How many cels does a typical cartoon yield?
First, the mechanics of film: film runs at 24 frames per second. That number never changes. Ever. So, the MOST any cartoon can be animated to is 24 fps. (Don’t think it matters that video is 30 fps- they are still shot on film…) As a matter of course, though, what is typically done, at least by big budget films, is 12 cels per second, each cel being shot twice. However, lower budget cartoons can and usually do use the same cel three or more times… the more a cel is used, the “jerkier” the final cartoon will look.
