Together they work out the episode’s main details based on the overall plot of the series set by the series composer and director. The process begins with a planning meeting between the episode’s main production staff, which includes the episode’s writer, director, and the series’ producers. This overview will take a look at the traditional cel animation used by Toei Animation up until 2002 to produce an animated TV series, from its original concept to the final product.
This process can be divided up into several basic stages, although this guide will cover those aspects beyond just that of the animation itself. Traditional animation is a technique in which each frame is drawn by hand on clear celluloid sheets and placed over a static background image to create a composite image.
Though the animation process is fairly standard throughout the industry, each animation studio’s process is slightly unique. This guide also specifically pertains to the animation production practices used by Toei Animation. It should be noted that although this guide specifically pertains to the animation of episodes, the theatrical films underwent roughly the same animation process, although films are typically held to much higher quality standards than anything produced for a television broadcast. In recent years the Dragon Ball franchise has entered the digital age, with numerous features, theatrical films, and a new TV series all being digitally animated using modern technology. In 1986, when Dragon Ball first began airing on Fuji TV, digital animation did not exist and the majority of the franchise was animated in the traditional fashion on celluloid sheets. While this digitization does save on materials and allows for easier editing, the overall process and stringent production schedules remain virtually unchanged. Most animation today, while still initially being hand-drawn on paper, has begun to utilize digital post-production animation techniques rather than the traditional cel and camera processes of traditional animation. In a traditionally-animated cartoon, each frame is drawn by hand on a celluloid sheet, painted with a brush, and sent to be photographed onto film stock. Traditional cel animation is the oldest, and historically, had been the most popular form of animation until the advent of digital animation. Animation Production Guide The Animation Process