Conclusion

This project has allowed me to expand my knowledge on character design and help me better my choices when designing. I had a basic idea on what shape and colour theory was, but during the time of this project I understood that humans have a very deep and psychological connection with shapes and even more so with colour. These very simple elements can sway the opinions of an audience or consumer, and that every point of the design is taken into careful consideration.

When applying this to my own work, I researched colour theory; how colours can be perceived, what feelings they create when observed, how they can be used effectively and learning about different combinations of colours and what messages they would evoke when used in character design.

As this project was about mental illness, I got to extend my knowledge on contemporary cartoons that have characters with mental health problems and how they are utilised to enrich the narrative and create an appealing character with faults. I also investigated the “She-ra” series that had evolved from a marketing ploy to sell dolls to young girls, to a story about war, abuse, complex relationships and making hard decisions aimed at a young audience. The character’s in this show are great examples of appealing characters that have complex issues and shows the intended audience the right and wrong way to react to said issues. This show was a huge inspiration for my own characters.

When it came to designing my own characters with mental health issues, I was fairly confident with what I wanted; three girl characters that were helping each other through their issues, however when I released a survey to find out how many people suffered from BPD, Psychosis and Anxiety, I noticed that the most people who suffer with anxiety disorders are male. I further backed this up by researching ‘anxiety disorders in the UK’ and most young adults between 16-25 who suffer with anxiety are male.

This made me realise that I will have to completely change my idea for my characters. I decided to go with only two characters; a girl, who suffered with BPD, and a boy who was trying to get over his anxiety disorder. I was not being able to find much first-hand information about psychosis so decided to drop a third character and just focused on the two.

When I had established who these characters were, I wanted to think about how they would interact with each other, so this greatly effected how I designed them. I made them opposites of each other; one short and curvy, the other tall and lanky, which made them look very appealing together. The more I developed these characters, I started to think about a story I could tell about them, which I am hoping to elaborate on in Extended Practice.

Week 8: Completed Wren

I have finally completed Wren's character design process:

I really struggled to draw dynamic poses for Wren as I have always been pretty bad at drawing men. However, this project has pushed me to learn how to draw the male anatomy as well as learning how to push poses further to make more appealing and extreme poses.
I also have done some dynamic poses of Blair and Wren interacting with each other. I am hoping it shows their personalities and their complicated relationship.

Case Study: She-ra!

"She-ra and the Princesses of Power" is a reboot on the1985 television series "She-ra: The Princess of Power".

The show is a prime example of animation evolution, both in storytelling and character development. The characters from the 1985 cartoon are all a similar build with different colour hair. This is because the cartoon was created to market dolls and toys of the show, they only had one doll mould to make production cheaper, hence why all the characters are the same height and body type.

However, in the 2018 version of the show, the cast is formed from a whole range of different ethnicities, body-shapes and diverse personalities. The heroes and villains have in-depth backstories that make their actions understandable but no less reprehensible. 

The characters have been aged down to attract a younger audience, as people tend to identify with characters that are similar to their own age. 

There is also a great representation of the LGBTQ+ community, as there are same-sex couples in the show and the main characters own sexualities are fluid as well.

"She-ra and the Princess of Power" is a great study for character design and development, and I will be writing about it further in my essay. 

Week 7: More Blair and Wren

More Blair work;

Finished Dynamic Poses

Completed Turnaround Blair

I did some experiments with Wren's Colour Scheme:

I have decided on this colour scheme for him;

Most people who took my survey said that they would describe anxiety as either grey, white or black. However, when researching colour psychology, light yellow can actually create feelings of anxiety. He will also contrast with Blair's bold and bright colour scheme.

Week 7: Blair and Wren

The week before I decided to use the characters that I create in Context of Practice for a film I want to create for Extended Practice.

This really helped me think about the characters relationships with each other and how they would interact with each other.

I created some dynamic poses for Blair that I thought showed her personality;

I have also started on her turnaround sheet;

And also sketches for the emotions;

Unfortunately, I have been struggling with my anxiety character; Wren. As I do not draw men very often I have found it difficult to create a compelling male character. I know I want a very tall and thin character compared to Blair, who is short and curvy. He will also be a source of Blair's frustration but he will be a calming effect on her when she is willing to listen.

So I made a mood board to help with designing Wren:

And came up with these head busts for him to:

Week 5: More Blair

I have colour, line and costume tests for Blair;

I decided to go with the coloured line-art design and decided to go with the third design for her, with peer and Instagram comments taken into consideration.

I really wanted to show the contradicting feelings quite literally through her design by using different colours that also compliment each other.

