Artist Removes Masks From Popular Characters To See What’s Underneath And It’s Spot On

Famous Icons Revealed!

Watching our favorite cartoon characters on television and then seeing them reimagined in new contexts makes us realize how fast we have all grown up.

Have you ever considered that there could be someone else behind these well-known characters? Doesn’t it sound strange? But that is exactly what this incredible artist has reimagined and created something so spectacular that it has left us speechless.

All of the renowned characters can be found in this wonderful compilation created by Wisconsin-based artist Alex Solis, also known as “alexmdc” and “oddworx,” ranging from Pepe (meme master) to Scooby-Doo and Donald Trump to the Simpsons.

Check out this mind-blowing artwork that will alter your perception of these characters!

More info: Instagram | twitter.com | Facebook | oddworx.com | alexmdc.tumblr.com

1. Mr. Buns under Trump’s mask makes strange logic!

Gordon Ramsay takes away his mask to reveal Remi from Ratatouille hiding beneath, Mr. Burns hides behind Donald Trump’s covering, Rick and Morty expose they are actually Marty McFly and Doc Brown from the 1985 classic Back to the Future, Gollum is a deep cover Dobby, and Scooby-Doo is the dark secret of a timid Courage. The characters and personalities Solis pairs strangely make sense. The figures chosen are not by chance; you will note how similar some of them are because the artist questions whether anything in pop culture is entirely original.

2. REMY, didn’t expect to see you here!

3. Baby Yoda is now a Furby!

Alex Solis told about how this entire project started: “Ever wonder if the characters you see on TV, in movies and in comic books are hiding something behind their masks? That perhaps they’re really someone — or something — else?”

“When pop culture is such a huge part of our lives, we’re bombarded with these characters everywhere we turn. Each time we see a new character in a movie, video game or commercial, we feel a sudden sense of deja vu. There’s something about their goofy grin, that creepy laugh, or those boogly eyes that feels eerily familiar…

This got me thinking. Is anything we see ever 100% original? Or is everything we experience really just our minds piecing together past experiences to create something that feels unique and new?”

4. Now that’s an accurate representation of Back to the future!

5. Holy crap! That’s the reason why Deadpool always wore a mask.

“In Icons Unmasked, I’m trying to bring a new sense of discovery to characters everyone has seen hundreds of times. I wanted to recreate the experience of what it might be like to see one iconic character from your childhood for the first time as an adult,” Solis continued.

6. The great eye, Eye Of Sauron!

7. Krusty the clown and IT can be best buddies!

Solis began this series in 2015 with the idea of creating a handful of pictures but rapidly realized that it could continue on forever without end. Solis, who has created around 200 characters to date, led us through the steps of the creative process.

“Having done so many now, I just wait for characters to cross my path, and lots of times I see the resemblance from other characters. It’s easier now for me to quickly come up with the mash-ups and concepts of the characters since I have this ongoing series and I keep the concept in mind. Coming up with the right unmasking takes a bit longer than executing the illustration, but mainly because it needs to make sense. Once I have two characters in mind, I do a bit of research of the debut of the characters, etc., and read up a bit on them. While doing this, sometimes the characters can change to a different character that fits best, so def a lot of pop culture research, but I truly enjoy learning and looking up the different characters that have such big impacts in our lives.”

8. But… they look similar.

9. Disney Hercules, behind Scars mask.

Upon asking Solis about the motivation behind this artwork, the artist stated: “Art has always been a part of my life. It’s almost addicting to be able to evoke a feeling with art, brighten and bring a smile to someone with art. I see myself doing art forever.”

10. Tigger and Hobbes – a win-win combo!

11. This illustration depicts the same personalities of explains Scooby doo and Cowdy the coward!

12. Fred and Simpson together!

13. Itchy and scratchy as Tom and Jerry!

14. Is there any way to unsee this Shrek and his donkey?

According to Solis, this artwork gets mixed reactions from the people. “Lots of different reactions depending on what the subject is focused on, there have been some political pieces that get people stirred up a bit, and some nostalgic pieces that tie in new generations. For me, this series is just a reflection of the culture that influences our daily lives and a way to have fun with it.”

15. Didn’t see Bob’s Burger coming here!

16. Black panther being an actual black panther.

17. This illustration is enough to ruin the Frozen movie for the majority of peeps.

Soli’s best illustration so far:

“My favorite one is Ronald unmasked as the Joker, and again because it’s not only showing the characters unmasked, but it also pushes a narrative and almost creates a new story for the characters. Just looking at it without having any context behind it, I feel like it opens up a way for the viewer to quickly create an alternate version of the characters and those nostalgic feelings you get from the characters you grew up with and know their story from start to finish.”

18. Warner brothers Micky looks scarier here!

19. Dobby, oh creepy Dobby!

20. Wait…it means Kraby Patties were not made by Spongebob at all?

Solis is now transforming his artwork into physical things that people can purchase: “I get so so many requests for products with this series, and I do try to make some limited pieces with them, but with Parody products, I try to only focus on the fun aspect of those more, since the main goal is not to generate money with them, but here and there some very limited products might pop up and I do have a ton of original characters or products with my art as well on my online shop.”

21. Simpsons behind every evil act!

22. That’s an adorable one so far!

23. Mewtwo and Freiza look perfect together

Solis shared some exciting plans in the making, so stay tuned for more!

“I’ve been working for a few years on a studio/gallery that I’m hoping to open in the near future, to showcase life-sized designer figures, and hopefully have some of the more iconic pieces from this series debut there as well! Plus lots of other exciting projects in the works, I usually post first on my Instagram.”

24. Oh, looks like Pooh is sick of his Piglet’s crap.

25. Don’t they look like twins?

26. So there was this Kidbuu behind Patrick’s innocent face.

In “Unpopular Culture,” he delves deeper behind the scenes of pop culture characters, giving them a disturbing twist; in “The Freshest Foods,” he explores a parallel universe where fruits and vegetables come to life; in “Famous Oldies,” he imagines well-known characters and superheroes aging like everyone else; and in “Baby Terrors,” he imagines horror characters like cute little babies. He has also experimented with sign language and created unsettling yet adorable paintings of “Predators vs. Prey.”