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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. 

    #6

    Tinkerbell

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

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    Ivanka van der Reest
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well, that's something AI doesn't know or consider. AI is not a person. AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. It's not sentient. It doesn't know the history behind a cartoon character. Probably this AI program has access to a database of random faces and then when a cartoon is presented they use all that data and algorithms to make it into something realistic. And I can definitely see Tinkerbell in this so the AI did a good job.

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

    Tinkerbell was modeled after Marilyn Monroe according to the artist that created her for Disney, Marc Davis. Maybe the guy could have fed this information into the AI to use it as part of its determination about what Tinkerbell would look like for real.

    Hazel Jennings
    Community Member
    2 years ago

    This comment has been deleted.

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

    Unless tinkerbell uses some strong hair spray, the AI has too small a head and does not have the tilted eyes.

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

    i thought shed have a bit more slanted/almond eye shape. i cant remember the actual term right now

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

    by far my fave disney character and seein her realistic makes my heart happy

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

    You found perfect person for Tinkerbell. Looks just like her. Awesome

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

    I don't think this looks anything like her. Especially the eyes and the cheecks look completely different to me. Tinkerbell has very round soft cheeks.

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

    You do understand that its not the face we were looking at, right . . . . how she flew with that booty is physics defying . . . .

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

    Definitely a doppelganger for Taylor Swift. Pretty Tinkerbell for a live action movie.

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

    Very attractive, but in my opinion, she looks too old to be Tinkerbell.

    GG
    Community Member
    2 years ago

    This comment has been deleted.

    goth mouse (they them)
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "If you can't imagine yourself being Peter Pan, you won't BE Peter Pan, so eat up." my favorite :)

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

    I love taylor swift so much that i have all of her lyrics to every album memorized and um oops for spilling all that out

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

    Looks like a great Tinkerbell. The face is very close, but the hair is perfect.

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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

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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

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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

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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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