An artist turns Disney characters into realistic portraits, and the results are magical

johnsmith side by side disney

The artist reimagined John Smith from "Pocahontas."
Courtesy of Jirka Väätäinen
  • The creative person Jirka Väätäinen has re-created some of Disney's most popular characters so they appear more realistic.
  • Väätäinen said his favorite graphic symbol to draw was Ursula from "The Lilliputian Mermaid," but he also reimagined another Disney villain: Cruella de Vil.
  • He also drew Disney princesses like Belle, Cinderella, Moana, and Elsa.
  • Väätäinen even brought Hercules, Tarzan, and John Smith to life in his realistic drawings.
  • Visit Insider'due south homepage for more than stories.

From princesses to villains, the globe of Disney is all about fantasy — but one artist is determined to bring this world to life.

Jirka Väätäinen, an creative person in Finland, has been turning Disney characters into realistic portraits for several years. Some of his re-creations include depictions of Belle, Cinderella, Ursula, and even Tarzan.

From Cruella de Vil to Moana, these are some Väätäinen's reimaginings of Disney characters.

The project started with Väätäinen'south favorite Disney character, Ursula.

Ursula in "The Trivial Mermaid."
Disney

"Ane solar day, dorsum in 2011, I just randomly thought I'd challenge myself and accept a footling fun in Photoshop and explore what the graphic symbol of Ursula from 'The Little Mermaid' could look like in real life," Väätäinen told Insider.

The result was this realistic portrait of Ursula.

Väätäinen's Ursula.
Courtesy of Jirka Väätäinen

"Ursula is my all-time favorite Disney character," Väätäinen said. "With her, I experience like I've captured her essence, the fashion I retrieve her from my childhood."

Ursula isn't the simply Disney villain he re-created. He also reimagined Cruella de Vil.

Cruella de Vil in "101 Dalmatians."
Disney

Cruella de Vil is the "101 Dalmatians" villain who attempts to turn the dogs into fur coats.

Here, Väätäinen brought the villain to life.

Väätäinen'due south Cruella de Vil.
Courtesy of Jirka Väätäinen

Cruella de Vil's iconic black-and-white hair and fur coat are all in Väätäinen's version — but with a more realistic look.

He didn't stop there. The artist likewise reimagined Disney princesses, like Belle.

Belle in "Dazzler and the Beast."
Disney

Väätäinen said it'due south easier to draw Disney princesses than villains.

"It turns out creating a pretty face is much easier than creating this very over-the-top face up, total of expression and malicious intent," he told Insider.

Hither, Belle is still wearing her signature white blouse and blue apparel, but her face is more realistic.

Väätäinen's Belle.
Courtesy of Jirka Väätäinen

"Since I grew upwardly with a lot of these characters, the sense of nostalgia fabricated it such a fascinating and a fun personal project to explore," Väätäinen said.

Väätäinen said he loved re-creating the characters he grew up with, like Cinderella.

Cinderella.
Disney

"As I have grown up with a lot of these characters, I usually take a certain vision in my caput of the graphic symbol, and based on that, I get farther inspired by looking up and studying photos and features of real people that one manner or another come to listen," the creative person said.

In Väätäinen's recreation, Cinderella still has her outfit and hairstyle.

Väätäinen's Cinderella.
Courtesy of Jirka Väätäinen

Väätäinen said almost of his work is done in Photoshop.

"I basically use image sources every bit both my inspiration and my color palette," he said. "All of this photo compositing and manipulation are brought together by doing digital painting by manus."

He even brought Princess Jasmine to life with his unique technique.

Princess Jasmine.
Disney

Jasmine is the princess from Disney'due south "Aladdin."

In Väätäinen'south image, Jasmine is still sporting the aforementioned habiliment and hairstyle.

Väätäinen's Princess Jasmine.
Courtesy of Jirka Väätäinen

Väätäinen decided to re-create Jasmine when it was announced in 2017 that Disney would create a alive-action "Aladdin."

Väätäinen said information technology was hard for him to re-create newer Disney characters, like Elsa, because he did non grow up with them.

Elsa in "Frozen."
Disney

Elsa is 1 of the princesses from "Frozen," Disney'due south 2013 hit.

Instead of working from memory, Väätäinen had to do more research with characters like Elsa, he said.

Väätäinen's Elsa.
Courtesy of Jirka Väätäinen

"The newer characters that I did not abound up with are somewhat more challenging for me," Väätäinen said.

Moana is another newer Disney princess he reimagined.

Moana.
Disney

Disney's 2016 picture show "Moana" introduced a new princess, Moana, who is from a fictional Polynesian island.

The artist also re-created some of the virtually famous male Disney heroes, like Hercules.

Hercules.
Disney

Hercules is a classic graphic symbol in the Disney canon.

In Väätäinen'due south reimagining, Hercules nonetheless has his trademark biceps, greatcoat, and headband.

Väätäinen's Hercules.
Courtesy of Jirka Väätäinen

Though he has a more realistic face, the grapheme withal a superhero-similar quality.

Tarzan is another grapheme the creative person updated.

Tarzan.
Disney

"Tarzan" premiered in 1999 and follows a homo who was raised by animals.

Here, Tarzan looks like a real man, despite his fantastical origin story.

Väätäinen's's Tarzan.
Courtesy of Jirka Väätäinen

Tarzan'south signature long hair is as well in Väätäinen's reimagining.

Disney's male love interests, like John Smith from "Pocahontas," even got the Väätäinen treatment.

John Smith.
Disney

John Smith is the white settler who becomes Pocahontas' dear interest in the Disney film.

Väätäinen made John Smith come up to life in this portrait.

Väätäinen'due south John Smith.
Courtesy of Jirka Väätäinen

The blond pilus is remarkably similar to the Disney animation.

Lastly, Väätäinen turned Prince Eric from "The Little Mermaid" into a more realistic man.

Prince Eric.
Disney

Prince Eric is Ariel's love involvement in "The Little Mermaid."

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