Considering buying this Akira Production Cel !

SignOfGoob

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$10k for an anime cel?!! Did they paint it with real gold and silver or something?!! I have no clue what certain cels run but even for a hardcore fan, there's better ways to spend that kind of money. I'd bought a number of Cardcaptor Sakura cels many years back, all legit but I wasn't paying more than $100 for them.

Sakura is a TV show. A decent looking one, but a TV show with 70 episodes. That’s like 55 hours compared to Akira’s two hours. It also has two movies and (should have) no fans over 14 years of age and are already starting to forget it…

Now compare that to Akira, what many (not me) consider to be THE anime…who’s fans are now 40-60 years old and starting to earn money.

It’s not made of gold because making it out of gold wouldn’t be any use to anyone. Any Akira production cel however has a historical artistic value way beyond gold and way beyond TV stuff.
 

SouthtownKid

There are four lights
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Listen…cels are art. They ain’t high art, but they are art.
Here's the thing. While I agree both positions are arguable, it's difficult to consider cels art, when:

1. They are traced off of someone else's drawing, and
2. You never know the "artist's" (meaning, the actual person who painted the cel) name.

For those reasons, I'd say animation cels fall more into the realm of "craft" than "art". Because there is no creativity or personal expression in a painted cel. In fact, either of those things would get the worker fired and the cel thrown out. The movie itself is art, but not the individual cels.
 

SignOfGoob

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Here's the thing. While I agree both positions are arguable, it's difficult to consider cels art, when:

1. They are traced off of someone else's drawing, and
2. You never know the "artist's" (meaning, the actual person who painted the cel) name.

For those reasons, I'd say animation cels fall more into the realm of "craft" than "art". Because there is no creativity or personal expression in a painted cel. In fact, either of those things would get the worker fired and the cel thrown out. The movie itself is art, but not the individual cels.

I have a lot of opinions on this, cels. In Miyazaki's book he talks about how cels make mediocre drawings look good but great drawings lose something. Cel art levels things in a way...

Regardless, ideally the drawing comes with the cel...although due to the way animation is made the drawing is often knocked down from multiple other drawings...

"Movie prop" is honestly the most accurate term I can think of. Hand made, totally unique, but also sometimes extremely unimpressive.
 

LoneSage

A Broken Man
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Posts #26 to 31 are art, and not in a movie prop way.
 

NeoSneth

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Art, prop, craft...
It's still very risky as an investment. probably better than crypto tho.

Miyazaki is getting pretty old. I would focus on his stuff, then capitalize on his death when the market goes into a speculative bubble.
 

fake

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I'm still waiting to hear the terrible news.
"Real" artwork gets traced by plenty of assistants. A lot of it gets painted by assistants. There are some exceptions, but the vast majority of big name artists are the head of a team of artists, even if you never hear or see the assistants. There's obviously more oversight from the artist compared to hundreds of production cels, but the point is, even great works of art have a certain level of influence from others.
 

SignOfGoob

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Art, prop, craft...
It's still very risky as an investment. probably better than crypto tho.

Miyazaki is getting pretty old. I would focus on his stuff, then capitalize on his death when the market goes into a speculative bubble.

Anyone buying cels as an investment/tax dodge is an idiot. Anyone who buys art, props, whatever as part of a death pool is fucking satanic.
 

DevilRedeemed

teh
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"Real" artwork gets traced by plenty of assistants. A lot of it gets painted by assistants. There are some exceptions, but the vast majority of big name artists are the head of a team of artists, even if you never hear or see the assistants. There's obviously more oversight from the artist compared to hundreds of production cels, but the point is, even great works of art have a certain level of influence from others.
That is the craft in the art
 

godzilla43

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This is like if the only Neo Geo game in Ebay would be a loose copy of Samurai Spirits 2 for 2000$.
Anyways for that price it should be a original page from Akira manga.
 

LoneSage

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10k is chump change for this. The price is right.
 

Heinz

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Animation cells, figurines, badges, whatever it's all bullshit rubbish. If it's more than $10 you're being stooged hard.
 

SignOfGoob

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"Real" artwork gets traced by plenty of assistants. A lot of it gets painted by assistants. There are some exceptions, but the vast majority of big name artists are the head of a team of artists, even if you never hear or see the assistants. There's obviously more oversight from the artist compared to hundreds of production cels, but the point is, even great works of art have a certain level of influence from others.

Not only that, but it’s also common for two popular animators to have worked on the same frame. If The Little Mermaid and the Sea Witch are on screen at the same time then that’s two drawings by two animators, both traced several times by the animators themselves and then photocopied onto a cel.

And the very next frame could be an in-between that was drawn by neither key animator!

There is no “original” in this kind of animation.
 
Joined
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Did you know you can watch Akira on Netflix, cheapest package is £4.99 a month. Just pause your tv on this scene and save €15,895. You’re welcome.
You can also make a picture of Da Vinci Joconda and hang it in your living room... but you won't possess the Joconda ; )
 
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Some cels (mostly Ghibli) were sold recently for much more.
We are talking here about art and rare collectibles.
I understand for some those prices are not reasonable but when I see the prices some painting are bought...
 
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