The Trend Hunter community has been fascinated by what's being referred to as “untooning.†The new graphic art form strips famous pop culture characters of their “cartoon†characteristics and transforms them into what artists imagine they would look in the flesh. This process gets to the same end point, but begins with actual people.
While it was new to us, Adnan Saleem at DestinationCreation.com has been showcasing this type of art for over a year now. Saleem is a regular contributor to Worth1000.com, a Photoshop contest site that challenges people to create art themes like Human Camouflage.
In April 2007, Destination Creation started a study they called “Reality Simpsons,†which quickly became viral and was picked up by Comedy Central Insider, AOL-TV and Digg, among others.
While we've featured untooned stills, Destination Creation has come up with the next phase: videos of reality cartoons! They show the transition from real life photos of people to the core Simpson characters Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggi.
Check out our features on UnTooning:
Animated Retooning
Turning People Into Humanized Cartoons
Trend Themes
1. Untooning - Artists are transforming famous pop culture characters into realistic human forms.
2. Reality Cartoons - The creation of videos that showcase the transition from real life photos to animated versions of popular cartoon characters.
3. Viral Graphic Art - The trend of graphic art forms, such as untooning, gaining popularity through online sharing and social media.
Industry Implications
1. Graphic Design - There is an opportunity for graphic designers to explore and create innovative art forms like untooning.
2. Animation - The animation industry can capitalize on the trend of turning real-life photos into animated versions of popular cartoon characters.
3. Social Media - Social media platforms can become hubs for sharing and spreading viral graphic art content, including untooning videos.