Homer Simpson is without a doubt one of the most beloved, iconic characters in animation history, but this artist's 3D re-imagining is nightmarish. While he's gotten progressively stupider as the decades have gone on - and actually having him for a father would probably be awful - Homer has been delighting audiences for nearly three decades now on FOX animated institution The Simpsons. Voiced by Dan Castellaneta, the patriarch of the Simpson family is famous for many traits, from his exasperated d'oh, to his love of donuts, to his high-pitched scream.

As drawn on The Simpsons, Homer is a lovable oaf. He's out of shape, and almost completely bald, but there's still something rather charming about his appearance. However, what looks appealing in an animated format would likely look absolutely horrific if the same proportions and features were converted to a realistic 3D format. Since the internet loves to do things that probably shouldn't be done, one artist performed just such a conversion with Homer, and the results aren't pretty.

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Artist Miguel Vasquez - who specializes in creating hyper-realistic 3D interpretations of animated characters - recently posted a version of Homer Simpson that can at best be described as ghastly. Not only does this Homer look much, much, older than the character's canon age, but his bulging eyes look like they're about ready to pop out of his skull at any moment. Check out Vasquez's terrifying creation below, and click on each image to get a better view.

As unsettling as his version of Homer is, that's actually not even Vasquez's most creepy animated character made hyper-realistic. That honor would probably go to Spongebob Squarepants or Patrick Star, or perhaps Nigel Thornberry, or even Courage the Cowardly Dog. The clear lesson here seems to be that cartoon facial proportions should never be translated to reality, as that way lies only madness. Still, the horrified reactions of most who view his work don't seem to be dissuading Vasquez from continuing.

Back in good old cartoon land, The Simpsons returns for its record-breaking season 30 this fall. It remains to be seen whether Homer, his family, and the rest of Springfield's residents will continue their televised lives after that season concludes. Recent reports though have suggested that the FOX network wants to keep the show on the air even after Disney's purchase of the Fox TV studio becomes complete in 2019. At this point, it seems like FOX wants The Simpsons around as long as the cast and creators still want to make more episodes.

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The Simpsons season 30 premieres September 30 on FOX.

Source: Miguel Vasquez