Do you keep Complete Sets?

[jenn-b]

I was *FINALLY* going through some stuff that I needed to put into binders yesterday and had a very difficult decision. I received several genga/douga sets with the original cut bag....is it crazy that I want to keep it all? I know that dealers/sellers throw the cut bags out...or use them to package other items together for shipping...

I was able to place the cut bag along with the sets into a larger binder than I had originally anticipated...but I'm happy to have it all together still!

[JWR]

I know I keep everything. That is one of the neater aspects about collecting the post cel animation sketch artwork, rather than owning just the one cel of a sequence such as A5 and someone else having A3 in their gallery you get the entire cut. I will pick out the best of a cut to scan and store the rest.

It does become interesting that by having the cut lot people are able to animate the sequence in GIF form which becomes quite entertaining during the Sketch contests.

[sensei]

I also save the cut bags and oddball sheets of paper that come with sketch sets. They are often interesting if not shareable. One CCS set of Yue materializing his magic bow and attacking a monster with a magical arrow (OP of Movie 2) came with some pages from an archery manual so that Yue's pose would "look right" to people who appreciate the sport. Another came with annotated faxes of layouts, evidently needed for reference at some point.

In the end I devoted one of my extra-large archival boxes to nothing but cut bags. If for nothing else, the whimsical stamps used by various animators, checkers, directors, and etc. that get used on the face of these deserve to be saved for the future.

[Jadeduo]

I just found my first matching cut envelope and I totes bagged it up with the rest of the sketches from the cut, so cool!

I also have a set that I recently got that has a primer on the bounciness of boobs... it is amazing... It WILL be up on Jadeduo.net once I finish the Loveless Gallery... Promise!

^_^;;

If I ever finish!

[theultimatebrucelee]

I usually sort out the set and throw away layout copy, partial douga, and genga that are simply too rough to be appreciated by me. Then I put the set back into cut bag and store it into an archive box. I really like it when the set come with their bag, because it saves me the trouble of bagging them and less process in case I ever need to verify content.

[Angelic-Lair]

I usually sort out the set and throw away layout copy, partial douga, and genga that are simply too rough to be appreciated by me.

Have to admit that made me cringe a bit. Throw it away?
It's a pain sometimes, but we keep sets complete. If the set is too large, it might impact whether or not we buy it. There's something nice about a simple A1End setup.

[Jadeduo]

Is *dead*

I always keep the roughs even the really really roughs because when I took drawing in College, I know, liberal arts major ^_^;; But we spent 3 weeks on learning JUST how to do roughs correctly. Especially roughs which contain movement so I can't even imagine throwing them away. After spending that time I learned to appreciate all the art that comes through to me even the things that are not amazingly beautiful because it is part of the process, and it is so interesting when you see a basic even stick figure that turns into something beautiful. Plus if someone had broken up that Yuiko set I recently got I would have never found that treatise on how boobs should bounce... LOL

[Drac of the Sharp Smiles]

The only time I don't keep everything that comes to me is if I sell some of it. I'm not incredibly into douga, so I occasionally sell off the douga half of sets that come with douga.

That said, I keep all else and scan a large portion of it too! (Though this sometimes depends on my level of energy and free time. ^_^) I like to keep cutscene bags and copy layouts because of the information on them. Knowing the cut numbers for certain scenes can help me look up scenes I don't know off hand.

[jenn-b]

I'm considering selling some of the dough from these sets....specifically from the sets that have waaaaaaaayyyyyy too much paper!

[theultimatebrucelee]

I usually sort out the set and throw away layout copy, partial douga, and genga that are simply too rough to be appreciated by me.

Have to admit that made me cringe a bit. Throw it away?
It's a pain sometimes, but we keep sets complete. If the set is too large, it might impact whether or not we buy it. There's something nice about a simple A1End setup.

I personally gain no joy from acquiring more storage boxes/bags/microchamber paper and find it more of a liability to keep the parts I don't want or care for...partial douga and rough doodle can often be half or more of a complete set. So by sharing them with the workers at the recycling center, I'm able to cut down fire hazard and silverfish bait. I enjoy hoarding, but I try to do it responsibly

[Drac of the Sharp Smiles]

I'm able to cut down fire hazard and silverfish bait.

Hahahahaha!!!!! ^_^ I have to say, I have a few sets where I've really considered this. One that has a HUUUUGE number of sheets of a small object flying through the air and one that has an equally if not a higher sheet count of falling rain. (Among others.) I refer to the parts of sets in which I'm really not personally very interested as my "storage only" pile. So far that pile is decently small still. I use small colored post it pieces on the pages of my cel books to indicate which sketches in my books have packets of stuff in the "storage only" pile to prevent the sets from getting split if I sell them. The pile usually contains: copy genga, cut scene bags, excessively large douga sets or douga sets with incomplete images (partial faces/floating arms/etc), and roughs that are rough enough you couldn't tell what they are without already knowing.

It's notable that I do have an interest in cut scene bags (not sure why, it's not like I look at them often) and while those are in the "storage only" pile, I wouldn't want to get rid of them. In that case, it's due to their size preventing them from easily being stored in the same size books as their sets, as well as the fact that they often have tape on the outsides of them, which I have no interest in trying to remove, but which needs to be kept apart from the sketches. If they have no tape and the book their set is in is big enough to house the cut scene bag also, I have the cut scene bags in my main books. (But I think only 3-4 of the ones I have fall into this category.)

