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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.

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. 

#4

Moana

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

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Orange Is Aging
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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. 

“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
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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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gabrielshultz avatar
Orange Is Aging
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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
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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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#19

Elsa

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

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Julie Wattigney
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Her face doesn't look right. Things are not where they should be.

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Ak artist
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Disappointed with this one, no braid, purple eyeshadow, or glitter. Still pretty though

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

Definetly a Nordic/northern salvic look going here, but you can see the AI doesnt take to the "side-on" profile very well. The eyes always look a little mismatched in size.

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Abri Correa
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ummm first off, WHY is her head like that? I mean i can see the resemblance, but still

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Martin Pal
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, Elsa was made by animating an... Adult-movie actor named Elsa Jean. She has a real life copy already : D

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Micah Chips
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

kinda reminding me of Dove Cameron and someone else I can't quite put my finger on? Someone help me

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Luke Fortune
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Elsa is based on the very real adult star Elsa Jean, the creator has confirmed.

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Kathleen Ferber
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These are all lovely people that are meant to look like popular cartoon characters that most people know on sight. Not even being critical here, but there are quite a few that just do not. Some are lacking an important detail, ie: braids and sideburns, and some just aren't right at all. We should be able to see the cartoon character right away and not have to study and analyze to figure out who it is. It is obvious that a lot of time and work went into this project though.

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Morgan C
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That hair would DEFINITELY be bothered anyway by the cold

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Hello
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If I could morph into anyone and live a different life I would want to be her

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

ok this is obviously some famous celebrity/youtuber that got photoshopped into oblivion

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

Poor thing. And she was locked up in thst room all those years. I'd walk up that mountain to her ice palace and give her her glove back.

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Elina Wachtmeister
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was little I went to a tea party (fake) with "THE REAL ELSA". Halfway through I saw a wig on and she had black hair underneath.

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Nicole Miller
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I like it better when the illustrations are realistic. Not this one so much

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Lola-Beans Moores
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Anna faith is an Elsa look alike, I think does more justice than this image. You can look it up she has a YouTube interview.

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Tomas Anshelm
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why does she look absolutely nothing like Anna done by the same computer? They do look alot alike as animated.

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xolitaire
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The nose looks seriously weird here, like the AI mixed a half portrait and a front portrait

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Gypsy Lee
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If Disney drew her infantile eyes any larger she would only be eyes & a pout.

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Marita Berndt
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Elsa should look smarter/ stronger/ mischievous...and where is the braid?

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dreamtaway
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This reminds of my best friend from elementary school a bit!

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

her braid apparently, either let go or went into the UnKoWn InTo ThE UnKoWWWWnnn

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Scourge McCloud
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Very pretty 🙂 not everyone's face is perfect and there's nothing wrong with that.

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GollyRojer
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What did you do... tell the AI, "It's a young female with a face and blonde hair"? There's no resemblance at all here.

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Sheldan Picard
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fun fact: Elsa is based off of a porn star of the same name 😜

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#20

Isabela Madrigal

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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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