Noob ? About What To Ask When Buying Genga/Dougas

[Entwadumela]

Hiya All-

Many of you have touched upon what to look for when purchasing cels, but what questions would you ask a seller, whether it'd be a member here, an on-line dealer, at a shop or expo when making your decision whether or not you should purchase a certain genga/douga?

Any info will be greatly appreciated

E

[RoboFlonne]

If it's a set, I would ask if the rest are partials or fulls.

Partials means it would be like mouth moving or hair moving.

Also I would ask if the images were merged. Usually you won't have to, though. Most people will say that the picture is a merge of 2 dougas it that's the case.

[EternityOfPain]

Hiya All-

Many of you have touched upon what to look for when purchasing cels, but what questions would you ask a seller, whether it'd be a member here, an on-line dealer, at a shop or expo when making your decision whether or not you should purchase a certain genga/douga?

Any info will be greatly appreciated

E

Solid Question. When I buy sketches I ask how many gengas, rough genga, retouched sketches, douga, partial douga and if the layout is copy or original. I also ask if they can tell me the cut number "Ep3_234" (stands for episode 3 cut 234). When it comes to buying sketches honesty I buy it for the few very good looking ones. If the sketch is a full cut sequence its just a bonus knowing you own everything to do with that exact frame. It really depends if you are the type who seeks complete cuts or someone who just wants the sketches that are originally shown.

Highlights on what to ask:

How many complete genga sketches are there?
How many complete Douga sketches are there present (is it a full sequence? Or is it mainly made up of particals?)
Is the Layout rough? Sharp? Or is the layout a copy and not an original?
Are there any correction sketches? Retouched sketches? If so are they partials?
Does it come with the offical production envelope? Is there a timechart?
Is it a standard size? Oversized? Pan?
Is there any creases?

This pretty much sums it up. If you are buying just one genga/douga. Then the question to ask really are:

Is there any creases?
Is it a standard size? Oversized? Pan?
Does the genga come with a rough genga? Or a douga of the scene?
(If you are buying just a douga the question to ask would just be the first two questions in this set)

I hope this helps.

[Entwadumela]

Thanks RoboFlonne and EnternityOfPain

Wow, I never knew there were so many things to think and ask about when looking at a genga/douga.

I'm having a hard enough time to keeping my genga and douga definitions straight

E

[cutiebunny]

Another thing to look for when looking at the pictures of the item is how dark the line is. Most genga/douga do not have very dark lines and may cause a viewer to squint a bit to notice the detail. Many douga also have red, green or blue ink in some areas for shading, sequence numbers or annotations to the painters letting them know who the character is(and thus which general colors to use). Also, the color of paper is important. Douga is generally done on white paper(with holes punched at top), while genga is generally on yellowish paper(I've also heard that pink and blue have been used, but, yellow is the most prevelant).


If the price is really cheap(ie. $40 for 100 Naruto sketches), then, it's likely too good to be true. I've seen a lot of douga/genga copies around on all Japanese auction sites. If copies don't bother you, oftentimes you'll get a better deal on them the original pieces. However, on some sites, like Mandarake, even copies can go for an obscene amount of money.

[Entwadumela]

cutiebunny!!

Paying alot for something that is not original sounds

Again, thanks for the info.

E

[cutiebunny]

While I would normally agree with you, there are instances when either a buyer does not know that they're buying copies(ie. the auction does not say that they are copies and/or the picture is blurry) or that art from the anime is so scarce that the only way to get anything from it is to purchase copies(ie. "Princess Tutu" artwork is scarce and expensive to boot). Some animation studios have destroyed their artwork, so a fan of that series may be grateful just to find anything from that series at all.

[RoboFlonne]

I pay money for copies.

A stack of copies may cost the same as one sheet of genga.

I just paid close to $200 for a stack of copies.

[Entwadumela]

Hmmmmmm . . .

I guess if there is no artwork from a particular anime, and all that is left is just copies, then I can totally understand why people purchase copies.

But being copies, how can the seller ask alot of money for it if he or she just can make more copies, unless they are a limited edition and numberd.

Getting off the original topic here, but isn't getting an OPC or original genga/douga part of fun when collecting original anime?

Sorry, just a noob with ?'s


E

[Keropi]

You can enjoy copies too. You enjoy copied artwork for their artwork alone just as you would an artbook.

It's a different type of enjoyment you could say. Copy artwork might have notes scribbled on them also.

[cutiebunny]

Each collector has their own likes and dislikes. Some collectors will only collect original artwork, while others will purchase copies, fancels, rilezu, etc.

My advice is to collect what you like and what you can afford. The second is probably the most important, as many collectors get easily overwhelmed with the demands of this hobby and are innudated with bills. Generally, you'll see two types of collectors - those that save their pennies and will only add a few gorgeous cels/sketches year or those that will buy a larger quantity of cheaper cels.

If cost will play a significant role for you, my advice would be to stay away from anime that is well known in the US. Artwork from Sailormoon, Dragonball, Naruto, Inuyasha and Cardcaptor Sakura can be pricey, but, other well done artwork from lesser series such as Tenchi Muyo, Tenshi ni Narumon, etc. is generally much cheaper.

[Entwadumela]

Hai, Wakarimasu

Yes, I totally understand about the part of saving every penny to get that special original art.

I have spent many, many, many hours working overtime and hovering above "cup-o-noodle" for weeks to obtain my dream art

I guess I fall into gorgeous cel/sketches group.

To those who collect copies, I hope I did not intend offend any of you, if I did, gomenne

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

E

ps Cutiebunny, do you use an on-line translator? If so, may I ask what website? I would like to be able to read the YJ auctions.

[Entwadumela]

Speaking of "Cup-O-Noodles" . . .

. . . I've fallen into and have become a big fan of Naruto, and my favorite character is the ramen eating Uzumaki Naruto

Depending on how much fundage I have, my goal is to get at least one nice sketch of some of the characters, especially a nice Kyuubi Naruto. That is why I need to know what to ask a seller before making my decision

Sayoo Nara

E

[RoboFlonne]

By the way. You should spell your name Newb. And not Noob.

A Noob is one that doesn't learn. and thus is called a Noob.

A Newbie learns quickly.

If you have questions. You can simply ask one of us to look at the auction or sketch and we most likely can answer all your questions by just looking at it.

[cutiebunny]

ps Cutiebunny, do you use an on-line translator? If so, may I ask what website? I would like to be able to read the YJ auctions.

Use www.rinkya.com to search for your auctions using their services. You type in what you want in English and most of the time, you come up with something under that listing. If the anime is not very popular, you may just have to enter in the anime title instead of narrowing the search down to genga, cels, or whatever you're looking for.

Rinkya also is a good site to use for purchasing items off YJ as well.