Week 5: Blair

I was really struggling last week to create my characters, I was lacking inspiration and was really struggling to create an appealing character design for either of my characters.

I read a book called "The Little Book of Colour" by Karen Haller, it shows you how to use colour in design, in fashion and the psychological effects that each colour has on subliminal level. I know I wanted my character Blair to be cold and stand offish on the outside but she actually has a warm and vulnerable side that she keeps very hidden under her cold exterior shell. 

I decide to go with the classic complementary colour scheme of blue and orange, to quote the book; (insert quote here about the colour blue and orange)

Using these two main colours, I decide to create a mood-board to further help my art block

I now have a very clear idea of what I wanted Blair to look like, and started to come up with some initial designs for the character:

I realised that my own personal style wasn't really working for a character for animation, I really wanted to exaggerate certain elements so it would be more fun to see when animated. I took inspiration from Tex Avery, an artist on instagram named Susana Rodrigues (@susanarodriguesart) and from the newly released pilot of "Hazbin Hotel" created, directed and produced by Vivienne Medrano and her team.

I decided to make the eyes a lot bigger and the head smaller and rounder, even though she has some sharper features.

I decided to focus on two main shapes for her design; triangles and circles, as they are both contradictory to each other. Triangles are unstable shapes, don't offer much support and signify danger or something sharp, whereas circles are a very welcoming shape, something soft and makes you feel safe, however they are also vulnerable, we associate something like a baby, a puppy or a kitten with a circle, something that needs protection.

I'm going to use this design process to help me design the other two characters, choosing a colour scheme, keeping certain shapes in mind when designing them and greatly exaggerate certain elements of their design.

Case Study: Riley from "Inside Out"

 

Riley is a main character and her mind is the main location of the film. She is a really interesting character to analyse, she looks like an average eleven year pre-teen old however her emotions inside her head are very exaggerated to show which emotions they represent.

As the events of the film continue, Riley's appearance and attitude changes drastically; Joy and Sadness' journey representing her battle with her depression and coming to terms with moving to San Diego.

                            

As her depression progresses, Riley's design get's a lot darker compared to the beginning to the film; gradually moving away from bright and vibrant colours, to muted and neutral tones to finally just wearing black, showing the audience that she is deeply depressed. 

Week 4 - Defining Character

This week I wanted to put down the groundwork for my characters, write up their character sheets, get their initial designs on paper and look into colour schemes that would complement their personalities.

Initial Character Sheets for the Anxiety and BPD characters;

I still need to more research into Psychosis, as I did not get as much information from my first-hand research about the mental disorder.

I decided to give all my characters gender-neutral names as mental illness can affect any gender.

Week 3 - Collecting First Hand Research

After my tutorial with Ben, I came away with some more ideas to collect first-hand research for my project. I wrote up a survey on Survey Monkey;

Q1: Have you ever been diagnosed with Anxiety, Borderline Personality Disorder or Psychosis? If so, which one?

Q2: How would you describe your symptoms? (Minimum of three answers please)

Q3: Can you describe how you feel when you have bad days?

Q4: Is there a particular colour that can describe how you feel? What is it?

Q5: Do you ever notice yourself doing something physically when you get overwhelmed? i.e fidgeting with your fingers, biting your nails, etc

Q6: Have you found a way to help your mental health?

Q7: What gender do you identify as?


I will analyze the results of this survey and take them into consideration when writing up my character sheets and picking the archetypes for each character.

Case Study: Tex Avery

  

Frederick "Tex" Bean Avery was an American animator and director during the "Golden Age of Animation". He is most known for creating characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Droopy the Dog and many more.

He has a very distinct style, one that defined that particular era of animation; he highly exaggerates emotions for comedic effect, pushing body proportions to unrealistic degrees to really show what the character is feeling.

Even though this way of animation is very appealing, you see less and less of it in modern cartoons. Even in the most modern rendition of Looney Tunes; The Looney Tunes Show (2011) has less slapstick comedy and is more focused on the characters, their relationships and their emotions.

I want to explore more of Tex Avery's style of animation, find out why animators, director and writers have stayed clear from this exaggerated form of animation and how I can use this style to influence my own designs. 

Case Study: Steven Universe the Movie

Steven Universe the Movie is the expansion on the story of the Crystal Gems. Set two years later, Steven has grown up and is happy with his life, the Diamond Authority has been disbanded, peace has been brought to the universe and uncorrupted gems are living on Earth. 

Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Steven are all content in their lives until a new gem turns up, Spinel. 

Spinel is hell-bent on destroying Steven's happily ever after by taking away all the progress he and his friends have made over the years by using a special weapon called a Rejuvinator. During the fight Steven hits Spinel with her own weapon, resetting her as well.

