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Ever wondered what cartoon characters in real life would look like? Yes, they’re fictional sketches, which means we’ll never know their human looks in our world. But what if cartoon characters were real? 

The subject of cartoon characters IRL is fascinating, so Bored Panda’s pro member Hidreley delved into experimenting with AI-generated cartoon characters. That’s what digital art is about—blurring the lines between fantasy and reality on screen!

Surprisingly, some cartoon characters as humans look even better than the originals. See if your favorite cartoon characters are on this list, and scroll further to witness 23 pictures of real-life cartoon characters!

Note: The original article was written by Hidrėlėy and later edited and updated by the Bored Panda team. 

More info: Instagram

Hidreley did all the work on AI-generated cartoon characters by himself: “I’ve done some similar posts by other authors here on Bored Panda. I wanted to try something out myself, and so I dove into the world of AI. This time, I challenged myself to try to do one on the theme of cartoon characters. For this project, I used Photoshop and three mobile applications, FaceApp, Gradient, and Remini.

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    The Simpsons were the most challenging when making realistic cartoon characters. “In terms of how they all turned out, I’m more and more pleased with the results with each post I make. I really liked how Moe Szyzlak, Ned Flanders, and Milhouse Van Houten turned out because initially, I thought that the Simpsons drawing style would be very hard to emulate on ‘real life’ terms. Still, they are actually very easy to recognize,” Hidreley explains. 

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    #4

    Moana

    ai recreation of appearance in real life of Moana character from the cartoon

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    Orange Is Aging
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    “I am Moana of Moto’nui. You will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te’fiti.”

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    “This post inadvertently brought back some good memories from my childhood. Like every kid in my generation, I loved watching cartoons. I really loved the Simpsons and Hanna Barbera classics, and I can safely say that they’ve made a huge impact on my life,” adds Hidreley. 

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    “I’ve been exploring the world of artificial intelligence recently, and I can tell you, it’s a world without limits! With the rise of AI-assisted art generation, there are virtually (no pun intended) no boundaries for digital art; you just have to be creative and know how to guide the blind hand of the machine,” explains Hidreley. 

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    #9

    Ned Flanders

    ai recreation of appearance in real life of Ned Flanders character from the cartoon

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    At some point, we’ve all wondered if cartoon characters were real. Were they inspired by celebrities or real-life events? Hidreley explains that he’s also intrigued by this concept: 

    “I don't want to tease anything too early, but currently, I’m working hard on a project where I’m trying to show what some prematurely deceased celebrities would have looked like if they were still alive. I hope it will turn out great, and I’ll be able to share this with you soon!”

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    #10

    Milhouse

    ai recreation of appearance in real life of Milhouse character from the cartoon

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    Kristina Meyer
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He looks like a guy I went to elementary School with (except the haircolor). His Name was Sten.

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    #11

    Rapunzel

    ai recreation of appearance in real life of Rapunzel character from the cartoon

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    #16

    Lady Tremaine

    ai recreation of appearance in real life of Lady Tremaine character from the cartoon

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    Orange Is Aging
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wrong hair. Her butt hair has always been very important to me

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    #18

    Kristoff

    ai recreation of appearance in real life of Kristoff character from the cartoon

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    Orange Is Aging
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He kinda looks like some kind of 2000’s Disney Channel character from a show that takes place in a summer camp

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    #20

    Isabela Madrigal

    ai recreation of appearance in real life of Isabela Madrigal character from the cartoon

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    Orange Is Aging
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    WELCOME TO THE FAMILY MADRIGAL! THE HOME OF THE FAMILY MADEIGAL! WHERE ALL THE PEOPLE ARE fAnTaStIcAl AnD mAgIcAl!

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    #21

    John Smith

    ai recreation of appearance in real life of John Smith character from the cartoon

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    ioala
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He looks like Samantha's boyfriend from Sex and the city.

    Rhia Corvalis
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I haven't seen this one, but I did mistake him (bottom left corner) for Captain Phoebus from Hunchback of Notre Dame for a sec. Now I've just got this image of Phoebus spamming surfer lingo while Frollo is losing his sh*t lol

    spideroni
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Looks like a himbo-surfer type love interest in a beach themed Disney channel movie

    Rachel L
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That looks like John Travolta and Tom Cruise’s love- child 🤣

    Robert Bailey
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Not too close https://www.biography.com/political-figure/john-smith

    Cora Matley
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    santa cruz surfer......that is being so steriotypical *falls in love anyways*

    IRefuseToBeHuman
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    John Smith is real, he is in history, he looks like a dwarf on drugas.

    CapitolQT
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ummm… isn’t this base pic literally “Smith” from Sex in the City?

    !nib@by
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Looks like that one guy from the vine that hold up a picture frame with a graph on it: Look at this graph 😀

    Ellie X
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He looks like the squeeze filter in photo booth was put right at his eyes

    Toni Eubank
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Good lord. You guys and gals who finds anything wrong with this dude are either green with envy or you hate him because you know you could never have someone who looks like him. Too bad. I’m 71 years old and have seen and continue to see lots of gorgeous men in my life. I put all good looking men on a 1-10 scale. The 1s are “good looking” guys. 2s are “really good looking” guys. 3s are “he’s handsome“ 4s “He’s very handsome“. 7s are “wow”, 8s are “WOW”. 9s are “O MY GOD. Look at this guy”. 10s are ”Wwwwwwooowwww, my eyes, my eyes! A perfectly gorgeous man.”

    Last Brane-Sell
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hey Everyone, look... his left eyebrow... and his jawline is solely based on one wrinkle

    Laura Paalanen
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They just gave Tom Cruze blue eyes and blonde hair, for this one.

    Ray Hood
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What a great idea, but I was really holding my breath for Shrek.

    sean prentice
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Captain John Smith, was also a real person ofcourse, and likely a good storyteller...equally members of the British aristocracy can claim decent from Pocahontas, Matoaka...the Lady Rebecca...and John Rolfe.

    chimken 🇺🇦
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    WHY DOES EVERYONE LOOK LIKE PEOPLE I KNOW 😭😭😭😭( this looks like my bf btw)

    vxbes
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    johns hair was always important…like lady tremaines

    Phill
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Is it just me or does he look like Heath Ledger in A Knights Tale?

    Halo183
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    why does he look like my P.E. teacher????????????????????

    Chloe
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    looks like a footballer that would roll around on the floor every two seconds 😄

    Raven DeathShade
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I remember the real John Smith. He was a no-nonsense soldier who forced everyone to actually do work so they could eat.

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