The
ANIME
Survival
Kit
Genga Section Draft
Draft is still under review. The format and information may change drastically for the final version
Developed by Tonari Animation
Copyright Ⓒ 2021
Sept 15, 2021
Contributors:
Jarrett Martin
Stephen Hausdorff
Fede
Blou
Beast
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Genga 原画 (げんが)
Genga 原画, which is the japanese equivalent term to “Key Animation”, is the process of utilizing information from
E-conte to create drawings, guides, and notations which determine the arrangement of layers, character poses, acting,
action, animation, background elements and effects in preparation for the Douga 動画 (どうが)Stage. This process will
generate the final art and instructions for the animation.
The steps are as follows:
1. Layout レイアウト
2. LO Enshutsu Check (LOチェック)
3. LO Sakkan Check (作監チェック)
4. LO Sou Sakkan Check (総作監チェック)
5. Nigen 第二原画（第二原画）
6. Genga Enshutsu Check (演出チェック)
7. Genga Sakkan Check (作監チェック)
8. Genga Sou Sakkan Check (総作監チェック)
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Layout (レイオウト）
Layout is the first step in the animation process following the E-conte. The Layout step is initiated after animators
choose various sections from the assignment sheet (Warifuri Hyou 割り振り表). A Warifuri Hyou is an excel
spreadsheet which arranges the cuts into sections which are intended to be assigned to single animators for the sake
of helping continuity. The appearance of these sheets varies greatly between studios, but they all accomplish the
same task.
A section will range from 5-25 cuts. The studio the animator is working for will arrange a meeting, Sakuga Uchiwase
(Sakuuchi) 作画打ち合わせ, with the director and any other relevant staff in order to instruct the animator on the cuts
that you will be working on and allow you to ask questions if anything is unclear. In some cases, productions will just
provide written materials explaining the cuts. After the meeting, the animator will be sent an Assignment Folder
containing the final materials which will allow work to begin on the first stage of Genga, Layout.
Within these materials, you will be given some or all of the following resources:
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E-conte 絵コンテ: The Storyboards for the section or episode you are working on.
Settei 設定: The design sheets for the production or section.
○ Character Settei キャラクター設定: Design sheets for the characters
○ Background Settei 美術設定: Design sheets for the Backgrounds
○ Prop Settei プロップ設定: Design sheets for props, weapons, and vehicles
○ Character Height Chart 対比表・キャラクター: Comparison chart of the character heights
○ Miscellaneous Settei
Layout Paper LO手紙: The Layout paper template for making sure you have the correct resolution and aspect
ratio for your work.
Timesheet Paper シート手紙: A blank version of the timesheet for you to fill out
CT Video CT ムービ : The animatic, if there is one using expanded e-conte drawings.
CT Sheet CT シート : The timing & camera work of the e-conte drawings, sound effects and dialogue written on
an timesheet.
Cautionary Notes 注意事項 : Notes on common drawing or design mistakes for the production.
3d Layout ３D LO: 3D BG material for you to use in place of the background drawings, or 3d character models
to rotoscope.
Miscellaneous Reference 資料: Photographs, Manga References, Promo Art, Other media inspiration
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Layout Step 1: Assembling the files
In the layout stage, the goal is to break down the cut into its most basic components and layers, so each problem can
be dealt with individually. The animator will begin work by assembling and arranging the files for their preferred
working methods.
Assembly Steps:
1. Import the storyboard into software or print out a reference
2. Create the animation timeline in software based on the cut length indicated in the E-conte.
As LO animator your primary job is coming up with a solution for how to layer, arrange, and animate the cut. First you
need to determine the Layer order of the cut.
The Background Cel layer is the furthest back layer in the stack. Animation cel layers are
stacked Alphabetically starting from A which is the furthest back. Layers above are labeled
in their stacking order alphabetically. If you have painted elements or effects between cels,
we call them Books. These books are numbered chronologically starting from the furthest
back. (Book 1, Book 2, etc).
It’s best to create these ahead of drawing, and know which layers are to be associated with
each part of the animation. Camera notations should be placed on the very top layer
underneath the LO template.
In the assembly stage, animators will fill out the top of the LO paper and top section of the X-sheet. Usually requiring
them to write the Title of the production, the scene and cut number, and the timing in the appropriate boxes.
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Layout Step 2: Drawing the Background
The first drawing stage of Layout is drawing the background. In most studios, it’s up to the animator, the Enshutsu, and
the Background painter to come up with a workable solution for the background. This is the first drawing step because
the characters and objects need to be placed properly in the background.
