Cuphead was released in 2017, and it quickly became a hit as an Xbox and PC exclusive title. One of the reasons for the buzz around the game was its eye-catching art style. Recently, one talented artist came up with the idea of reimagining the titular character in other iconic cartoon styles from the past.
In a post on TikTok, a user known as Austin Light shared a collection of drawings based on Cuphead. What made these images stand out was that each fashioned the main character based on a different era in cartoon history. While the original art for the character was influenced by classic cartoons from the 1930s, these new drawings managed to reinvent Cuphead in various art styles.
The first Cuphead redesign showcased in the video was from the 1980s. This version featured a much taller and more muscular look, as the artist said that most cartoon characters from the era looked “unnecessarily buff and wore weird one-pieces.” Following this design, a picture of the 1990s inspired Cuphead was seen. According to Austin Light, some of the inspiration for this drawing came from Animaniacs, The Ren and Stimpy Show, and Tiny Toon Adventures.
Moving into the early 2000s, Cuphead featured a shorter and blockier appearance. The artist commented that the look was similar to that found in The Fairly OddParents. The video then revealed an image of Cuphead reminiscent of the show Adventure Time, with Austin Light noting that characters from that show didn’t have a nose. Following this image, a picture of Cuphead from the 2010s was shown made primarily out of real-world objects. According to the artist, this peculiar design was based on shows such as The Amazing World of Gumball and Pickle and Peanut. As an extra, the creator even threw in a picture of anime Cuphead.
In addition to sharing these different designs for Cuphead, Austin Light revealed that the inspiration for the project came from his son. He said that his son loved Cuphead and frequently played the game. According to the creator, the game was like playing through a cartoon.
This video showcasing different designs for Cuphead has become popular with gamers. At the time of writing, this clip has reached over 432K views and 91K likes on TikTok. In addition to these impressive redesigns, many more videos based on drawing popular video game characters can be found on the TikTok account for Austin Light. Some of the other characters that he has drawn include the popular Sonic the Hedgehog and Banjo and Kazooie. Furthermore, he has done designs for Marvel characters and even Garfield.
With these redesigns of Cuphead now complete, it will be interesting to see what other characters the creator decides to draw next. Perhaps he will attempt to reimagine the Devil boss, the main antagonist from the game.
Cuphead is available for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.