After a long haitus for my move, I'm finally back. We missed quite a bit of news during the break and several episode appearances. To sum up everything:
Now, to the surprise...
I've been working on my own Derpy animation cel. I plan to sell these on Ebay once I refine my skills a little more. Really, this one was a rush job and just meant to destress me (I had so many family troubles during the move making a week long venture a month long issue). So, any that will be sold will include a copy of the original sketch, the actual one-of-a-kind cel, a certificate, and a printed out background to match.
For those from the current era (post2000s), animation shows like the original 2 MLP series (Classic and Tales) used cel animation. A second of animation takes 24 cels! They are hand-drawn and hand painted. I will hand it to the FiM animators, for flash it looks good, although it did originally turn me away from this show, they've done some amazing work, especially in this most recent season. Being in the huge minority and loving Tales among other great animations (Don Bluth, Last Unicorn, Sailor Moon, Gainax), I love to make cels in my spare time, even of my own work. This is my second cel ever and as stated before a rush job which required a huge section to be repainted (see, her second wing is big because I erased my original line lol).. so the cel is a bit dirty and scratched. I was also experimenting with putting the ink lines on the back of the cel, but I don't prefer this. Will be doing all on the front from now on. If you're wondering about the blank spot, here is the scene in question from the original show, which will also explain the lack of vector lines:
Traditional Animation Cel Making Tutorial:
You really need to decide on what you want to draw. Once you do, sketch it out. I had to eyeball so there is some inconsistency, but this was also a test. I plan to make my future cels by sketching from a print-out. ;)
Gather your supplies.
You will need a pencil, India Ink (either via hand pen or ink pen), acrylic paint (I've read Liquitex can melt your cel, please don't skimp on paint.. or if you can, get Cartoon Colour Cel-Vinyl Paint).
I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $30 without any coupons. This included an extra tube for other projects. I already had a ton of brushes, but you will definetly need a very fine brush and not the cheap preschool brushes, they will let loose brush hairs in your paint-- not fun!
If you make errors while painting, you'll need to wait until it dries to scrape it off gently (I didn't and my cel ended up a little scratched...). Or, if it is a tiny error, you can just wipe it away with a damp Q-Tip. I had a roll of paper towels, some water, and a paint smoother handy for this. Don't worry if you "go outside the lines", it's usually an easy fix. I also was very heavy with my paint application. It's really better to do several thin coats to get a smooth and thick look. In fact, animators usually worked on several cels so one could dry while the other was being worked on. I live in a humid area and it took about five hours to dry with the heavy paint.
You also will need either Dura-Lar sheets/rolls or projector transfer sheets (all acetate). Moisture resistant and acid free is reccomended.
Finally, you may want to frame it. I got my frame from Walmart for $8.
Another tip: Unlike normal painting, you should try to go from darkest to light during the painting process.
Finally, if you can invest in a light box: do it. I don't have one yet and my finished rushed cel wasn't very dark in places like the eyes and hair. Of course, the lighter color yellow was very difficult.
After you have your sketch done, you will need to trace it onto the acetate. You will need to secure it with some form of tape. Don't use packing or duck tape. I used electrical tape, but painter's tape it best. If you mess up, you can use a Q-Tip to gently wipe away and redraw a line.
I'm right handed so I work from left to right to avoid smudging. You may also want to invest in a anti-smudging glove (I forget the name, I think theyre made of cotton?)
The trick is to paint in dabs (from dark to light), also test your paint on a spare sheet to see how it dries. This way, when you hold it up, it isn't see through and you'll know it will dry to the correct color you want. This may take a few coats or a thicker layer.
Painting is the most tedious part of the process.
Just be patient, maybe even do this over the course of a few days. If you mix paint, save extra or have some re-liquifier on hand for the paint. Try not to have to remix paint colors. It is next to impossible to get them to match unless you're measuring and remembering the order you added them.
