1.
drawing; artwork; illustration
The act of drawing or creating visual art, or the resulting artwork itself. Used broadly for paintings, illustrations, and artistic creation.
作画に三年かかった。
The artwork took three years to complete.
この画家の作画スタイルは独特だ。
This painter's artistic style is unique.
細部まで丁寧に描かれた作画が高く評価されている。
The carefully detailed artwork has been highly praised.
2.
animation quality; animation work
In the context of anime and manga, refers specifically to the quality of the animation or the process of creating animation frames. A key term in anime discussion and criticism.
このアニメは作画がすごい。
The animation in this anime is amazing.
最終回の作画が崩れていた。
The animation quality dropped in the final episode.
戦闘シーンの作画を担当したアニメーターが話題になった。
The animator who handled the battle scene's animation became a hot topic.
In online anime discussion, 作画 almost always refers to animation quality (sense 2). Fans use terms like 作画崩壊 (animation collapse) to describe episodes with noticeably poor drawing quality, and 神作画 (god-tier animation) to praise outstanding animation.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 作画崩壊 — animation quality collapse
- 作画監督 — animation director
- 作画が崩れる — the animation falls apart
- 神作画 — outstanding animation (slang)