This is my first post I hope this is in the correct place...I have been looking for this topic but haven’t seen it so I will give it a try.
First off, what requirements are typically needed for digital cel painters? I have a strong computer art background, I have a strong design background, I have a good understanding of color theory.
Secondly, I understand that many of American cartoons are drawn in South Korea. Are American Cartoons painted in America? (Simpsons in particular)I am anticipating relocating from Chicago to Los Angeles But Chicago to South Korea would be much harder for me to do but if that’s what it takes I am willing to do it.
If you have read this far I appreciate that, You must notice that I want to be a digital cel painter for the Simpsons; this is a topic that I am having a hard time finding information about.
Thanks,
I don't think of it as selling my self short. If you want to do something you should be willing to do it for what ever possible. I have always seen life as doing what you love and not how much money you can make.
As long as I have enough money to eat, sleep and watch The Three Stooges. I’m Happy.
Please , someone , help this kid.
Kaz, please ... at best you're asking for some of your fellow cel painters to take you out behind the building and beat you up one day. You think this all sounds very "noble" ( "As long as I have enough money to eat, sleep and watch The Three Stooges. I’m Happy." )
But it's not. Trust me . IF that's the way you really feel, please buy some software and make your own personal films at home , but please , please don't go into the industry . Good luck to you.
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I think that I should get a more realistic view point on life. Perhaps that’s what I will learn from this website. I just don’t think money should play a major roll in what you do with you life. I just want to do something with my life that I will enjoy. I know too many people that do jobs they do not like just because they make money doing it.
But now back to topic.
With cels being painted via the computer, do they shoot the cels with a traditional animation camera still or do they just use the computer to mix the audio with the animation then go straight to DVD/ tape however they distribute the animations?
Basically what I am asking is do they print the cels?
They don't use cels any more. What they do is draw the animation on paper by hand. Clean up the animation on paper by hand. Then shoot the paper, either with a camera or by scanning. Then those frames are inked and painted digitally in the computer. The animation is then composited with the BGs, audio and sound effects. Then all that is exported to tape to send to the networks to broadcast.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
I would say about 95%, probably closer to 98%, of all American animation is animated over seas in Korea or the like. Preproduction is done here in the US. Pre-production is basicly, storyboarding, character, background, and prop designs. Then all that is sent over seas to be animated, inbetweened, cleaned up and colored. Fast forward several months, and POOF! an animated show arrives.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
Thanks for the response. I think that I should forget about becoming a cel painter seems like I would have to be Korean and thats one thing I am not.
With a lot of television production studios animating in Flash, a lot of the series that were being shipped off to Asia are now being completely produced in North America. There has been a resurgence in the industry, especially in Canada, because of Flash and similar proprietary software. The percentage going to Korea is considerably smaller than it was a few years ago.
I agree with G-man, because of animation software americans have another grip on the animation industy, but this has lead to most american animation being either exaggerated or 3D.
But if you want to do more of the traditional animation, then Asia is your best bet. Also I am thinking about going to Asia to get my animation job, you just have to consider if your job is a "dream", because if you want to do BG paint just for the simpsons then I am guessing 200 other people who are Korean are going to come first.
Animation writer who loves...Animation!
Not necessarily. Some of the best digital ink & paint services are in North America . Two that I am aware of are Canadian : Helix Studios in Nova Scotia and PIP Animation Services in Ottawa . If you do a Google search for "animation digital ink and paint service" you can find other small studios around that offer digital paint service . It's usually just one service among many that a lot of all-purpose commercial studios offer .
If one were to get the right software and a bank of computers with adequate server space for data storage it's possible to run a digital paint service from a small office or a home office . The files of scanned artwork can be sent to you via FTP site , you do the work , and upload it back to the FTP site for your clients to download. You'd be looking at a hefty investment in hardware and software to start up .
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I have seen digital cel painting as a task Americans looking for a job in the animation world wouldn’t want to do. It’s a time consuming tedious task that isn’t as glamorous as animating. But it is something I would find very rewarding. Face it who would watch cartoons without color.
Why do so many studios send off their work to Korea? Is it the cheep labor? Are there more people trained in the work? Are there more people willing to do this work in Korea?
I will do this work for minimum wage, I am willing to work over 12 hours a day. I just don’t see myself as an animator because I want the highest skilled people doing that job, I just want help out anyway possible.
I’ve always taken what Bart Simpson said to the comic book guy to heart “they have given you thousands of hours of entertainment for free they don’t owe you anything if anything you owe them.”
Yes, it's usually cheaper to off-shore the work .
Don't EVER say you'll do it for minimum wage . You're worth more than that . Even if "cel" painting isn't as highly skilled or glamorous a job as animation it's still a highly skilled craft position. Don't sell yourself short.
"EustaceScrubb" has left the building