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Disney Princesses Are Reimagined as Modern-Day Women in Glam Transformations

By Margherita Cole on July 8, 2020

Disney princesses continue to be a source of inspiration for artists who want to explore these beloved icons in a new context. We've seen these gals reimagined as classical oil paintings, femme fatales, and even real-life people. Now, artist Yudelmis “Yudie” San Emeterio uses her digital manipulation skills to give each animated starlet a modern makeover.

Belle sports a contemporary blue dress and highlights, Tiana wears her hair down with twinkling barrettes, and Mulan shows off an edgy sleeve of botanical tattoos. San Emeterio uses a frame from the Disney movie as the base for her glamorous updates, on which she carefully applies makeup, accessories, and contemporary clothing. What's most enchanting about these makeovers is how the artist keeps the essence of each princess' style in her redesigns.

San Emeterio also shares how she makes these digital edits on her TikTok. “When I saw people giving makeovers to Disney characters, I couldn't help myself!” she tells Buzzfeed. “My main goal with my videos is to keep the changes in the transformation as close as possible to the style and texture of the original art.” Each video offers a sneak peek into her process, where she expertly redraws the characters using her iPad. The final results are so convincing that they look like they came directly from Disney.

You can view more of San Emeterio's work by following her on Instagram and TikTok. You can also purchase prints through her online store.