Let's just say Ed manages to take away some of the magic and show a different side to our heroes; however, he does so while making you laugh and putting a smile on your face! Hopefully, these illustrations won't ruin your childhood too much and show you that fictional characters can be just as human as us—can have strange hobbies and unusual pastime activities, struggles, and issues that we never even thought about.
Ed Harrington is a graphic designer/illustrator. He has over 23 years of experience in the field of arts. No wonder he has over 190k followers on Instagram and his comics seem to go viral quite often—the artist knows what he's doing. He knows how to create eye-catching concepts, unique and funny ideas.
In a previous interview, Ed shared that he doesn't really have a solid concept for this type of art. He just makes things that he thinks are funny and will make people laugh: "Usually, I just think about how life might be different or difficult for these cartoon characters. Like, how Skeletor probably can't drink or whistle since he has no soft tissue or lips around his mouth. Or I like to think about parts of a famous character that we never get to see and what might have been hidden from us all this time."
In a recent interview we asked Ed what the main goal of his illustrations is and the answer still remains the same: "They are just for fun and to make people laugh. I want to take pop culture icons from my lifetime and re-imagine them." The artist also told us how he got into arts: "Ever since I was a little kid, I have been drawing. I didn't know that I was 'good' at it until kindergarten when all of my classmates were freaking out over a drawing of a giraffe I made."
"Coming up with a clever idea that hasn't been done before," is the most difficult part for Ed when it comes to creating art. He mostly covers pop culture that he personally enjoys and he's inspired by '80s cartoons, horror movies, science fiction, and many other things: "This is my hobby, so I do it for the pure enjoyment. The fact that people want to buy shirts with my illustrations or hire me for projects is a great bonus!"
Ed describes his style as "illustrative realism—I try to draw the way a robot would," and his humor as "dry referential satire." Ed mentioned that he has been doing some sort of comics all his life and there are no plans on stopping soon—which is great news for us!
Here is some advice from Ed for those who want to get into art: "Just do it—there's no secret to drawing. The best advice I got was from a professor in college: 'Your art isn't precious.' Once you realize that, it is very freeing. Practice all the time and just erase all the lines that don't look the way you want!"
"I have always loved pop culture (movies, TV, books, etc.)—so it has been a huge influence on my style. I studied illustration and graphic design in college—so I almost treat my illustration like a 'trade skill' instead of 'fine art.' I don't stress about it—I just go in and get it done. In my free time, I enjoy working on our mid-century modern atomic ranch house with my wife, cooking, and traditional archery. (I was the archer who lit the Viking Funeral boat for GWAR's Oderus Urungus memorial a few years back.)"
What do you think of these illustrations? Did they make you realize that your favorite characters are much weirder than you thought? Or maybe you relate to them more now? Tell us in the comments down below or under the photos. Also, don't forget to upvote your favorite illustrations and show support for the artist by liking and following their social media pages!
