Research: Panic Attacks in Animation

Content warning: the media below includes themes of mental illness, panic attacks and self harm.

My film features a panic attack experienced by the protagonist Sunny. They are overwhelmed by being misgendered at home and school and their difficulty with their school work. In my animatic I have depicted the animatic with an experimental animation style, using messy lines and odd shapes to represent the loss of control and normality in that state. I've had a look at how panic attacks have been represented in other animated media to get some ideas about how to best represent it in my film. 

Cindy J. Aaronson, What causes panic attacks, and how can you prevent them?, 2020

The video above uses inverted colours to visualise the feelings of confusion or unreality during the moment of a panic attack.

illymation, Panic Attacks, 2019

This video uses swirling colours to represent the confusion and cyclical thoughts during a panic attack. 

Karla Monterrosa, 18 years old and I think I'm having a heart attack, 2018

This video uses a flashing array of objects, shapes and colours to represent the racing thoughts of a panic attack. 

All of these animated videos use the medium of animation to represent feelings that are difficult to otherwise represent visually. The each use different techniques to capture the feelings of confusion and uncertainty that accompany anxiety and panic attacks, such as inverted colours, swirling colours and shifting shapes. 
In my own work, I am experimenting with how I can represent these feelings in my character to represent what they are feeling. 

Research: Background/Environments

In developing my backgrounds for my animated film, I've been looking at how other animators develop their own backgrounds for animated works. I've looked at feature films by Studio Ghibli, animated television shows by Cartoon Network and Disney Channel, and independent animators including students at Gobelins L'Ecole D'Image and Victoria Vincent. I have also included some videos by independent animators showing their work process. These videos gave me some insight into what one should and shouldn't include in backgrounds, and how to make them flow with the rest of the animation. 

The screenshots from various animated works below have been selected because of their particular use of colour, composition, lineart and detail/simplicity. I'm looking at how the characters interact with their surroundings, how much detail can or should be put into a shot, and how to keep shots interesting and dynamic. 

Studio Ghibli, Kiki's Delivery Service, 1989

Studio Ghibli, Whisper of the Heart, 1995

Studio Ghibli, Whisper of the Heart, 1995

Studio Ghibli, Howl's Moving Castle, 2004

Cartoon Network, Steven Universe, 2013-2020

Disney Channel, Gravity Falls, 

Gobelins, Contretemps, 2021

Gobelins, Contretemps, 2021

Gobelins, Golden Hour, 2021

Gobelins, Golden Hour, 2021

Gobelins, Louise, 2021

Gobelins, Louise, 2021

Victoria Vincent, Floatland, 2018

Videos on developing environments for animation: 

Background Research: Steven Universe

 In developing my backgrounds for my film, I'm looking to the style of Steven Sugar's background illustrations for the Cartoon Network show Steven Universe. 

Steven Sugar - Illustration of Steven's room

Version of the background as it appears in the show

I'm looking particularly at the shape language and gentleness of the lineart, and the naturalistic colours. The way certain details are simplified in a stylised way is particularly effective for animation, and to evoke the tenderness that I wish to achieve in my film. 

Animator Research: Victoria Vincent (vewn)

 Victoria Vincent or vewn is an animator and illustrator from California, USA. She makes short films with a distinctive style using shifting lineart, sharp colours and pointy corners. 

Victoria Vincent, Twins in Paradise, 2020

Vincent's films use a simplistic art style to tell engaging and profound stories dealing with a host of issues, such as grief, addiction, loneliness, and coming of age. Her use of inconsistent lines, jumpy animation and unrealistic proportions creates a childlike effect, which contrasts greatly with the subject matter of her work. 

Victoria Vincent, Floatland, 2018

In terms of the practicality of producing animation, I find her work inspiring as well, showing that an animation doesn't need to be complex, highly detailed and realistic to be successful. Her work prioritises story, mood and tone over "quality" (detail and realism). As I'm considering producing my own animated film, I find myself looking at Vincent's work and considering how I can incorporate this looseness into my own film, and perhaps there's a line to be drawn between totally focusing on making the film look realistic and totally focusing on the story. 

Student Animation Research: LOUISE - Gobelins

Gobelins, Louise, 2021

(Content warning: this film includes sexual content and nudity.) 

 Louise is an animated film produced by a team of students at Gobelins, l'école de l'image. I'm most interested in the painted style of the film, and the way lines are used sparingly to evoke this painterliness. 
I've been looking at the team's Instagram accounts in which they are documenting the process of creating the film, from storyboard to animatic to lines to final cut. 

Looking at this process, I can see how many times an animator might work on the same scene. I'm keeping this in mind while working on my animatic, both knowing that it's fine if my animatic isn't perfect, but the composition of my shots may heavily influence my final animation depending on how attentive I am to each scene.  

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