Artist 'Updates' Disney Princesses As Modern Women, Goes Viral (7 Pics)

There have been quite a few awesome Disney reimaginings. From hot dogs to ethnic beauties, we've seen their characters in all sorts of ways. God bless fan art.

Recently, 29-year-old artist Yudelmis "Yudie" San Emeterio has joined the trend, starting her own series. The former specimen processor at a private lab who is currently finishing up her art degree is giving Disney princesses modern 'glow ups' and posting the results on her TikTok where they are generating millions of views and likes.

"When I saw people giving makeovers to Disney characters, I couldn't help myself! 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," she told BuzzFeed.

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"Like most people in my age group, I grew up heavily invested in Disney films," Yudelmis told Bored Panda. "Even now as an adult, I rarely miss a new release! Maybe it’s the nostalgia aspect of it, but Disney movies always tend to illicit strong emotions within me. I am that person bawling as soon as the opening credits roll; it’s pretty embarrassing."

The artist agreed that transforming Disney characters in some way or another is not a new concept. "There are many fan edits out there similar to it; so I wanted to go in from the angle of keeping it as close to the original texture and style as possible. It’s more challenging than people realize, especially when working off a 3D still. It’s a lot of painting!" she said.

Yudelmis will usually start a piece by thinking about the character she wants to transform. "Sometimes I’ll take cues from personality traits, but most of the time it’s about creating a (hopefully) flattering final product. I don’t always know what’s on trend, so Google is my best friend. We spend a lot of time together."

As fun as Disney transformations are, Yudelmis said her passion lies in drawing and painting. That's why she's thinking about expanding the series, including more real-life people. "Videos like the Ariana Grande one tend to be more fulfilling for me since the art is all mine, so it’s something I want to explore more in the near future. Imagine Jason Mamoa as a Disney cartoon character!"

Disney started its first princess movie with Snow White and the Seven Dwarf all the way back in 1937. Since then, Disney princess movies have developed their signature elements. The movies usually have nice soundtracks, the characters are accompanied by cute animals and the main theme is good versus bad. Apart from that, the movies also contain strong messages about the importance of family relationships.

The evolution of Disney princesses is significantly related to the evolution of gender roles in society as well. In the early years, for example, Snow White and Cinderella were portrayed graceful, hardworking and at the same time, committed to accomplishing their house chores. But in the early 90s, Disney princesses were very much different. Belle in Beauty and the Beast and Arial in the Little Mermaid were portrayed as being smart, outgoing, and possessing a strong will. Some of the most recent Disney princess movies such as Tangled, Brave, Frozen, and Moana represent the female lead character even more independent, brave.

Regardless of how you feel about the studio itself, nobody can't deny the importance of Disney princesses, and their ability to reflect modern society's take on womanhood. And Yudelmis is changing up their hair, makeup, and wardrobe in an attempt to reflect it even better.