Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century in the United States until there was a shift to computer animation in the industry, such as 3D computer animation. Despite this, the process remains commonly used primarily in the form of digital ink and paint for television and film, especially when outsourced.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Traditional animation in the context of Animation
Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Many animations are either traditional animations or computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, is also prominent alongside these other forms, albeit to a lesser degree.
Animation is contrasted with live action, although the two do not exist in isolation. Many filmmakers have produced films that are a hybrid of the two. As CGI increasingly approximates photographic imagery, filmmakers can relatively easily composite 3D animated visual effects (VFX) into their film, rather than using practical effects.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Traditional animation
- 👉 Traditional animation in the context of Animation
- Traditional animation in the context of Cel
- Traditional animation in the context of Computer animation
- Traditional animation in the context of Claymation
- Traditional animation in the context of Live action
- Traditional animation in the context of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
- Traditional animation in the context of DreamWorks Animation
Traditional animation in the context of Cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th century. Since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable, celluloid was largely replaced by cellulose acetate (cellulose diacetate and cellulose triacetate) and polyester. With the advent of computer-assisted animation production (also known as digital ink and paint), the use of cels has been all but obsolete in major productions. Walt Disney Animation Studios stopped using cels in 1990, when Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) replaced this element in their animation process. In the next decade and a half, other animation studios phased cels out as well in favor of digital ink and paint.
Traditional animation in the context of Computer animation
Computer animation is a digital successor to stop motion and traditional animation. Instead of a physical model or illustration, a digital equivalent is manipulated frame-by-frame. Also, computer-generated animations allow a single graphic artist to produce such content without using actors, expensive set pieces, or props. To create the illusion of movement, an image is displayed on the computer monitor and repeatedly replaced by a new similar image but advanced slightly in time (usually at a rate of 24, 25, or 30 frames/second). This technique is identical to how the illusion of movement is achieved with television and motion pictures.
Traditional animation in the context of Claymation
Claymation, sometimes called clay animation or plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.
Traditional animation, from cel animation to stop motion, is produced by recording each frame, or still picture, on film or digital media and then playing the recorded frames back in rapid succession before the viewer. These and other moving images, from zoetrope to films and video games, create the illusion of motion by playing back at over ten to twelve frames per second.
Traditional animation in the context of Live action
Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or similar visual media. Photorealistic animation, particularly modern computer animation, is sometimes erroneously described as "live action", as in the case of some media reports about Disney's remake of the traditionally animated The Lion King from 1994. According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, live action involves "real people or animals, not models, or images that are drawn, or produced by computer".
Traditional animation in the context of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures, based on the 1812 German fairy tale "Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm. The film was supervised by David Hand and a team of five sequence directors: Perce Pearce, William Cottrell, Larry Morey, Wilfred Jackson, and Ben Sharpsteen. It is the first animated feature film produced in the United States and the first cel animated feature film.
Snow White premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on December 21, 1937, and went into general release in the United States on February 4, 1938. Despite initial doubts from the film industry, it was a critical and commercial success, with international earnings of more than $8 million during its initial release against a $1.5 million production cost, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1938, and briefly holding the record of the highest-grossing sound film of all time. It was also the highest-grossing animated film for 55 years. The popularity of the film has led to its being re-released theatrically many times, until its home video release in the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top-ten performers at the North American box office and is still the highest-grossing animated film with an adjusted gross of $2,297,000,000. Worldwide, its inflation-adjusted earnings top the animation list. Snow White was nominated for Best Musical Score at the Academy Awards in 1938, and the next year, producer Walt Disney was awarded an honorary Oscar for the film. This award was unique, consisting of one normal-sized, plus seven miniature Oscar statuettes. They were presented to Disney by Shirley Temple.
Traditional animation in the context of DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. The studio has produced 53 feature films; its first film, Antz, was released on October 2, 1998, and its latest film, Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie, was released on September 26, 2025. Their upcoming slate of films Forgotten Island on September 25, 2026, Cocomelon: The Movie in February 26, 2027, the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon 2 on June 11, 2027, Shrek 5 on June 30, 2027, and an untitled film on September 22, 2028.
Formed as a division of DreamWorks Pictures on October 12, 1994, with alumni from Amblin Entertainment's former animation branch Amblimation, it was spun off into a separate company on October 27, 2004. NBCUniversal acquired DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion in 2016. The studio initially made some traditionally animated films, as well as three stop-motion co-productions with Aardman Animations, but now exclusively relies on computer animation. However, in 2022, President Margie Cohn stated that the studio is open to traditional animation.