How to cartoon for amateur films (1958)

frame and viewed in succession in the projector, the drawings will walk and talk, but before then they must go through several more processes. The paper flood is directed to the tracing department, where each drawing is traced in a fine flowing line on a thin sheet of celluloid {cell for short). Meanwhile the background artists have painted the backgrounds against which the action of each scene takes place. Colours are chosen for the moving characters and objects to harmonise with the backgrounds and the shapes outlined on the cells are filled in with these colours. Each animation drawing has now become an opaque coloured patch on a transparent sheet. Now the camera department takes over. The still part of each scene — the background — is fixed firmly under the camera, and the moving part, the cells, are placed over it, building up the complete scene. Each cell is put into position in turn and photographed. The roll of exposed negative is sent to the processing laboratory, from which positive prints (the rushes) are returned. Each day's rushes are viewed on the screen, exulted or groaned over, and assembled in order (the cutting copy). The cutting copy is matched to the sound track, and eventually a married print is received, with the sound and picture on the same film. For better or for worse, the film is complete. How to Start The greatest danger to guard against is loss of enthusiasm. A cartoon film involves a great deal of hard work. So don't start out on a complete film all at once. Just have a bit of fun trying out odd bits of animation, with very simple "pin" figures, which will develop later into more complicated characters. When you have sufficient confidence to start on your 12