An artist has revealed what Harry Potter characters "really" looked like using artificial intelligence and we can’t believe our eyes.
Fans of the original books will know that the actors didn't always match up with J.K. Rowling’s elaborate descriptions.
While the hugely popular film adaptations starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and many more, which have shaped how we perceive the characters, the digital artwork is now setting the Wizarding world alight.
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Melbourne-based artist and IT graduate, known to her followers as MsBananaAnna, decided to to create incredibly realistic images inspired by the character descriptions in the books.
The results are astounding and so lifelike and Potterheads on MsBananaAnna’s Reddit page have shared the images on social media.
The pictures have been shared with the original descriptions in the captions. The eye-catching portrait of Draco Malfoy is described as having a “pointed very pale face, cold grey eyes, slick white-blonde hair” for instance.
There was lots of praise for the portraits on Reddit, with many fans claiming that the artist’s renditions were more in line with what they imagined when reading the book.
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“This is so awesome,” one Potterhead enthused. “It’s taking me back to the way I imagined the characters in the book!”
A second Reddit user showered the artist with praise. “I really enjoyed these, thank you for posting your talent.”
Someone else added: “These are phenomenal!!!”
While a fourth claimed: “I knew each one without a caption, well done”
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A lot of responses were especially pleased with the portrait of Hermione, with many comments praising MsBananaAnna for creating a version of the character that is faithful to the book.
Hermione is described as having “bushy dark brown hair, brown eyes, large buck teeth” but some fans felt these features were particularly evident in Emma Watson’s acclaimed portrayal of the character.
“This Hermione is awesome and made me realise how much I really didn’t like the character as played by Emma Watson,” one commenter admitted. “I can only see the actress, it just never ever felt like the Hermione I had related to and liked in the books.”
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The artist replied by explaining her inspiration behind her portrait and why Emma Watson’s portrayal may not have been relatable to some fans of the original book. “Emma Watson is just too pretty, a real Hermione like that would have had half the school's boys swooning after her. It was distracting!"
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In response to another person regarding Hermione, MsBananaAnna, who posts on Reddit as Lettuceown, replied: “I wanted a plain Hermione. Why can't we have average leading female characters.”
She explained the inspiration behind her artworks to Tyla and it turns out Hermione was the starting point for the other artworks. “I've been a huge Harry Potter fan since I was 10! What inspired me to do the illustrations was originally because I wanted to make a ‘more plain’ version of Hermione.
“I thought Emma Watson was far too pretty to be Hermione as she was never described as pretty and she was missing her signature buckteeth.”
Some Potterheads were convinced they could see similarities between the portraits and celebrities. “Narcissa looks like Elizabeth Moss,” said on Reddit user.
“Artist either did a really great job with human faces, or I recognize a few people. I swear I recognized Henry Cavill in there amongst others,” another fan shared.
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A third person said: “Peter looks like Jonah Hill!”
“Fleur here is a 13 year old Taylor Swift,” added another Reddit user.
Some Reddit users realised they were attracted to the portraits, leading to an outpouring of thirst never before seen in the Harry Potter world. “I loved this. Lily Potter and Sirius are HOT lol!’
While another shocking confession said: “Guilty of Bellatrix lust”.
We're so obsessed with these portraits!
You can see MsBananaAnna’s the full collection of images on Reddit here and here.
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros./MsbananaannaTopics: TV And Film, Harry Potter