Animation Art for Sale

Rob Jaiven

Rob Jaiven has been an animation art collector and dealer for over 35 years. Many of the most famous pieces of animation art known to exist have been sold by his company Cuckoo Comics & Collectibles.
Instead of growing up and putting away his childish things, after years as a mathematician Rob quit the academic life, took those childish things out again and began his company. Suddenly in the early 1980's these childish things became fashionable and sought after. Cuckoo Comics & Collectibles continues to buy and sell the oldest, rarest and most desirable pieces of animation art. Rob also serves to educate collectors and is happy to answer questions and to talk about animation art with anyone who has an interest.
Rob Jaiven

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On this blog I discuss all that relates to Disney art, other studios’ animation art and cartoons in general. If you would like to skip right to my set of animation art for sale go to Animation Art Studio. New art for sale is posted there.

Animation Art Cel from Traffic Troubles
Animation Art Cel / BG from Traffic Troubles/The Picnic – 1931/1930

From the early 20th century through Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988 cartoons were created using hand colored celluloids (cels). The movement in each one was slightly different from the cel before it. The animation cels were placed over a painted background and photographed. These photos were projected onto a screen at the rate of 24 frames per second, creating the illusion of motion. Since Roger most major animation is done using computers or stop action. Vintage animation art cels are truly a thing of the past in more ways than one.

Animation art is not just cels and backgrounds. Production begins with concept art paintings and storyboard animation drawings. Background layout drawings of different scenes are done. Many of these include images of the character taking him or her through some movement in the scene. Model cels and model drawings of the different characters are created and then referred to by the animators who do the final frame by frame animation drawings. These final animation art drawings are then hand inked on to clear celluloids. This was a very fine process. At Walt Disney Studios, there were sometimes six to ten different colors for a single image used in this hand inking. (This changed in the 1960’s. Lines were traced by xerox. The ink lines became thicker and all black….and the quality of animation changed ….and not for the better.) All of these pieces of art used in the production of a cartoon are examples of animation art.

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