I had a black dog, his name was depression

I found an animation online called I had a black dog, his name was depression by The World Health Organisation online and it really inspired me with my own animation. Again, like the ChildLine animation it visually represents depression in a very simple way, but because it represents depression in a very simple way it makes it less scary and more approachable.

ChildLine represented depression as an uncomfortable helmet and this animation represents depression as a big black dog. I feel this is more effective that representing depression as some sort of giant terrifying monster because if they did represent depression as something a lot scarier I feel it would make young people who might have depression less likely to want to combat it. Because both these short films represent depression as something so simple and a part of everyday life I feel young people who are feeling depressed might watch these shorts and think hang on, maybe I can fight my depression and maybe depression isn't so scary to fight, why should I let something so simple take over my life?

The animation style is very simplistic but this simplistic style really works as it again makes it very accessible to the viewer. Because our protagonist in the animation who has depression looks like anyone, this means he could be anyone which makes him relatable.

The simple style of this animation inspired me to go with a simple visual style of my protagonist, because she has a fairly simple design it means the viewer can watch the animation and relate to her easier. And then the design to go with this visual style received very positive feedback.