that's so amazing. You're lucky to own these cells, this is one of my most favorite episodes from back in the day, I recorded it and watched it over and over. And this episode is the reason why Raichu is my favorite pokemon today. They're tough yet can be so cute <3 Thanks muchly for showing us these, its really interesting c:
(Reply to this)

blazinwolf 2010-02-04 03:26 am UTC (link)

Very interesting! thanks for sharing!

kawaii_beela 2010-02-04 03:27 am UTC (link)

DAMNNNNNN!!!! omfggg that is soooooo amazinnngg!!! seriously!! thank you so much for sharing these!! its really great to see how this scene was made!! i really love this episode of the anime as well:D its so kool to see all the original sketches vs the final product:D
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cxrdevil 2010-02-04 03:27 am UTC (link)

This episode was the reason I picked Lt. Surge's Raichu as my Poketwitter character, and why Surge is one of my favorite Gym leaders! Not to mention lovin' Raichu. You have no idea how insanely jealous and impressed I am (actually...you probably know EXACTLY how insanely jealous and impressed I am! And everyone else commenting on this post, haha...) What a catch, great job and glad for your collection! It's always so neat seeing the production work from a show, and hunting down and owning Pokemon cels?! Surge and Raichu cels? Gah! What love you must have :)
Edited at 2010-02-04 03:29 am UTC
(Reply to this) (Thread)

denkimouse 2010-02-04 03:40 am UTC (link)

oh, you were in on that poketwitter? reading that surge one made my day when i found it XD
(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cxrdevil 2010-02-04 03:44 am UTC (link)

I'm @Raischu, lol! I only go on sporadically right now, but the Lt. Surge has a hilarious one although he hasn't been on much at all. xD
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djmeowmix 2010-02-04 03:37 am UTC (link)

this is incredibly cool, thank you so much for sharing!!!

rabbit_heart 2010-02-04 03:39 am UTC (link)

Thank you so much for sharing. Such a lovely treasure you have, I'm rather impressed! It's great to see a bit of the behind the scene action.
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6_05 2010-02-04 03:39 am UTC (link)

Haha, this is pretty awesome. You must have a lot of money.

denkimouse 2010-02-04 03:40 am UTC (link)

i dont at all! XD i've been collecting for ten years, that's all. :D
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glaciachan 2010-02-04 03:41 am UTC (link)

Wooow, this is an amazing find! Thanks for sharing these with us!
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hatenaki_yume 2010-02-04 03:41 am UTC (link)

Woah! Awesome collection! Where on earth did you buy them from??
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denkimouse 2010-02-04 03:49 am UTC (link) well, i managed to locate a private collector who was looking to sell some cels, and asked about raichu as she had another cel from ep 14 (pikachu all beat up) for sale, and she did have two she's been keeping stored safe for over ten years. :3 and she sold them to me!! @_@ they weren't cheap but, it's a real dream come true. i feel i won't ever settle down.
(Reply to this) (Parent)

darkyo 2010-02-04 03:56 am UTC (link)

That's amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone. :3
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digitalstarry 2010-02-04 04:26 am UTC (link)

Oh thank you so much for sharing this(the Raichu episode is a favorite of mine!), shame that many of these have been destroyed *C
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tee_bird 2010-02-04 04:41 am UTC (link)

I think I've said this three times now, but OMG YOU ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE FOUND THOSE! I'm glad you're sharing them with us. My dream is to own a cel with just Surge on it... but my looking has led me to nothing. I particularly want the close up of his finger pointing, and his face behind it. I'm pretty sure he was ordering "anudda tundabolt" at the time. :D
(Reply to this)

keruchu 2010-02-04 04:45 am UTC (link)

How wonderful....! I only have a few cels and sketches of Ash and Pikachu, but these are so lovely and valuable! Thank you so much for sharing these! Make sure to take care of them for the sake of the whole fanbase, okay? I'm sure you will!
(Reply to this)

shiny_pichu 2010-02-04 05:14 am UTC (link)

You are one awesome person for sharing this.