The BG is the furthest back layer in the animation. The perspective and eyeline of the background is determined in
this stage which is referenced for placing in the characters and objects in the subsequent book and cel layers. In
anime, artists will utilize the fundamentals of perspective, 1-point, 2-point perspective, and eye/Horizon lines. 3-point
and curvilinear perspective are utilized for more advanced compositions and camera work.
BG layer is notated by writing BG on the bottom corner, encircled. Light sources can be notated by writing 光源 ( こうげ
ん), meaning light source, circling it, and drawing a 3d arrow next to it indicating the direction of the light. Often a
specific settei is referenced for the background, this reference will be noted next to the BG notation. Many studios
have naming conventions for their settei. An example might be TONARI_BG_SETTEI_210_IN. The reason this is
important is because it helps the BG painter and directors who are checking the animators work easily search their
company server for the specific settei they need to reference. Over the course of production this can save a lot of time.
Layout Step 3: Drawing the Books
If cuts require painted layers to exist independently or be sandwiched between cels, books will need to be created.
Common scenarios that may require the usage of books: Camera rolling past a landscape or forest, character sitting
at a table, character behind a window or mirror, or a character coming out from behind an object. When drawing a
book, it exists as an independent layer. This layer will be drawn with the same level of detail as the BG drawing. Once
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completed, the book is filled with a light color and labeled appropriately based on where the Book is placed in the
stacking order. If there is only one book, it will be labeled as Book 1. If there are multiple books they will be labeled
sequentially starting from the back. Book1, Book 2, Book 3, etc.
There is an advanced technique where a book is used for the purpose of animation. This is called Book Okikae Book
置き換え. This allows a book layer to be used in animation, such as when a building explodes. These books are
labeled sequentially as normal, but rather than being notated on the timesheet in the normal location they are placed
on the Camera column along with Book置き換え in the Memo section.
Books are notated on the timesheet by writing it above the cel column and pointing to the layer it’s sandwiched
between.
Layout Step 4: Drawing the cels
Cels is a term that refers to the animated drawing portions of the animation. The term originates from animation
processes prior to digital methods where the final painting was done on transparent celluloid film. When drawing the
animation cels, there are two primary approaches to cel animation. Pose-to-pose and Straight Ahead animation. Most
anime work will utilize the process of pose to pose and planning out the animations ahead of time. Anime is intended
to be an efficient cost friendly workflow, so utilizing pose to pose animation will save a lot of time and budget. Straight
ahead animation is also utilized with a lot of keys and inbetweens, for example on a large action sequence or effects
animation.
When drawing the cels for Layout, the priority is placed on character proportion, perspective, secondary motion, and
acting. Line cleanliness is not the primary focus at this stage. The drawings will be cleaned up during the subsequent
phases. Animators will focus on getting the proportions of the characters correct, secondary motion like hair or cloth is
clearly represented and that keyframes are reduced as much as possible. Anime utilizes lower amounts of keyframes
so that the director staff can more easily correct the drawings. This also makes work easier for the nigen and douga
stage later when implementing the corrections on the inbetweens and breakdowns.
There are two types of cels in the Layout stage of anime production. Key frames, and Douga guides(動画参考). Key
frames are the clearly drawn frames which include shadow lines, and timing charts. Douga guides are gestures or
sketches which only show the primary and secondary motion lines in a simplified format. Douga guides are a
supplement to improve the timing and spacing of an animation in a clear way. If a character has a lot of different
motions happening simultaneously, then timing charts may not work for explaining to the douga artist where the limbs,
clothing, hair and accessories need to be placed for the inbetweens.
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When the animation is completed, the animator labels the cels in chronological order using the letter layer followed by
it’s chronological number on the timeline. A1, A2, A3, etc. Each keyframe needs to be circled and each inbetween
guide needs to be surrounded by a triangle.
Layout Step 5: Drawing camera notations and filming effects
Many cuts in anime have camera motion, cel slides, and countless filming effects. These must be drawn on their own
layer in the animation and will be used as instructions for the filming staff 撮影. For reference on Layout notations for
camera, slides, and effects. See Appendix E: Timesheet notations
Layout Step 6: Filling out the Timesheet
After the animation is complete, the timesheet needs to be filled out. The timesheet is what allows anime to be very
open to people utilizing any software (or paper) during the Genga stages. It’s also what is used to instruct the Filming
撮影 staff on how to construct the layers and timing when they are assembling the cut in film editing software. See
Appendix E: X-sheet notations for a listing of the notations you will use.