[backlotanimation]

I usually sort out the set and throw away layout copy, partial douga, and genga that are simply too rough to be appreciated by me. Then I put the set back into cut bag and store it into an archive box. I really like it when the set come with their bag, because it saves me the trouble of bagging them and less process in case I ever need to verify content.

Please don't tell me you really throw these away?? I want you to stop and think for one second what it is you do. Most of the art you speak of not including the copy stuff(This is important also for info) was drawn by the animators not inbetweeners; you may be throwing away history as this art is not done anymore and most likely never will be again. A small rough drawn hand ect drawn by one of the masters in the future will be priceless to a collector. A super rough drawn hand by Vincent van Gogh about two inches wide sold for over 10 grand a few years back because it was from his hand. I'm not saying all will command such prices in the near future but as sets are broken up and spread across the globe to end up in cel books never to be seen again, the prices will go up and even small works of any kind of art from some animators will go up in value and be collected by many. I have over 15 million cels and 5 times that many drawings and I would never throw the least of the them away, I do my best to make sure any art stays with the set so I know what animator drew them;hard to say what something as small as a correction drawing came from unless it's with the set it was made for. I know storage can be a hassle but what a loss to the future it is if the parts used to make a show are just thrown away and lost forever. small roughs from a animator like monkey punch can go for a few hundred dollars at auction, whats to say how high the future can go once collectors in China, Russia and other closed countries start collecting now that they can buy from abroad. The future looks bright for prices to go up as these folks discover the wonderful world of cel/drawing collecting. YOU are a curator of the future by collecting it is your duty to protect and save your artworks for the future to enjoy once you pass them on. We are very lucky to live at this time, we can buy art at small prices and have alot around to choose from, but the supply gets smaller by the day and one day the only way to see this kind of art is in someones collection or a museum;even our children will find it hard to find some shows as everything from them is spoken for.
I have a idea for you to try, if you must be rid of some lesser drawings offer them to a new collector and label them for them so they can say they have something from this or that show; I'll bet they will treasure them as you would a full set from your favorite show. I do this all the time to help out the new folks to collecting.
Remember you hold the future in your hands, don't throw it away and deprive the world of art that is no longer made and never will be again.
Thanks for reading this.
Roy aka Backlotanimation

[sensei]

Overall, I agree that sketch sets should, if possible, be kept together to preserve their historical value.

I can see the issue with CGI sets that are more than 90% partials with one or two full, displayable images. (Both my Spice and Wolf sets are this way, which is how they proved affordable enough for me to win on my tight budget.) Certainly dealers for a number of series, such as Chobits, Fruits Basket, Rozen Maiden, Wolf's Rain, etc. routinely broke up these sets, and likely tossed out the unmarketable items before scattering the rest on market.

But once they are sorted out, tape (if any) removed, a few MicroChamber sheets inserted (I opt for one per every five sketches), and sealed in a clearly labeled PolyPro bag, the extras can be put into "cold storage." That's my term for the place where sketches go that are not likely to be handled again during my lifetime. It's not cold, though I still dream of hitting the Powerball jackpot and moving to a house with a "cold room" like the Disney archive. But it is out of the way and does not have wide swings in temperature and humidity, and there they can wait until they become useful to scholars of the field, who will come, I'm certain.

So much of this art has already been lost, and the technology is moving quickly toward paperless animation, that I'd hate to think that autograph, irreplaceable information like this had been destroyed under my own watch.

[backlotanimation]

Overall, I agree that sketch sets should, if possible, be kept together to preserve their historical value.

I can see the issue with CGI sets that are more than 90% partials with one or two full, displayable images. (Both my Spice and Wolf sets are this way, which is how they proved affordable enough for me to win on my tight budget.) Certainly dealers for a number of series, such as Chobits, Fruits Basket, Rozen Maiden, Wolf's Rain, etc. routinely broke up these sets, and likely tossed out the unmarketable items before scattering the rest on market.

But once they are sorted out, tape (if any) removed, a few MicroChamber sheets inserted (I opt for one per every five sketches), and sealed in a clearly labeled PolyPro bag, the extras can be put into "cold storage." That's my term for the place where sketches go that are not likely to be handled again during my lifetime. It's not cold, though I still dream of hitting the Powerball jackpot and moving to a house with a "cold room" like the Disney archive. But it is out of the way and does not have wide swings in temperature and humidity, and there they can wait until they become useful to scholars of the field, who will come, I'm certain.

So much of this art has already been lost, and the technology is moving quickly toward paperless animation, that I'd hate to think that autograph, irreplaceable information like this had been destroyed under my own watch.

Heehee. Sensei, you think you have storage issues, welcome to my world. hahahahaa
http://backlotanimation.rubberslug.com/ ... mID=119553
http://backlotanimation.rubberslug.com/ ... mID=119590
That's one of three semi-trailers I have filled to the top with animation artwork.

[sensei]

I always wondered why certain characters seemed to give a little pleased sign of relief when the box was opened and they saw who their new curator would be. Even so, the closet is getting a little cramped and my wife edgy about what's she's going to do when I breathe my last.