Who Framed Buster Bunny? (Hint: Me.)
The quest to frame my Buster cel is complete! Let's do a quick recap! In November, I bought an animation cel picturing Buster Bunny that was used in the making of a 1990 "Tiny Toon Adventures" episode for $25. Because of the holidays, getting it framed was put on the back burner. Finally, earlier this month, I took it to some professional commercial framers who wanted a staggering $164 to properly frame it. The majority of that cost was labor, but their estimate included $40 for two mat boards alone. Mat board typically runs $3 to $10 for a sheet 5-feet by 5-feet, so to demand that much is ludicrous. I then realized I'd just end up framing it myself using my ancient college photograph-mounting skills and suggestions from people online who do this all the time.
Here is the final result, just completed yesterday:
Sorry if that messes up anyone's browser. Anyway, I'm devastated by how wonderful it turned out. You guys ready to find out how much it cost me to do it myself? $23.01. Yes, twenty-three dollars and one penny. I found the 16-inch by 16-inch frame as part of a deal at a local shop having one of those buy-one-get-one-for-a-penny sales. This "Buster frame" was the frame I got for a penny (Originally $30) and it's a really stunning wood frame. It's black paint and classic straight beveled lines go well with the blue-on-black theme. There are three layers of mat board in there- The top blue layer and two black layers which actually are what secures the cel so the surface doesn't touch anything. The cel is literally suspended in air. Altogether, all three mat boards were $10 total. Suck on that, professionals.
I got the best deal on the glass, though. I paid a local shop $13 for a pre-cut sheet of UV-resistant glass which will protect the cel and the mat board from damaging light for decades to come. So yea, altogether it was only $23.01. I borrowed my sister's mat cutting system of tools to get it all done and the identification "plaque" was just something I printed out on normal paper. I think the results speak for themselves and I'm very proud to have accomplished it myself for a fraction of what professionals wanted. I'd argue it's of the same quality, too! Framing it like this probably drove its collectable value sky high as well. I'd now wager this framed cel as being worth several hundreds of dollars and is probably going to become one of my most prized possessions.
So now people are asking me to frame their crap. I could go into business doing this!
Here is the final result, just completed yesterday:
Sorry if that messes up anyone's browser. Anyway, I'm devastated by how wonderful it turned out. You guys ready to find out how much it cost me to do it myself? $23.01. Yes, twenty-three dollars and one penny. I found the 16-inch by 16-inch frame as part of a deal at a local shop having one of those buy-one-get-one-for-a-penny sales. This "Buster frame" was the frame I got for a penny (Originally $30) and it's a really stunning wood frame. It's black paint and classic straight beveled lines go well with the blue-on-black theme. There are three layers of mat board in there- The top blue layer and two black layers which actually are what secures the cel so the surface doesn't touch anything. The cel is literally suspended in air. Altogether, all three mat boards were $10 total. Suck on that, professionals.
I got the best deal on the glass, though. I paid a local shop $13 for a pre-cut sheet of UV-resistant glass which will protect the cel and the mat board from damaging light for decades to come. So yea, altogether it was only $23.01. I borrowed my sister's mat cutting system of tools to get it all done and the identification "plaque" was just something I printed out on normal paper. I think the results speak for themselves and I'm very proud to have accomplished it myself for a fraction of what professionals wanted. I'd argue it's of the same quality, too! Framing it like this probably drove its collectable value sky high as well. I'd now wager this framed cel as being worth several hundreds of dollars and is probably going to become one of my most prized possessions.
So now people are asking me to frame their crap. I could go into business doing this!