# Term for transition from media cartoony drawing to realistic is... ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742 "2012-10-15T02:02:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/1 "2012-10-15T02:02:12Z")
What do you call it when a comic strip or animated character is drawn by an illustrator to make it look like a real person? A coupla’ years ago I had stumbled upon someone’s interpretation of the four main [South Park characters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_park_characters). I have since been unable to find the site. I also cannot recall the term for the transition. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/2 "2012-10-15T02:26:25Z")
Untooning. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/3 "2012-10-15T03:11:28Z")
There’s a bunch of clever/unsettling untoons. [Homer](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pinspired.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Homer_Untooned_by_pixeloo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pinspired.com/blog/2009/10/homer-untooned/&h=804&w=600&sz=81&tbnid=-sZOSY-LA_E59M:&tbnh=98&tbnw=73&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhomer%2Blifelike%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=homer+lifelike&usg=__7tuQnYlHCmYE2wHtadYKhfU3iSU=&docid=HSR9DxztG6FmZM&sa=X&ei=Qn57UMzXDYf7yAHgq4GQAg&ved=0CCwQ9QEwAg&dur=902) [Futurama scene](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=opera&hs=oKc&rls=en&channel=suggest&q=futurama+untoon&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bpcl=35277026&biw=1366&bih=668&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=in57UPegJayhyAG6-oGQBQ) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/4 "2012-10-15T03:21:17Z")
OMG, I thought you were joking… Ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/5 "2012-10-15T16:37:08Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > There’s a bunch of clever/unsettling untoons. > > [Homer](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pinspired.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Homer_Untooned_by_pixeloo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pinspired.com/blog/2009/10/homer-untooned/&h=804&w=600&sz=81&tbnid=-sZOSY-LA_E59M:&tbnh=98&tbnw=73&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhomer%2Blifelike%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=homer+lifelike&usg=__7tuQnYlHCmYE2wHtadYKhfU3iSU=&docid=HSR9DxztG6FmZM&sa=X&ei=Qn57UMzXDYf7yAHgq4GQAg&ved=0CCwQ9QEwAg&dur=902) > [Futurama scene](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=opera&hs=oKc&rls=en&channel=suggest&q=futurama+untoon&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bpcl=35277026&biw=1366&bih=668&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=in57UPegJayhyAG6-oGQBQ) Wow! The Homer is really creepy, although it couldn’t be much otherwise. I recall that in the early shows of the series Homer had a more crotchety, but less bizarre, characteristic to his drawing. (He also had a persona that seemed less “understanding” but also very much less stupid. He seemed more like an average middle-aged father than some surrealistic icon.) I wonder what the translation of the “old” Homer would look like. There may have been little difference between the early series Homer and the short cartoons on Tracey Ullman. I can’t recall for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/6 "2012-10-15T18:05:20Z")
> [@Trans Fat Og](#): > > Wow! The Homer is really creepy, although it couldn’t be much otherwise. > > I recall that in the early shows of the series Homer had a more crotchety, but less bizarre, characteristic to his drawing. (He also had a persona that seemed less “understanding” but also very much less stupid. He seemed more like an average middle-aged father than some surrealistic icon.) I wonder what the translation of the “old” Homer would look like. > > There may have been little difference between the early series Homer and the short cartoons on Tracey Ullman. I can’t recall for sure. The[Tracey Ulman Show](http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070517143505/simpsons/pt/images/4/47/Simpsons_on_Tracey_Ullman.png) Simpsons looked rather different. In the first episode of _The Simpsons_, Homer was much closer to how he looks today than to how he looked on the Tracey Ulman show. [Evolution of Homer.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Evolution_of_Homer.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/7 "2012-10-15T18:08:53Z")
> [@Trans Fat Og](#): > > A coupla’ years ago I had stumbled upon someone’s interpretation of the four main [South Park characters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_park_characters). I have since been unable to find the site. You’re no doubt thinking of [this illustration](http://local-static4.forum-files.fobby.net/forum_attachments/0024/9864/spkids.png). It appeared in the ninth season episode **Free Willzyx** as a composite sketch to find the boys when they went missing. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/8 "2012-10-15T18:12:13Z")
Moved to Cafe Society from GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/9 "2012-10-15T18:26:19Z")
If you want unsettling, try untooned [Beavis and Butthead.](http://www.crackajack.de/2012/01/20/untooned-beavis-butthead-sculptures/) [More,](http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2010/03/31/real-life-cartoon-characters/) including Popeye, Charlie Brown, and Bart Simpson. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/10 "2012-10-16T05:22:44Z")
We discussed [this image](http://www.wallchan.com/images/sandbox/10552-futurama-real-untooned.jpg) once. I wondered why Leela looked like a clumsy carpenter or a kid with a BB gun. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-transition-from-media-cartoony-drawing-to-realistic-is/637742/11 "2012-10-16T18:09:01Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You’re no doubt thinking of [this illustration](http://local-static4.forum-files.fobby.net/forum_attachments/0024/9864/spkids.png). It appeared in the ninth season episode **Free Willzyx** as a composite sketch to find the boys when they went missing. That looks very familiar. Thanks. > [@Colibri](#): > > Moved to Cafe Society from GQ. :smack:\* **D’Oh!** \* That does make sense, but it didn’t occur to me. > [@Colibri](#): > > If you want unsettling, try untooned [Beavis and Butthead.](http://www.crackajack.de/2012/01/20/untooned-beavis-butthead-sculptures/) > > [More,](http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2010/03/31/real-life-cartoon-characters/) including Popeye, Charlie Brown, and Bart Simpson. I kind of like the Popeye one, except that he looks much too old compared with the animated cartoons I remember. I’m thinking in particular of the “second wave” with his white sailor suit, but before Bluto became Brutus and the animation limited. There was an episode with aliens experimenting on him, including using an aging process on him, with an age-meter nearby. When he finally regained his original age, by spitting out some of the spinach that restored his youth all the way to toddler, the meter said 40 years. ISTR that even that age struck me as “old” as a child, and rather too old for Popeye. Now it seems about right. But all those wrinkles do not.