As someone who has been into creating art 
all her life AND as a cel collector, I want to 
stress that although CG anime doesn't 
produce enough collectable plastic for us, it 
DOES save time, money, resources and in 
certain cases, effort.... but that doesn't mean 
that CG is all about studios being 'cheap' or 
without concerned for what the fans want. 

Don't get me wrong, I love cels, I love 
collecting them, and I am sad about most stuff 
being done with CG in that I can't collect cels 
from my new favorite shows because they do 
not exist. I have no problem with reproduction 
cels, however, granted they are well done and 
hand-painted. (Machine painted Eva repros, 
anyone? Ew. No thanks.)

People talk like CG is a 'fake' form of art, and it 
really upsets me, because CG DOES take 
talent. It's not a point and click and fill that area 
with paint process. I just finished a new CG 
the other day, and so help me, it was NOT an 
easy process! I poured over 30 hours of  
tedious hard work and passion into creating it, 
and for me to come across sites here and 
there that are anti-CG and only encourage 
traditional media-done artwork is really 
disheartening. It basically says to me "We 
don't think CG art is real art."

The only thing "easier" about CG per se, is 
that in some cases it is more suitable for the 
the desired effect than using paint. In the case 
of cels, the desired effect is flat, solid color, 
and what better way to get this effect down 
perfectly than with a computer?

Still, CG isn't all about convenience. It's just a 
different kind of art, and a technologically 
advanced way for artists of today to broaden 
their aesthetic horizons. Computers, like 
paintbrushes, are a medium, and the only 
reason they ever behave the way we want 
them to is because we practice using them in 
the same manner that we practice to become 
better artists. 

- Riven

Artwork in CG and Traditional Media: http://
riven.ecau.net