Every US president as a Pixar character: AI reimagines America’s 46 leaders

A baseball writer used AI to render America’s leaders as cartoon characters during a “fun weekend project,” creating a real bear for Teddy Roosevelt in an “ultra-ripped ginger Ford.”

ESPN contributor Dan Szymborski spent his vacation using artificial intelligence (AI) to render all 46 US presidents as Pixar characters. His creations range from an ultra-realistic Lyndon B. Johnson to current President Joe Biden sporting a large forehead and receding hairline.

“I’ve been fascinated by these kinds of predictive algorithms for years, whether it’s text or images, so I like to play with whatever’s available,” Szymborski told DailyMail.com on Monday. “Since it was Presidents Day weekend, I just thought I’d goof around and generate some presidential AI art.

“It’s kind of slow right now for baseball news and I really didn’t feel like working,” he continued. “My boss usually prefers him to write my articles instead of messing with the AI ​​all day.”

He has also dabbled in having an AI generator create images of the beloved children’s character SpongeBob in Soviet propaganda and baseball players as Shakespearean characters.

“I mainly create baseball related things in AI, like famous baseball players as Shakespearean characters or Soviet propaganda posters just for personal fun,” he told DailyMail.com.

In Szymborski’s presidential creations, former President Donald Trump looked a bit windswept, his loose hair sticking out on the right side of his head as he frowned at the imaginary photographer. In other generations, the 45th president seemed to have blue skin, bushy eyebrows, and even piercing blue eyes.

Barack Obama’s generation always showed him ready for his close-up in a regal suit and black sunglasses. Others showed the 44th president with bulging muscles and also wearing what appears to be a superhero costume.

His creations range from a sad-looking George Washington to a top-hatted Abraham Lincoln.

Barack Obama flashed a tight-lipped smile, while Donald Trump’s hair looked a bit windswept. Szymborski told DailyMail.com that he generated the images by typing ‘like a Pixar character’ and it worked most of the time.

The Biden character had a receding hairline and a large forehead. Szymborksi said that he had always been “fascinated by these kinds of predictive algorithms for years, whether it’s text or images, so I like to play with what’s available.”

Pictures of Bill Clinton also made fun of his stunning white hairstyle, often making it larger than life. One of the images gave the 42nd president a defined jawline, while another looked like a painting fresh out of a museum.

Gerard Ford’s creations took him on a wild ride, from blonde hair to ginger and from extremely muscular to blue skinned.

Poor Teddy Roosevelt discovered that the AI ​​generator was taking his name too seriously and generated him as a real teddy bear. Other images of him more closely resembled the actual appearance of him wearing glasses, hats, and ties.

However, Szymborski’s favorite image from the presidential collection is 30th President Calvin Coolidge, because he looked like he was picking a fight.

In Szymborski’s presidential creations, former President Donald Trump looked a bit windswept, his loose hair sticking out on the right side of his head as he frowned at the imaginary photographer. In other generations, the 45th president seemed to have blue skin, bushy eyebrows, and even piercing blue eyes.

Biden was also a victim of having blue skin, in addition to transforming into monsters.

Barack Obama’s generation always showed him ready for his close-up in a regal suit and black glasses. Others showed the 44th president with bulging muscles and also wearing what appears to be a superhero costume.

Poor Teddy Roosevelt discovered that the AI ​​generator was taking his name too seriously and generated him as a real teddy bear. Other pictures of him more closely resembled the actual appearance of him wearing glasses, hats, and ties.

I think the Coolidge [is my favorite] simply because unlike most presidents who seemed upset or jaded, it seemed like Silent Cal was looking for someone to fight with,” he said. Coolidge earned the nickname ‘Silent Cal’ for his calm and steady nature.

“I also like James Garfield simply because of the one career that gave him a tiny, jaunty top hat,” he told DailyMail.com.

However, he believes that the generator did his best work with Dwight Eisenhower, but he struggled to make George W. Bush look like a Pixar character.

“I think Dwight Eisenhower did better in terms of realism. Less hair so the AI ​​gets confused,” he told DailyMail.com. “On the other hand, for some reason, the AI ​​had trouble getting George W. Bush right, so I ended up picking one that looks more like a Muppet than Pixar.”

Szymborski’s favorite image from the presidential collection is the 30th president, Calvin Coolidge (left), because he looked like he was picking a fight. However, he believes that the generator did the best job of him with Dwight Eisenhower (pictured)

As for how it helps the AI ​​builder create these images, it tries to “keep the prompts as simple as possible.”

‘For example, in presidents, “like a Pixar character” was usually all that was needed. Occasionally, he would specify things like “60 years” for Grover Cleveland’s second term and “short gray mullet” so that James Polk’s hair was relatively accurate,” he told DailyMail.com.

He used Midjourney v4, a ‘pretty easy to use online tool’, to combine some images to get the AI ​​on the ‘right track’. In his other creations, he has used Stable Diffusion, but using ‘that’s a bit more work’.

As for how the baseball writer presents his ideas: ‘[It’s] most things just pop into my head. One of the benefits of being a little weird.