First the Cel animation is written into the sheet. This is done by writing the
numbers of the cels and circling them for Key frames and drawing a triangle
around them for douga guides. Utilizing your timing charts the animator will
add ticks in between the Keys frames and Douga guides indicating to the
Douga staff where inbetweens should be drawing in the animation.
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Then books are added to the layer structure, if any exists. If there is any dialogue it is also added to the timesheet
Starting with blocks to show the exact starting and ending frames of the dialogue, and the name of the character
encircled above the speech. If the character is off screen “off” will be written next to the name, if it’s in their heads or
the mouth doesn’t move “M” will be written next to the name. Utilizing the kana or syllables of the speech the dialogue
is written vertically down the column. Each kana/syllable normally lasts 3 frames, vowels and ん(n) last 2 frames
Relevant notations found in Appendix E will be added to the Memo and Camera column. CT sheets will be necessary
to make sure the dialogue is timed properly.
Lastly a line and scribble are added to the time sheet to show the end of the cut.
Preparing submission files:
Studios have different submission protocols, but generally, the studios will request that the animators submit a
package including:
● .psd or .csp file of everything
● Exported cels separated into Letter folders as .jpg
● Exported Books as .jpg
● Exported Backgrounds as .jpg
● Completed X-sheet
LO Checks
There are three main checks done after layout:
● Enshutsu/Kantoku Check (演出/監督チェック)
● LO Sakkan/Sou Sakkan Check (作監/総作監チェック)
Action focused productions will include some of these checks as well:
● Mecha Check
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Effects Check
Enshutsu/Kantoku Check (演出/監督チェック)
Enshutsu 演出 is the Episode director and the individual responsible for continuity within the episode. The Kantoku 監
督 is the series director, they are responsible for ensuring continuity within the whole series.
Enshutsu checks are the first step to taking all the Layout animation for an episode or movie and directing it toward a
production with sufficient continuity. Enshutsu normally works on pink paper and will correct these common areas of
the animation: acting, perspective, composition, continuity, character emotions, and timing.
Depending on the background of the Enshutsu, they may include nice drawings for their corrections, or they will just
write out memos for staff down the pipeline to change things about the animation. Enshutsu can come from an
animation, art, compositing, or production background. Kantokus usually won’t check every single cut, but if they do,
they will also use pink paper, and will do corrections similar to the Enshutsu. In anime productions Enshutsu
corrections will almost always be in handwritten Japanese. For people who can’t read handwritten Japanese, an
interpreter or honyakusha (翻訳者) will be required to translate the notes into english. It’s possible for animators to
request typed Japanese in many cases.
LO Sakkan/Sou Sakkan Check (作監/総作監チェック)
After the Enshutsu corrections, the Layout will move to the desk of the Sakkan 作監. The Sakkan is the individual
responsible for ensuring quality and continuity of the actual drawings within the animation and to implement any
changes requested by the Enshutsu. Depending on the production timeline and how busy the Sakkan is, sakkan
corrections can range from redrawing the entire animation to just redrawing one frame and telling the Nigen stage to
“match the rest 他合わせて”. Sakkan corrections are usually drawn on yellow paper.
After the Sakkan check is complete, it will move to the Sou Sakkan 総作監, sometimes the sou sakkan will fix just a
few lines, like the lips, jawline or eyes. Sometimes they will redraw the entire animation if they have a particular style
they wanted that the Sakkan didn’t express properly. Sou Sakkans usually draw on green paper. After the checking
stage, the cuts are sent simultaneously to the Nigen and Background painting stage.
Nigen 第二原画（第二原画）
Nigen 二原 is the stage in Japanese animation where the corrections from the LO check stage are implemented into
the original layout. This is often done by the original layout artist, but sometimes the LO artist is too busy and the cut
package will be given to another animator. This stage is the final preparation of the Key animation for Douga.
Assembling the Files
Nigen cut packages when sent to the animator will include the following:
● E-conte 絵コンテ: The Storyboards for the section or episode you are working on.
● Settei 設定: The design sheets for the production or section.
