How Cel Animation Was Invented
How Cel Animation Was Invented — an illustrated inventions story. 10 illustrated pages, free to read on Wonder Inventions.
Page 1
Leon dashed through the grand hall of the Museum of Animated Dreams, his notebook bouncing against his side. "Wait up!" Lian called, her voice echoing off the high ceilings. Anders trailed behind, eyes wide at the living paintings that adorned the walls. "Did you see that knight wink?"
Page 2
Leon stopped in front of a display about early animation. "Look at this! Before computers, they drew every single frame by hand!" Lian peered over his shoulder, her braids swaying. "Imagine how long that would take! It's like what Leonardo da Vinci said, 'Art is never finished, only abandoned.'"
Page 3
"Whoa! But how did they even manage that?" Leon wondered, flipping open his worn, leather-bound notebook. "Someone must have invented a clever way to speed things up." Anders, who had been fiddling with a small flip book he found on a nearby bench, gasped. "Look! The pictures move!"
Page 4
"Wait a minute..." Leon pulled out his magical Invention Encyclopedia, its cover glowing faintly. "I bet it's in here!" As he opened the book, a swirling vortex of light engulfed the room, pulling them into another time. "Here we go again!" Lian yelled, grabbing Anders' hand.
Page 5
They landed with a thump in a bustling New York City studio in 1914. "Wow, check this out!" Leon exclaimed, pointing to a room filled with artists drawing on transparent sheets. A man with a neatly trimmed mustache and a serious expression looked up, startled. "Can I help you young'uns?"
Page 6
"We're researching animation!" Leon said. "Are you... John Randolph Bray?" Bray chuckled. "That's me. And what brings you to my humble studio? You see, before this, every single drawing had to be copied entirely. It was grueling!" He gestured to a pile of discarded sketches. "My company made 120,000 in 1916 just on animation!"
Page 7
"So, what's special about these transparent sheets?" Lian asked, pointing to a cel. Bray explained, "That's the magic! Earl Hurd and I independently discovered that you could draw the background once and then animate only the parts that move on separate sheets of celluloid. Saves tons of time!"
Page 8
"But what if you need to change the whole scene?" Leon asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Bray grinned. "That's where my system comes in! We create master backgrounds and use a 'slash' system to divide the work among many artists efficiently. My company produced over 500 films between 1913 and 1937!"
Page 9
Suddenly, the swirling vortex reappeared. "Time to go!" Leon shouted. Back in the museum, he closed the Invention Encyclopedia with a satisfied sigh. "Cel animation! That's how they did it!"
Page 10
"Thanks to Bray and Hurd's invention, animation became much faster and cheaper. Today, the animation industry is worth billions!" Leon told Lian and Anders excitedly. He grinned. "Now, about that knight winking... I bet I can animate my own!"
About this story
- Audience: kids (ages 6–12)
Questions and answers
Read Wonder Inventions on your phone
Wonder Inventions is available on Android. Get Wonder Inventions on Google Play.