Artist Uses A.I. To Turn Popular Cartoon Characters Into "Real" People

Watching a cartoon or an otherwise animated show, we naturally accept each character's exaggerated features, large eyes, pear-shaped faces, bulbous noses, you name it. It’s just whatever, they’re drawings, after all, and it’s not like they have to be realistic.

One artist found himself caught up in the curiosity of “what-if”, and decided to attempt the evolution from cartoon to real people. With the help of artificial intelligence, Brazilian artist Hidreley Leli Dião went to work.

Dião shares that he uses a combination of Photoshop, and three mobile apps, FaceAPP, Gradiente, and Remini to complete these incredible transformations. And that each image takes about two and a half hours on average.

That means that the 40 images we’ve collected to share with you would have taken him over 4 days of editing! And truly, the results are delightful.

His images look almost flawless, making his work look easy, while logically, there are layers of skill, practice, and mastery at play. It’s obvious that Dião has put a lot of time and effort into learning and mastering AI-assisted digital art.

From the Madrigal Family to The Simpsons, other familiar Disney characters to iconic horror movie dolls, and more, Dião has opened our eyes to a world most people might not have considered before. Bringing the make-believe and animated characters to life.

Continue scrolling to see Hidreley Leli Dião’s incredible recreations.