Robert DeJesus is an American illustrator who takes ordinary photos of people with their pets and redraws them as anime-style sketches. The results keep just enough of the real person, such as glasses, a beard or a favourite hat, to be recognisable, while the animals get the big eyes and exaggerated expressions of cartoon sidekicks. Below are 30 of his before-and-after pairs, with notes on what each drawing does.
Who is Robert DeJesus?
DeJesus is a self-taught artist born in Indiana. According to his guest biography for Anime Boston 2004, where he was a Guest of Honor, he broke into comics in 1990 by sending an eight-page short story to the publisher Antarctic Press, worked there for about four years and then went freelance. He also designed Banzai Chibi Chan, a mascot for PlayStation Magazine, which explains the name of his long-running DeviantArt account, banzchan. With his wife Emily he founded a small company, Studio Capsule.
He told Bored Panda that his love of drawing and anime began in high school, and that when he started appearing as a guest at anime and manga shows around the US, "the Anime caricatures became a favorite with my followers." Around 2016 and 2017 he offered personal portraits through auctions on his eBay store. Demand was far higher than one person could meet: "I wish I could draw all of [the requests], but I fear I'll get burned out trying." He described the portraits as a side project to help fund his other work. Those arrangements belong to that period, so anyone hoping for a commission today should check his current pages first.
How the photo-to-anime style works
Anime caricature follows a few clear rules. Eyes grow large and shiny because they carry most of the emotion. Noses and mouths shrink to a few lines. Hair becomes bold shapes instead of strands. DeJesus then adds the caricaturist's habit of keeping one or two details that make a person who they are. Pets get the biggest exaggeration of all: a cat's startled stare or a dog's goofy grin becomes the joke of the whole piece. Most drawings in this set are quick pencil sketches with diagonal hatching for shading, and a few are fully coloured or animated.
The gallery: 30 people and pets as anime characters
A boxer dog and a curly-haired toddler peer over the edge of a table, the baby sticking out a tongue. DeJesus gives the boxer a comically grumpy frown and a chain collar, while the child gets huge blue eyes and a wild swirl of blond curls. The finished piece is coloured, which shows how far he can push a sketch when he has time.
A woman in thick glasses poses cheek to cheek with a white cat whose eyes are two different colours. Odd eyes, or heterochromia, are especially common in white cats, and the artist makes them the focus by enlarging them to anime size. Her glasses and long dark hair keep her instantly recognisable.
Here a woman in a polka-dot dress hugs a cat that looks thoroughly alarmed. The drawing exaggerates the cat's bulging eyes and open mouth, turning a lucky snapshot into a cartoon gag. Note how carefully the dress pattern is kept: small details like this tell the sitter the artist really looked at the photo.
A bearded man in a backwards cap holds a tiny hedgehog next to his face. In the sketch his serious frown becomes a heroic scowl, and the hedgehog copies the expression. The beard is drawn with quick hatching, a typical shortcut in his pencil sketches.
A man with glasses laughs wildly while holding two cats, one black and one tabby. DeJesus leans into the chaos: open mouth, spiky hair and two cats that look ready to escape. A tiny thought bubble adds to the slapstick feel.
A smiling woman in pink bunny ears cuddles a white rabbit. The sketch turns her into a classic anime heroine with large shining eyes, and the rabbit's tufted fur echoes her fringe. Matching owner and pet like this is one of the reasons the series felt so warm.
A young man with glasses grins while a grey cat lounges across his shoulders. In the drawing the cat's half-closed eyes and flat ears give it a deadpan, unimpressed look. The contrast between the happy owner and the bored cat is the joke.
A young man takes a selfie with what appears to be a quokka, the small Australian marsupial famous for looking as if it is smiling. The sketch gives both of them the same open, delighted grin. It is a good example of how he matches the energy of a photo rather than copying it line for line.
An older family photo shows a little girl holding a young raccoon. The drawing keeps her bob haircut and serious expression and gives the raccoon a bandit-masked cartoon face. Redrawing an old snapshot like this turns a family memory into a new keepsake.
A laughing boy clutches a dark hen almost as big as he is. DeJesus simplifies the scene to the boy's gap-toothed smile and the hen's patient, slightly put-upon stare. Children and farm animals appear several times in the series.
A young woman and a Siamese-type cat both stare at the camera with wide, startled eyes. The sketch makes the shared expression the whole point. Comic timing like this is a skill he developed over many years of drawing comics and caricatures.
A woman lying on the carpet has a small tabby kitten perched on her back. The drawing stretches the pose into a long diagonal and gives the kitten a proud, triumphant look. Even in a loose pencil sketch the composition is carefully balanced.
