Aimeé
There will never be an end to interpretations of Disney characters because they are deeply embedded in the psyche of every American child and a significant portion of the rest of the world as well. Walt really knew what he was doing when he sowed the seeds of Disney animation domination. We will all be seeing Disney princesses get reimagined until the sun explodes.
But here’s a fun one! TikTok artist @alexiswithoutan_a, or Lexis, is a 23-year-old woman from Ohio who unexpectedly found her niche when she started messing around with digital art program Procreate. Lexis told Buzzfeed News in an interview that she actually has a BFA in oil painting, but Procreate allows users to paint over images. She was experimenting and following a trend.
“Other creators also had the idea to give a makeover to Disney characters, so I wanted to put my own personal spin on it. Although the other accounts I’ve seen have definitely given stylish makeovers, I’ve never seen anyone put an edgy spin on the characters, so I decided that would be my thing,” she explained.
The results are immaculate:
@lexisvanhecke Turning belle 🌸 💕☺️🐶 into … Belle ✨💀🦇🔥
Lexis tends to label her drawings as the “goth” or “edgy” version of that character, giving them dark eyeliner, tattoos, e-girl hairstyles, and long manicured nails, like Belle:
And, frankly, they’re usually showing a little more skin than usual. That has given Lexis’s drawings a reputation for being “sexy,” but she doesn’t quite see it that way.
“When it comes to whether or not I consider my characters ‘sexy,’ well, it depends,” she said. “I remake the characters in a way that I, personally, find fun and stylish. I do have a lot of children following me, so I don’t want them to get too risqué. But, it depends on how you look at it! A lot of my adult viewers do find the beards, piercings, and tattoos sexy! However, my drawings aren’t so sexy that they would be considered inappropriate.”
@lexisvanhecke Reply to @ella.b315 Aladdin says he wants to show you a whole new world wyd? 👀
She has also caught flack for changing some of the POC characters in a way that could be interpreted as whitewashing them, like giving Aladdin blue eyes. She offered a brown-eyed option, too. The magic of digital art:
@lexisvanhecke 🥰 For anyone that didn’t like the purple!
“People can see their beloved characters as they would look in a different time or place, and I think the curiosity of seeing more characters is what keeps them coming back and following my account,” she said.
It’s also satisfying to watch the characters make their transformations, and Lexis is very conscious of turning it into a full show.
“Something that I think has helped my videos go viral is that I make the entire video an experience, not just the ‘before and after,'” she said. “I try to make my artistic strokes go along with the music, and I make it satisfying to watch the entire way through.”
@lexisvanhecke Reply to @its_your_girl_caela the highly requested Moana 🌸💛 is typing … 😊
@lexisvanhecke Reply to @thewidiots your daily reminder that hip dips are beautiful! Oh and Alice ✌🏼😙✨ is typing…
@lexisvanhecke Reply to @katerush22 Li Shang 🔥🥵✌🏼❤️ is typing….
@lexisvanhecke Ariel😈✨🕷🔥 is typing…. 😉
Lexis claims she doesn’t do a whole lot of planning for her images, she just follows the vibe.
“When I begin a video, I don’t have an end goal in mind,” she explained. “I think up the makeover as I go. So, in a way, it’s a surprise for me to see the end result as well, which is super fun!”
She can draw and just casually put together a whole ensemble? That’s talent.
