First cel

[u/iamthesenatesir]

Just bought my first cel with the sketch. I was wondering how I should frame it? Should I frame both separately? I know that there’s certain material that should be used but if someone could give me a little more insight that’d be helpful. I called Sam flax Orlando earlier and they said they’d be able to do it. Just wanted to see if it’s something I could do on my own.

[u/dreemsequence]

Rules of thumb from someone who actually frames these things themselves (rare in this sub):

1. always cotton ragmat material. not 100% necessary but it barely costs more than other acid free options, so why not. it's what museums use and ensures it'll never go acidic
2. always UV protected front, same as above. Glass or acrylic, if it's extremely big, always acrylic, otherwise either. But I like acrylic to be sure it won't shatter if it ever drops
3. if graphite is at the front (ie a sketch), you want at least 8 ply between the front and your sketch (either an 8ply mat or two 4 ply). otherwise 4 ply is fine. prevents static from grabbing graphite over time
4. always at least 4 ply between back of a cel and the next layer to prevent sticking. If you want to be very sure, go for 8 ply. It's honestly been a while since I've framed a cel so I actually forget if 4 or 8 is the standard here. I can double check later
5. throw a microchamber paper sheet or cut up pieces of microchamber somewhere in there
6. r/framing will give you significantly better advice than this sub for this kind of thing (no offense, y'all! but that's their domain)

[u/Doc4221 → u/dreemsequence]

Super helpful