Pre-Production: The Storyboard
2D animation begins in a "pre-production" phase, where the entire story of the animated show is laid out in storyboard form. The storyboard shows the entire story drawn out in panels, like a large comic strip or comic book. The storyboard can be drawn on paper, but large poster or foam board is often used to make it easier to read. At the same time, the voice-over acting can be recorded so the animators can later draw in sync with it. This is common in North America, while in Asia and other regions, the animation is often completed first and then the actors provide the dialogue to match the animation.
Drawing the Animation
Using the storyboard as a guide, the animators draw the images for the show. They draw the image outline on paper and then print it onto plastic celluloid, known as cels, and then paint the cels. Even though many studios will now upload the outlines to a computer and add the color through an animation program, the images are still called cels. One cel is needed for every slight movement for every single character.
Once all the needed cels are drawn, they are placed onto the animated background to produce a frame of animation, which the camera then shoots. Usually, 26 frames take up one second of screen time, so most full-length animated shows take thousands of these cels placed on background. Animators use the many cels to create an on-camera equivalent of a flip-book. Once all the frames are shot in succession, the voices and other sound effects are added to the visual images and the show is edited to make the final production.
