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Have you ever wondered what some cartoon characters would look like as modern-day adults? Well, not to worry, because an artist by the name of Isaiah K. Stephens decided to start a series where they turn cartoon characters from old shows into modern-day adults.

Many of us must have grown up watching nostalgic cartoons such as Doug, South Park, and Rugrats. The artist Isaiah Stephens drew what some "grown-up" characters would look like and the result speaks for itself.

More info: Instagram

#1

Dexter From Dexter's Laboratory

Dexter From Dexter's Laboratory

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Bored Panda reached out to Isaiah with some questions! First, we wanted to know how the artist got started on the illustrations, and here's what he said, "I’ve been drawing since I was a very young child. Drawing was always my way to escape all the negative things going on in my life and in the world. I always used it as a form of therapy."

We were also wondering whether the artist was self-taught or studied his craft.

"I’m mostly self-taught. Outside of art classes in high school and college, I haven’t really had any formal training. I did go to school for animation, though. The focus there was more on movement and acting as opposed to creating still images."

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With all of that being said, we were curious how the artist got the idea for the series.

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"I’m in this weird stage in my life where nostalgia means more to me now than I think it ever will. I’m officially in my 30s and looking back on my childhood, I can say that was the happiest time of my life and a big part of that is the media that I consumed as a child. All of the cartoons, TV shows, movies, and all those things still mean so much to me because of the people I got to share those experiences with.

My siblings, my family, and my old friends. So these pieces, in a way, were a celebration of those characters that I grew up with and of those shows that help me through some pretty serious times in my life. These pieces were always meant to be fun and a love letter to these shows, movies, and TV shows that I hold so close to my heart."

#6

Keesha Franklin From The Magic School Bus

Keesha Franklin From The Magic School Bus

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Drawing is no easy feat so we asked the artist how long it takes him to finish off one artwork.

"I actually can complete these pretty quickly, especially because they base them off of the already established character design. So I’d say each piece takes roughly between 2 to 4 hours."

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Following the conversation earlier about the childhood series, we asked Isaiah which of the childhood series was his personal favorite.

"I love all of the pieces that I’ve done through this collection. But if I had to choose ONE favorite, I’d say it was the Rugrats. The Rugrats were always my favorite TV show growing up and I still hold all of those characters near and dear to my heart. So for more reasons than one, the Rugrats are my favorite of the set."

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#9

Arnold Perlstein From The Magic School Bus

Arnold Perlstein From The Magic School Bus

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emilyatwater avatar
Hopefulhippo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wonder if he’s gotten over the trauma of his field trip days

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

I remember Arnold, poor guy could never catch a break. This drawing though, went from cute to hot o.o

gabrielshultz avatar
Orange Is Aging
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What is Arnold doing in that picture from the show??? His hand is a little bit going into his shirt (through closed buttons I might add) 💀😭

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David Kramer
Community Member
1 year ago (edited)

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If any of these kids was a bit chunky when they grew up, it'd probably be Arnold. But of course, everyone has to be sexy when they grow up....... Wish they were more realistic

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Lastly, we couldn't help but ask if the artist had any plans in the near future for some other series, and here's what he said, "Oh, I have tons of ideas for projects to do. Too many, if I’m being completely honest! I just have to find the motivation and time to complete them all, so stay tuned!"

#11

Kuki Sanban From The Codename: Kids Next Door

Kuki Sanban From The Codename: Kids Next Door

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#13

Wanda From The Fairly OddParents

Wanda From The Fairly OddParents

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#16

Ash Ketchum From Pokémon

Ash Ketchum From Pokémon

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#17

Kanker Sisters From Ed, Edd n Eddy

Kanker Sisters From Ed, Edd n Eddy

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#26

Angelica Pickles From Rugrats

Angelica Pickles From Rugrats

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#27

Kyle Broflovski From South Park

Kyle Broflovski From South Park

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#29

Misty From Pokémon

Misty From Pokémon

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#39

Francis From The Fairly Oddparents

Francis From The Fairly Oddparents

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#46

Jonny 2x4 From Ed, Edd N Eddy

Jonny 2x4 From Ed, Edd N Eddy

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sawdust99 avatar
Sawdust
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never seen nor even heard of this cartoon, but I'm somehow still glad to see that this kid kept his wooden board. :-)

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#50

Courtney Gripling From The As Told By Ginger

Courtney Gripling From The As Told By Ginger

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Note: this post originally had 66 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.