In 2D animation, a character is drawn by hand, on computer, or a combination of both. Even with today’s technology, most traditional 2D animation starts with drawings. The artist creates a whole series of images, one after another, making slight changes in the character’s position. When these images are run together quickly, it creates the effect of movement.
Early animators did all their work by hand, and prepared each image, or cel. When all the cels were finished, they were edited into a film that ran at a speed of twenty-four frames, or individual cels, per second, which was the standard for motion pictures. Classic animated films like Bambi or Fantasia (both by Walt Disney Studios) were done this way.