30 Examples of Disney Characters in Real Life

Have you ever wondered what your favorite Disney characters would look like in the real world? Well, look no further than digital artist Hidreley Diao who creates artificial intelligence-generated images detailing what Disney characters in real life would look like. The Brazilian uses a mix of Photoshop, FaceApp, Gradient, and Remini to come up with his brilliant portraits that even Walt Disney would be impressed with.

After coming across AI software and realizing he could design life-like images of cartoons and non-existent people, Diao began experimenting with different resources. “Since I discovered artificial intelligence, I’ve been challenging myself to do things I would never have imagined doing,” Diao told PetaPixel. “With several studies and a lot of practice, I thought it was time to bring some Disney characters to human life.”

It’s not just beloved Disney characters that Diao recreates as real life people, with the artist also turning characters from TV shows such as The Simpsons and Dragon’s Cave into life-like humans. “I look for images in banks and overlay the image starting with the eyes,” Diao said when talking about how he generates his designs. “The hardest part is finding an image that matches the character I’m working on.”

The Bored Panda contributor isn’t the only artist to try their hand had recreating a famous Disney character as a real life person. Finnish artist Jirka Vinse Jonatan Väätäinen is another creator who uses Photoshop to reimagine a wide array of Disney characters as real world people. You can check out his work here.

The recent rise in AI software such as ChatGPT and DALL-E 2 – platforms that create written documents and images from just a few words or questions posed by those using the software – means projects like Diao’s are becoming more and more accessible for all types of artists. Even someone with little design experience has the ability to jump online and come up with their own real life version of a Disney princess or Disney prince.

“I’ve been exploring the world of artificial intelligence recently, and I can tell you, it’s a world without limits!” he told Bored Panda. “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.”

To showcase Diao’s work and show how like-like his creations are, below are 30 of his best designs featuring famous Disney characters.

30 Examples of Disney Characters in Real Life

SLOW Reaction/YouTube

1. Ariel From The Little Mermaid

2. Moana From Moana

3. Carl Fredricksen From Up

4. Rapunzel From Tangled

5. Pocahontas From Pocahontas

6. Prince Eric From The Little Mermaid

7. Elsa From Frozen

8. Maleficent From Sleeping Beauty

9. John Smith From Pocahontas

10. Snow White From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

11. Lady Tremaine From Cinderella

12. Aladdin From Aladdin

13. Mr. Potato Head From Toy Story

14. Tinkerbell From Peter Pan

15. Joe Gardner From Soul

16. Hans From Frozen

17. Hercules From Hercules

18. Woody From Toy Story

19. The Evil Queen From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

20. Peter Pan From Peter Pan

21. Ursula From The Little Mermaid

22. Princess Jasmine From Aladdin

23. Captain Phoebus From The Hunchback of Notre Dame

24. The Incredibles From The Incredibles

25. Pepa Madrigal From Encanto

26. Naveen From The Princess and the Frog

27. Raya From Raya and the Last Dragon

28. Cinderella From Cinderella

29. Flynn Rider From Tangled

30. Bruno From Encanto

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