What is douga?
Douga (動画) are the in-between and clean-up drawings. Inbetweeners take the key animator's genga and draw the frames in between, producing the tight, finished line art that becomes the trace line on a cel.
From douga to cel
Douga are drawn on paper punched with peg holes so they register perfectly with the genga and with each other. Once approved, each douga's outline is transferred to a cel — historically by hand inking, later by xerographic copy — and painted.
What to look for
- Clean, confident single-weight lines (in contrast to the rougher genga).
- Sequential drawing numbers within a cut.
- Colored line indications showing where shadow or highlight lines change color.
- Peg holes and cut/scene numbers.
Because there are far more in-betweens than keys in any sequence, douga are the most plentiful of the drawn production materials.