This becomes a major focus of the movie, Steven must remind his friends everything they have been through and who they've become through those turmoils, as well as understanding Spinel and how to help her.

Spinel is such an interesting character, she shows so much emotion through her extremely exaggerated body movements, when she is happy and devastated.

Spinel is a perfect example of a character that has mental illness, we understand it through her design; the different colour schemes and shapes between her happy to broken forms, however we also know how she is feeling through her extreme animation, her body language pushes her emotions further. 

Her every emotion is showed physically and I believe that this is something that I will need to incorporate into my own character design, push the physical exaggeration as much I can to tell a story just through design. 

Case Study: Joker. Warning SPOLIERS

Joker is a new view on Gotham's Prince of Crime, with a heavy emphasis on how unchecked mental illness can seriously turn dangerous. 

Arthur Fleck, the protagonist of the film, is a mentally ill party clown and aspiring stand-up comedian. He suffers with a mental disorder that causes him to laugh uncontrollably at inappropriate times, which leads to an altercation with three young bankers.

Initially in self-defence, Arthur shoots the men but then he becomes exceedingly more violent, eventually killing them. 

Instead of being distraught or feeling guilty for his actions, the act of violence empowers Arthur, finally taking control of his life. 

The attack triggers a wave of rebellion throughout Gotham, giving Arthur more confidence in himself but he dives deeper into insanity. Learning that his mother and her boyfriend abused him as a child being the cause of his strange condition; he takes his anger out on her, killing her and any one else he deems that has done him wrong.


Arthur's story is one that hits very close to home, as it is such a gritty and truthful portrayal of severe mental health, how if it goes unchecked it can be a very dangerous and scary for the victim and the ones around them.

Even though Arthur is meant to be the bad guy in this film, the actor and director paint him in such a sympathetic light that you cannot help but feel sorry for him. The steps he takes to act like a normal citizen of Gotham are met with some many obstacles and he is not given the tools to overcome them, ensuring his descent into madness and to becoming homicidal.

Arthur's mannerisms change drastically during the film, from a meek and timid man, to becoming the unhinged and unpredictable Joker. The other focus of the film besides Arthur is his mental health, being a major part of his character, determining his actions and how he deals with them. He fabricates scenarios in his head, unable to identify what is reality and what is fantasy. He shows very clear signs of Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Manic Depressive Disorder and Antisocial Behaviour. 

Arthur Fleck is a prime example of well thought out character with mental illness but just so happens to be bad.

Week 2: Draft Proposal Extended

I have revised and improved my draft proposal to convey properly what I wish to achieve throughout my project and essay:

Proposal

I am wanting to explore character design with mental illness taken into consideration, as this has become more frequent in modern character design.

I will explore older character designs from the 1930's - 1950's, such as Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop and early Looney Tunes, to modern characters from shows like Steven Universe, Adventure Time and Bojack Horseman.

I will also be looking into live-action films and television shows that focus on mental health and take note on how it is portrayed, using the information that I gather to better my own designs and learn how the characters gain sympathy, animosity or adoration through simple design choices.  

As appeal is one of the twelve principles of animation, I want to explore how this translate theoretically to character design as well. I will be reading on how to make informed decisions throughout designing the characters, whether they are the protagonists, antagonists or the comic relief and how you can push these defined archetypes to create more complex and even more appealing characters.  

Research into particular mental disorders will be imperative to this project, on disorders those that I am familiar with and ones that require further study; symptoms, reactions, dangers and recovery that is involved with each particular illness. 

I want to focus on three particular mental disorders; one that is particularly common, one that I know a lot about and one that I am not that familiar with.

I will also conduct interviews with professionals, people who suffer from the disorders, people’s own opinions on mental health and drawing from my own experiences with mental health.

Colour and shape theory will play a huge part in the project, as both will determine how the characters are portrayed by the audience. I will experiment with different colour schemes and design the characters with certain shapes in mind to visually communicate what the character represents.

My practical work will be one or a series of character designs that have been thoroughly thought out, taking in colour and shape theory also getting feedback from outside source to make sure I am clearly conveying the right message across.

From my first and second hand research, I will determine what attributes to focus on for each mental illness to make the distinctive from each other. I will gather my peer’s opinions of each stage of the design process and take on the constructive criticism to improve my designs where necessary.

I will be creating characters with backstories, which means I will have to think how this would affect their personality, their relationships and their outlook on the world. Creating in-depth character sheets will aid me in creating competent decisions on the characters’ physical appearance.

I was also thinking of showing the journey of a character going through mental illness; before, initial stage, during, recovering and recovered. Exploring different ways of showing the internal struggle physically.