Traditional animation

Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is a term retronymically applied to the dominant form of animation of the 20th century in the United States until the shift to computer animation in the industry, in which each frame is drawn by hand. Today, the process is still commonly used, primarily in the form of digital ink and paint, which combines hand-drawn elements with computer compositing techniques.

Process

Writing and storyboarding

Animation production usually begins after a story is converted into an animation film script, from which a storyboard is derived. A storyboard has an appearance somewhat similar to comic book panels, and is a shot by shot breakdown of the staging, acting and any camera moves that will be present in the film. The images allow the animation team to plan the flow of the plot and the composition of the imagery. Storyboard artists will have regular meetings with the director and may redraw or "re-board" a sequence many times before it meets final approval.

Voice recording

Dialogue is generally recorded before animation production so that character movement can be synchronized precisely to the soundtrack. A completed cartoon soundtrack will feature music, sound effects, and dialogue performed by voice actors. The scratch track used during animation typically contains only the voices, any songs to which characters must sing-along, and temporary musical score tracks; the final score and sound effects are added during post-production.

In the case of Japanese animation and most pre-1930 sound animated cartoons, the sound was post-synched; the soundtrack was recorded after the film elements were finished by watching the film and performing the dialogue, music, and sound effects required.