However, when it's done, it will look amazing! Leave comments below if you have any questions! Again, once I perfect these, I will be selling them online! Or, hopefully with this tutorial, you can make your own! :)
- My Little Pony LIFE confirmed, still unclear if it includes the Derpy figure, but its availible for preorder on ToyWiz
- First EVER OFFICIAL plush was released in the awkward looking Funrise set. It's the smaller size, so we may see the other larger size down the road. She was exclusive to Walmart during the Easter break.
- Enterplay has delayed the shipping of the Dog Tag binder with the Derpy tags. As a result, the tags prices have dropped on Ebay. Enterplay's last official word was 4/22, but as of yet I haven't got any confirmation.
- The Soaring Pegasus set hit stores, but I personally have not seen it in my area. Since I got the figure off Ebay beforehand, I probably won't be picking this one up.
Now, to the surprise...
I've been working on my own Derpy animation cel. I plan to sell these on Ebay once I refine my skills a little more. Really, this one was a rush job and just meant to destress me (I had so many family troubles during the move making a week long venture a month long issue). So, any that will be sold will include a copy of the original sketch, the actual one-of-a-kind cel, a certificate, and a printed out background to match.
For those from the current era (post2000s), animation shows like the original 2 MLP series (Classic and Tales) used cel animation. A second of animation takes 24 cels! They are hand-drawn and hand painted. I will hand it to the FiM animators, for flash it looks good, although it did originally turn me away from this show, they've done some amazing work, especially in this most recent season. Being in the huge minority and loving Tales among other great animations (Don Bluth, Last Unicorn, Sailor Moon, Gainax), I love to make cels in my spare time, even of my own work. This is my second cel ever and as stated before a rush job which required a huge section to be repainted (see, her second wing is big because I erased my original line lol).. so the cel is a bit dirty and scratched. I was also experimenting with putting the ink lines on the back of the cel, but I don't prefer this. Will be doing all on the front from now on. If you're wondering about the blank spot, here is the scene in question from the original show, which will also explain the lack of vector lines:
You will need a pencil, India Ink (either via hand pen or ink pen), acrylic paint (I've read Liquitex can melt your cel, please don't skimp on paint.. or if you can, get Cartoon Colour Cel-Vinyl Paint).
I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $30 without any coupons. This included an extra tube for other projects. I already had a ton of brushes, but you will definetly need a very fine brush and not the cheap preschool brushes, they will let loose brush hairs in your paint-- not fun!
If you make errors while painting, you'll need to wait until it dries to scrape it off gently (I didn't and my cel ended up a little scratched...). Or, if it is a tiny error, you can just wipe it away with a damp Q-Tip. I had a roll of paper towels, some water, and a paint smoother handy for this. Don't worry if you "go outside the lines", it's usually an easy fix. I also was very heavy with my paint application. It's really better to do several thin coats to get a smooth and thick look. In fact, animators usually worked on several cels so one could dry while the other was being worked on. I live in a humid area and it took about five hours to dry with the heavy paint.
You also will need either Dura-Lar sheets/rolls or projector transfer sheets (all acetate). Moisture resistant and acid free is reccomended.
Finally, you may want to frame it. I got my frame from Walmart for $8.
Another tip: Unlike normal painting, you should try to go from darkest to light during the painting process.
Finally, if you can invest in a light box: do it. I don't have one yet and my finished rushed cel wasn't very dark in places like the eyes and hair. Of course, the lighter color yellow was very difficult.
After you have your sketch done, you will need to trace it onto the acetate. You will need to secure it with some form of tape. Don't use packing or duck tape. I used electrical tape, but painter's tape it best. If you mess up, you can use a Q-Tip to gently wipe away and redraw a line.
I'm right handed so I work from left to right to avoid smudging. You may also want to invest in a anti-smudging glove (I forget the name, I think theyre made of cotton?)
Painting is the most tedious part of the process.
However, when it's done, it will look amazing! Leave comments below if you have any questions! Again, once I perfect these, I will be selling them online! Or, hopefully with this tutorial, you can make your own! :)
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