● Original Layout Drawings
● Scans or Digital Enshutsu Corrections
● Scans or Digital Sakkan Corrections
● Scans or Digital Sou Sakkan Corrections
● Filled X-Sheet
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Constructing cut files from scans
In anime production much of the director and supervising staff will still work on paper. Even if the animator provides
digital layout, the cuts will likely be returned as scans. Most productions won’t take the time to make sure all the scans
are aligned with one another, so it is the animators responsibility to make sure all the peg holes align.
Example of Incorrectly Aligned layers:
For animators working digitally, this means bringing all the scan files into their software of choice, grouping the cel
corrections per cel and applying them to an animation timeline using the timing provided on the X-sheet.
There are some software solutions for automatically aligning peg holes. Otherwise it needs to be done manually.
Important: When assembling the Nigen file, it’s important that the peg holes are still included on the top of the
animation, and that the rest of the LO template is not included.
Implementing Director Corrections
The job of the animator during the Nigen stage is to make sure the director's corrections are properly implemented.In
order to do this properly there is a priority order for the drawings. Priority for drawing starts with Sou Sakkan, then
moves to Sakkan, then to Enshutsu. For each drawing correction, the animator must add the corrections together to
create a complete drawing.
For example: The Sou Sakkan might have corrected the eyes of the character on top of the Sakkan corrections. The
eyes on the Sou Sakkan drawing must be kept, and the Sakkan’s eye ignored. If the Sakkan/Sou Sakkan didn’t
redraw the entire character, then any remaining parts of the LO will need to be finished at the level of line fidelity of the
rest of the Sakkan drawings.
After the Sou Sakkan and Sakkan drawings are implemented into the original LO, it's important to read through all the
Enshutsu notes and corrections to make sure that all of the corrections were added by the Sakkan. It’s often the case
that Enshutsu corrections are passed to Nigen without Sakkan corrections. A common example of this would be if a
character is missing a small detail, like battle damage/dirt. It’s the job of the Nigen animator to implement these
changes. Often LO is still rough, even if the Sakkan’s chose to not correct some areas. In this case, it’s really
important for the animator to reference the character settei and model the character in the leftover areas properly.
Line work
Draftsmanship and careful drawing are a key focus area for Nigen. It’s important for animators to not think of nigen as
tracing. Nigen is the process of finishing the drawings. Animators need to be very careful to ensure that the Sakkan's
corrections are not just implemented, but improved in quality.
Key frames and Douga Guides
In Nigen, it’s the animator's job to implement the director's corrections to every key frame in the animation. For some
productions the douga guides can be kept as-is, but in other productions, they may want Nigen to implement the
corrections on the Douga guide frames as well.
Preparing submission files:
Studios have different submission protocols, but generally, the studios will request that the animators submit a
package including:
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.psd or .csp file of everything
Exported cels separated into Letter folders as .png
X-sheet
Genga Checks
After the Genga is submitted, the cut package may end up being sent to director staff for another round of corrections
before Douga. This will be the case if there are still problems with the cut and there is still time to improve on the
animation. This will come in the form of similar checks to the LO Checks. Enshutsu, Sakkan, and Sou Sakkan as
needed.
Appendix A:Glossary of Terms
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ViP9nm8hwd3mWOihhR4rMBEfHjvAH9qMhIcwHlbxYSk/edit?usp=s
haring
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Appendix B: Handwriting Reference
Anime production uses a lot of paper handwriting. This section is reference to help identify various common
handwritten Japanese notations and phrases.
(Work in Progress. This section will be added near the final draft, so we can make sure to get all the handwriting
notations at once from Japan)
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Appendix C: Template Material Anatomy
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Appendix D: Cel Notations
Serifu セリフ:Standard Lip flaps. Middle is left to douga
アキ口,中口,トジ口: Lip flaps for moving characters. Used when mouth needs to open and close during inbetweens
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Hoka __ Gousei: 他A①合成: Used when only part of a cel moves. This notation references the frame which needs
to be partially held. This is done in the shiage (paint) stage.
Wxp: Used for communicating areas that need to be translucent, such as shadows.
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Red X: Used to indicate areas which should be transparent on a cel. This is used in small areas, or cornered larger
areas
Animation Timing charts: Animation textbooks teach about these. They are very important for douga to know how to
space inbetweens. Note: Most anime is done on 2s or 3s.
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Appendix E: Timesheet Notations
The striving X-sheet graphics will be adapted for the anime survival kit.
The file can be downloaded here.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10k-qyt2xeTFhZVQr3l1GlQVUTN2VfnWy/view?usp=sharing
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