Picturing how a few characters from a cartoon series would like like in real life is an interesting exercise in imagination, especially if the results are as scary as the following ones.
Thomas Lishman, the UK-based digital artist who brought these characters to life (quite literally), is a freelancer who specializes in sculpture. However, the tools of the trade in his case do not include chisels, but pieces of software (such as ZBrush, Photoshop, Maya and 3DSMax). The first of the series is Princess Bubblegum, or PB if you prefer. The benevolent ruler of the Candy Land does not look scary at all, but the other two might make people reconsider wanting to live a cartoon life.
The characters seem to be quite complex, and since I have yet to dive into the Adventure Time universe, I won’t go round and about, making assumptions. What is really interesting is that Thomas Lishman managed to give human traits to some characters that are stylized in the original cartoon.
Considering that Jake the Dog is able to grow and shrink at will, imagine what would happen if the version pictured above would grow even further. I’m rather sure that he is not wiggling his tail. Pictured below is the Ice King, who looks rather grumpy. The last two Adventure Time characters certainly went a long way from what the cartoon creators have accustomed us with.
Not all people who have seen his works are thrilled about them, but I like them, as they are quite unusual. While some are bothered by the fact that Jake is some sort of a hybrid between a man and a dog in this illustration, others doubt the fact that Thomas has ever watched the cartoon series, since his character depictions look nothing alike the originals. Princess Bubblegum’s age might be used as an argument, but what some people are not able to understand is that Thomas gave these characters a personal touch. All of these Adventure Time characters went through the filter of his mind, and his creativity should be appreciated.
The ones curious about Thomas’ other illustrations are recommended to check his personal website or his DeviantArt page. One thing is certain, though: Adventure Time is not Thomas’ only obsession, since some of illustrations focus on Street Fighter characters and others on Link from the Legend of Zelda.
If you liked this post, please check these 16 examples of Adventure Time fandom and the Game Boy-based Adventure Time BMO.
