Study Task 4: Introduction

My introduction to my project:

After looking into how mental illness generally affects people, colour and shape theory, I believe I have gathered enough information to make well-rounded and thought out character design that correctly represents their respective illness. Making sure to take information from my fellow classmates and ask them about their own experiences and opinions on mental health I hope to gain a broader understanding and create characters that justifiably represent the mentally ill.



Formal introduction:

Is Mental Illness Portrayed Well in Cartoons?

I have gathered information into how mental illness affects the general populous and how it is portrayed in modern media, as well as looking into how characters are designed with purpose and intent using particular colours and shape theory. I believe this information will help me establish a good groundwork to design and create characters that suffer with mental illness. 

I am using the following texts to help elaborate on my question:


The Psychopathology of Cinema: How Mental Illness and Psychotherapy are Portrayed in Film by Lauren Beachum

"Stereotypes of people with mental illness as dangerous and incompetent reduce these individuals to nothing but the most exaggerated, caricaturized versions of their diagnoses. These caricatures are the products of how mental illness is represented by arguably the most influential institution of our culture: the media."  pg 4


PSYCHOLOGY IN CHARACTER DESIGN Creation of a Character Design Tool by Marika Nieminen

"Colours are very important in projecting a character’s personality; primarily based on the cultural symbolisms associated with them and secondly on aesthetic reasons. By changing the saturation, shade or tint of a hue, the perception of a colour can have drastic changes"

Color Psychology: The Emotional Effects of Colors - arttherapyblog.com

"The psychology of color is based on the mental and emotional effects colors have on sighted people in all facets of life. There are some very subjective pieces to color psychology as well as some more accepted and proven elements. Keep in mind, that there will also be variations in interpretation, meaning, and perception between different cultures."

I have also gathered substantial evidence that many cartoon characters are designed with mental illness in mind;

Blue Diamond from Steven Universe, using shapes such as circles and triangles to convey that she is an unstable character but that she has a softer side to her (ref Nieminen pg 10-11). Using cooler tones she gives off a regal appearance however blue also is represented as a colour of sadness (ref artterapyblog.com), especially in her design which is emphasised by the shapes used in her design.  

Elsa is a prime example of an evolving character, she starts at the start if the film as an anxious, unsure and untrusting individual, shrouded in dark and oppressive tones. However, throughout the course of the film, she learns to accept her insecurities, to not let them control her and that she is allowed to ask for help if needed.

Study Task 3: Images and Theory

I want to explore how modern day characters with mental illnesses are represented in the media and are they being represented well. I will also be looking into how characters are designed and what makes their designs so effective. I want to explore the colour schemes that they choose for certain characters and what emotions those colours evoke in the audience.

In the picture above I had collected data on popular modern day characters and shows that represent mental illness. 

I have used several different sources to help me establish some groundwork for making my own characters. I have used a research paper by Marika Nieminen called Psychology in Character Design to have an understanding of how characters are created for certain roles by using particular colours and shapes.

The Psychopathology of Cinema: How Mental Illness and Psychotherapy are Portrayed in Film - by Lauren Beachum is an informative paper on how the view of mental illness in cinema has changed and why it was seen as such a taboo to have it in plain sight for the audience to see or for them to take it seriously.

Finally "The Book on Human Emotions" by Tiffany W. Smith is a well documented 'dictionary' on a large portion of human emotions, where the meanings of them come from and how they develop over time.