A red-haired woman in a corset stands with her hands on her hips while a small bird sits on top of her head. The sketch plays up the confident pose and the bird's casual perch. It shows that his style works for full-figure portraits, not only faces.
This animated sketch shows a young man with a green chameleon on his face. In the drawing the chameleon's tongue shoots out after a fly, a simple loop that brings the pencil art to life. It is one of two animated pieces in this set.
A snow-white owl with bright red eyes, a sign of albinism, sits on a perch inside a cage. The drawing turns it into a round, fluffy ball with enormous red eyes. Pets drawn on their own, without owners, also appear regularly in his work.
A man looks up warily at a chinchilla sitting on his head. The sketch keeps his raised eyebrow and the animal's calm, round shape. It reads almost like a single comic panel with no caption needed.
A fluffy, flat-faced kitten sits on a rug looking deeply unimpressed. DeJesus reduces it to a fuzzy square with two round eyes and a tiny frown. The drawing proves that a few lines can capture a pet's personality.
A corgi puppy in a harness sits on a wooden floor. The sketch keeps the oversized ears and the slightly worried face that make corgi puppies so popular online. It is drawn with simple shading and no background.
A woman with vintage-style curls holds a basket of baby rabbits in a field. The original is a carefully styled photo, and the sketch keeps the 1940s feel with a neat blouse and a soft, wistful expression. The rabbits peeking out of the basket are drawn with just a few strokes.
A woman wears a pet snake around her neck like a scarf. In the drawing the snake becomes a patterned stole and her sideways glance becomes a knowing smile. Reptile owners were among the people who sent in photos.
A white shepherd dog pants happily with its tongue hanging out. The sketch exaggerates the long tongue and pointed ears into a goofy, friendly character. Dogs with this much expression are a gift to a caricaturist.
A calico cat sits on an armchair near a Christmas tree. DeJesus adds a thought bubble in which the cat imagines knocking over the tree and the presents, a joke every cat owner recognises. The cat's flat stare does the rest.
A young woman and a small black-and-white dog stare each other down nose to nose. The drawing turns the moment into a standoff, with puffed cheeks and narrowed eyes on both sides. It is one of the most playful compositions in the set.
A grey Scottish Fold cat stares wide-eyed at the camera. The sketch casts it as the star of an imaginary film, "Fast and the Furriest 9", gripping a steering wheel. The joke depends on the cat's alarmed expression in the original photo.
This animated drawing shows a black-and-white flat-faced cat with a dark patch on its chin that looks like a beard. The loop makes the cartoon cat blink and shift its gaze. Short loops like this suit sharing on social media.
A smiling blonde woman has a small macaque monkey sitting on her shoulder in what looks like a travel photo. The drawing adds a simple street background and keeps the monkey busy with its hands. Holiday snapshots make lively source material.
A tabby cat wears a party hat covered in ribbons, with a lit candle on a cupcake in front of it. The sketch gives the cat the look of someone who did not agree to this celebration. Birthday photos make natural subjects for gift portraits.
A red-and-white corgi sits on the grass with a huge open-mouthed smile. DeJesus keeps the grin and the big triangular ears and leaves out almost everything else. The result is close to a character design for an animated series.
A woman in a black-and-yellow striped top holds a small dog dressed in a matching bee costume. The drawing places them side by side in full figure, owner and dog in coordinated stripes. Matching outfits are a gift for a cartoonist.
A young woman with long dark hair holds a tortoiseshell cat with startled, glowing eyes. The sketch softens the camera flash into big round cartoon eyes and keeps her calm, gentle smile. It closes the set on the same note it began with: a person and the animal they love.
Tips for a photo that makes a great cartoon portrait
- Show the face clearly. Good light and a face turned towards the camera give the artist the most to work with.
- Catch an expression. The funniest drawings here start from a real reaction: a scowl, a laugh, a startled pet.
- Keep your signature detail. Glasses, a hat, a hairstyle or a favourite sweater is what makes the cartoon feel like you.
- Get the pet's eyes in shot. Animals in these sketches are recognised mostly by their eyes, ears and markings.
- Respect the artist's time. Even quick sketches take skill, and paying for commissions is what lets illustrators keep drawing.
Why these drawings strike a chord
Part of the appeal is simple: most people would love to see themselves as a character in their favourite kind of cartoon. The bigger reason is the pets. A portrait that treats a cat, a hedgehog or a chicken as a full member of the family says something true about how their owners see them. DeJesus's long experience in comics shows in the timing of each gag and in how little he needs to draw to make a face come alive.
Sources: Bored Panda: Artist turns people and their pets into anime characters; AnimeCons: Anime Boston 2004 guest announcement; Robert DeJesus on Facebook; Robert DeJesus on DeviantArt (banzchan); All drawings by Robert DeJesus; reference photos belong to their owners.
COMMENTS