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Frequently Asked Questions



Below are frequently asked questions about Simpsons Cels which I often receive. If you have a question that is not listed, feel free to contact me.



How do I find a Simpsons Cel of a particular scene ?

20th Century Fox distributes a very limited amount of original production cels for sale to the public each year. If you are looking for a particular scene you are most likely not going to find it since only certain episodes have had cels released. Buyers purchase choice cels and artwork very quickly when pieces are released. This makes it next to impossible to find artwork from a particular scene. It is best to purchase something you like from whatever selection is currently available.



Is it true that The Simpsons no longer use cels to create the show ?

Yes. After season 13 (2002), The Simpsons have stopped creating the show with traditional hand drawn animation cels. The show has now switched over to computer animation. This makes the value of original Simpsons artwork even greater. In the coming years, as more older Simpsons cels are released it will become much harder to obtain pieces. I recommend buying cels now while you still can !



Are Simpsons cels with guest stars released ?

No. Cels which feature a guest star who has appeared on the show as himself / herself are not released to the public. However, cels featuring characters with voices by guest stars are released. (Example: Sideshow Bob voiced by Kelsey Grammar)



Simpsons Cels on Ebay: Are they real ?

I would say that 90% of the Simpsons cels listed for sale on eBay are FAKE ! I feel bad having to tell people that what they've purchased on eBay is not real. As you can probably tell by the look of them, most were made by someone in his basement trying to make an extra buck. DON'T BE FOOLED. If you are a Simpsons fan you should be able to tell if the image was ever used in an episode. My advice: Do not buy any piece of animation artwork that does not have the official 20th Century Fox seal on in and the correct COA to go along with it. You can find some legit pieces on eBay every now and then but it is always better to purchase a cel from a true authorized gallery. All of the galleries in the links section of this site are authorized by 20th Century Fox.



Why don't some cels match up exactly with what was shown on screen ?

When a show uses traditional hand animation, celluloid sheets are stacked on top of each other to form a "cel set-up". These cel set-ups contain multiple characters, body parts, or other objects each separated onto different layers in order to create separate individual motions. During this process, cels are used more than once and modified as a way of keeping production costs down. When cels are made available for sale, it is common for 20th Century Fox to put together cel set-ups using whatever is left from storing a scene. Since backgrounds and other cels are used multiple times throughout the show, cel-set ups attempt to recreate the a scene as best as possible using what is available after storage. Because of this, cel set-ups may have characters spanning across multiple frames in the show.



Aren't there thousands of cels used in The Simpsons ?

This is a common mistake most people make. Yes, there were thousands of cels used in The Simpsons, BUT these ranged from individual body parts to full characters. Once the main portion of a cel-setup is released (usually a character's full body), that same scene will never again be able to have cels released because there was only one main layer that featured the primary component in the scene. There will be many other cels left over from the same scene but they are now useless. You can no longer piece together another full cel-setup using the remaining cels once the main component to the scene has already been released and sold.



Why are some Simpsons Cels wider than others ?

In the animation of The Simpsons some scenes require a different ratio of a cel to be used. These cels are know as "pan" cels. The term refers to the way the camera will pan from side to side across a wider cel. This is commonly found in group shots. Visit my cels section to view examples of "pan" cels.



How do you store animation artwork ?

Animation art, particularly cels or other painted pieces should be framed or contained properly using acid free materials and kept in a moderate climate away from extreme temperatures and moisture. For more information on storing artwork, I recommend contacting the galleries listed in our links section.



Why collect / purchase Simpsons Cels and Artwork ?

This is the question outside people ask me often. I always tell them that there is no better way to enjoy The Simpsons than having a piece of it's history that was used in the making of the show hanging right in your own living room ! Although, Simpsons artwork will without a doubt become much more valuable once the show goes off the air, in my opinion they are the GREATEST collectable that there is to own. If you are on the border about spending a lot of money on one, I suggest that you do. You will cherish it forever. Buy a piece that you can relate to and will help you remember all the laughs the show has brought to you. Your very own original production cel will be a piece of the show's history that will last a lifetime.













