Sad Clown Paradox.

Behind the laughter. A 2D animated film exploring the contradictory relationship between humor and mental illness, and its possible association with cyclothymic temperaments.

Created with Cassie Ren, Jenn Shao and Amy Zhang for Nicholas Woolridge, the film follows a performer whose outward humor contrasts with his inner emotional world. A muted color palette gives way to monochrome sequences, using character performance and visual metaphors to make a complex subject approachable for a general audience. I contributed storyboarding, character design, animation and compositing. The film has received more than 35,000 views on YouTube.