sonicelectronic 2010-02-04 05:27 am UTC (link)

the sketches aren't cels, cels are the plastic sheets with the inks/painting. the sketches are called layouts :3 (layout sheets) Painting on cels is a nightmare, I have nothing but respect for cel artists lol XD Very cool post ^^
Edited at 2010-02-04 05:29 am UTC
(Reply to this) (Thread)

denkimouse 2010-02-04 05:30 am UTC (link)

yes i know those arent cels XD i just always heard them called "cel sketches". if layout is the official term thats good to know though.
(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sonicelectronic 2010-02-04 05:33 am UTC (link)

oh ok XD I just thought I'd point that out, especially since many people reading wouldn't know hurhur *animaton geek* Yea, that's the official term, doing it you're called a Layout Artist and it's not that much of a fun job either XD Sorry! But yea, it's veeery cool you got ahold of these o__O My BF has some layout sheets himself, but cels are harder to get :O Congrats!!!
(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

denkimouse 2010-02-04 05:39 am UTC (link)

well, i'm redoing that entire section when i get back home in march, so i will fix everything up with official terms and really nice scans then! *u* thanks for the advice~
(Reply to this) (Parent)

chamo_chan 2010-02-04 06:01 am UTC (link)

This is amazing Gin. ;w; thanks for sharing. (My sister was so happy seeing this)
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void_fm 2010-02-04 06:28 am UTC (link) thanks for posting!

ironicending 2010-02-04 06:29 am UTC (link)

It's amazing just seeing the cells on the computer.

I can't believe you actually own them, I understand why you're speechless!
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aeronautry 2010-02-04 07:38 am UTC (link)

This is very cool.. thanks a bunch for sharing! :) Wow.. so much hard work.. makes me appreciate the anime so much more haha
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vela 2010-02-04 09:10 am UTC (link)

Thank you for posting this!!!

musogato 2010-02-04 09:12 am UTC (link)

Woooow, congrats on getting these, and thank you for sharing them with us! It's amazing to see the sketch-to-painted cel method they used (and helps me feel better about my own rough sketch drawings, haha). The split bg is pretty too, and I love that second animation. ^^ Thanks again for sharing these! =D
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skog 2010-02-04 09:42 am UTC (link)

Oh my god. This was my favourite episode. That is amazing.

lil_rebbitzen 2010-02-04 10:06 am UTC (link)

HOT. DAMN. I am so jealous... I want a TR or Sakaki-sama one... I didn't even know these existed.
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rafira 2010-02-04 11:14 am UTC (link)

Wow, those are amazing! Good job buying them!

kimivalkyrie 2010-02-04 11:52 am UTC (link)

You are amazing! I love the way you've written it out, it's just fantastic to see how much work goes on behind the scenes. Thank you for sharing!
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onigirigami 2010-02-04 12:40 pm UTC (link)

those were the good ol' days <3 It's awesome to look at how animation comes to together.
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foldinginwards 2010-02-04 01:39 pm UTC (link)

Totally awesome! It's pretty neat that this episode changed your life and you're doing an incredible job of collecting stuff from it. :)
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eevee 2010-02-04 04:37 pm UTC (link)

this is the raddest thing ever. Raichu is like criminally adorable

merlynster 2010-02-04 08:22 pm UTC (link)

animation graduate popping her head in the door to say this post is AWESOME. Those sequences are fantastic, thank you for sharing your finds!
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c_00 2010-02-04 09:25 pm UTC (link)

how amazing! I always wanted to see how they looked from behind... so you made one of my dreams come true...
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hakumeixiii 2010-02-05 07:16 pm UTC (link)

this is really awesome!

tin_o_biscuits 2010-02-05 08:20 pm UTC (link)

Holy cow. I own a cel/background thingy from Ralph Bakshi's "Wizards" (the wizard Avatar! :D) but I had no idea how much time is put into a single cel. Gives me even more of an appreciation for hand-drawn animation. <3
(Reply to this)

retardparty 2010-02-10 12:24 pm UTC (link)

I know I'm hella late but this is actually a fucking awesome post. Memming!
(Reply to this)

(41 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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