How Historical Rulers Might Look Like Now

Graphic designer from Texas Becca Saladin has created a very clever series which is called “Royalty Now”, it is a series of manipulated photos that imagines what historical rulers from the past might look like right now. The results are strangely very familiar.

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So many revisions coming your way this fall! I’m in Tudor & revision mania right now but will resume with other subjects from around the world very soon, as well as a Halloween post everyone has been asking for next week! Prints & bookmarks of this Marie Antoinette recreation are available! . Please consider the Royalty Now Etsy store for your holiday shopping! I work so hard to provide these cool modernizations (I love creating them as well, don’t get me wrong). I’ve created over 50 new subjects this year and would sincerely appreciate any support through the Etsy store or the Patreon page. Thank you guys all for being here. . Left Portrait base: Public Domain. Right Portrait base: iStock photo. Created using @photoshop. . #FrenchHistory #MarieAntoinette #FrenchRevolution #LouisXIV #Versailles #SophiaCoppola #Royals #Recreation #ArtHistory #Faceswapchallenge #Transformation #Art #DigitalArt #Photoshop #DigitalReconstruction #Composite #FaceSwap

A post shared by Royalty Now (@royalty_now_) on Oct 23, 2020 at 10:47am PDT

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Ever wondered how the figures would look with some modern jewelry styling? I partnered up with luxury piercing & jewelry brand @mariatash, and they’ve created some styled jewelry looks for some of their favorite figures (featuring this never before seen alternate version of Nefertiti!). Check out their Instagram account for more – there a few figures not shown yet. What do you guys think of the modern jewelry? . #MTxRoyaltyNow #piercing #jewelry #history #portrait #photoshop #luxury

A post shared by Royalty Now (@royalty_now_) on Sep 8, 2020 at 9:26am PDT

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Its been Tudor mania on the page this week! Finally, my revision of King Henry VIII is here, and just in time for my interview with Natalie (@themosthappy78) from the Talking Tudors podcast. I also posted about it last night – go give it a listen all the way to the end, and you may find an ✨Etsy store 15% off code✨to use along the way! It’s available on almost every Podcast platform, with the official link being TalkingTudors.Podbean.com. . I’m happy I was able to put this new version together from a different portrait, I’ve actually never liked my older version I did of him last year. I never thought I would spend so much time in my life trying to figure out *exactly* how bald King Henry VIII was in his 40s, but here we are. I originally did a version completely bald, but seeing as he tries so hard to be wearing a hat in every portrait, I figured he deserved some dignity here 😉 I also learned that he got pretty into baldness remedies during this time in his life, which tells us what we need to know – that his hair was at least receding. Anyway – revisions of some of the wives are coming soon! They are some of my oldest works so I look forward to revising them. . Prints of this work are available! Click the link in my bio to get to the Etsy store & make sure to find the Talking Tudors discount code through the podcast. . If you like my work and want to support me, please consider purchasing from the Etsy store or donating a few bucks so I can keep chugging along! I appreciate all of my supporters so dearly. A few ways to support: Receive exclusive perks: Patreon.com/royaltynow Paypal: www.paypal.me/royaltynow Venmo: @Becca-Saladin . Left Portrait base: Public Domain. Right Portrait base: iStock photo & Pexels. Created using @photoshop. . #HenryVIII #SixtheMusical #AnneBoleyn #TudorHistory #EnglishHistory #Monarchy #Royals #ArtHistory #Faceswapchallenge #Transformation #Art #Benin #DigitalArt #Photoshop #DigitalReconstruction #Composite #FaceSwap

A post shared by Royalty Now (@royalty_now_) on Sep 29, 2020 at 12:06pm PDT

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As many of you tudor-history lovers know, it was so exciting when we finally got confirmation on a portrait of Mary Boleyn. This portrait I’ve used here on the left is actually a copy of that portrait – the confirmed portrait is owned by the crown (and I don’t want a cease and desist from the Queen!), so I’ve used the copy from the public domain. Mary Boleyn was known as the beauty of the Boleyn family. She previously had an affair with Henry VIII before her younger sister Anne married him. There was surprisingly little available about her hair color – I always thought she was blonde (I’m sure from the popular Scarlett Johansson portrayal in The Other Boleyn Girl). However, the only source describing her hair color was that it was “lighter than her sisters”, which was said to be a deep shade of auburn. I also had some fun adding a few beauty marks/freckles, which I think adds to some realism in the modern day. As always, I “balanced” the proportions of the face, correcting for some of the known stylizations in portraiture from this era, like the tiny lips. . Prints of this work are available! Click the link in my bio to get to the Etsy store. . If you like my work and want to support me, please consider purchasing from the Etsy store or donating a few bucks so I can keep chugging along! I appreciate all of my supporters so dearly. A few ways to support: Etsy.com/shop/royaltynow Receive exclusive perks: Patreon.com/royaltynow Paypal: www.paypal.me/royaltynow Venmo: @Becca-Saladin . Left Portrait base: Public Domain. Right Portrait base: iStock photo. Created using @photoshop. . #MaryBoleyn #AnneBoleyn #HenryVIII #TheTudors #TudorHistory #Recreation #ArtHistory #Faceswapchallenge #Transformation #Art #Benin #DigitalArt #Photoshop #DigitalReconstruction #Composite #FaceSwap

A post shared by Royalty Now (@royalty_now_) on Sep 28, 2020 at 12:32pm PDT

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The theme of this week seems to be revisiting my old work and creating better versions. I know this one has been a fan favorite for some time, and since I knew it would be a popular print item, I actually had to redo it completely because the original is actually too small to be of print quality! So this is Caesar, revisited, with more accurate & realistic features. I’m really proud of this revisitation. . Please check out the Royalty Now Etsy shop (direct link in bio), or send me a message if you are interested in a print of Caesar. There will be bookmarks of him coming soon as well. UK buyers – please message me if you are interested in a print but Etsy shipping is too expensive. I can send you a print much more inexpensively using regular USPS First Class mail, but it won’t have tracking on it. Also feel free to message me if you are interested in a print of a subject that is not listed yet, or have a custom request. I am just now getting this going so I am very open. . If you’re interested in supporting my work in other ways, here are a few ways to support: Patreon: Link in Bio Paypal: www.paypal.me/royaltynow Venmo: @Becca-Saladin . Left Portrait: Public Domain, Right Portrait base: iStock photo. Created using @photoshop. . #JuliusCaesar #AncientHistory #RomanHistory #Rome #Emperor #Photomanipulation #Editing #DigitalArt #DigitalDrawing #Edits #Photoedits #Retouching #portrait #Drawing #GraphicDesign #HistoryMemes #Portrait #ArtRestoration #DigitalArt #ArtOnInstagram #History

A post shared by Royalty Now (@royalty_now_) on Jul 17, 2020 at 10:10am PDT

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I’ve been wanting to recreate Elizabeth I using a different portrait for a while. I wanted to do a portrait of an older Elizabeth since she was a long-reigning queen – she was 42 at the time she sat for this portrait. Honestly, this is one of my favorite creations I’ve made. I love how elegant she looks as a chic, modern-day Englishwoman. I lowered the plucked hairline (popular for her era), gave her some blush and a more natural skin tone (she is wearing lead makeup in this portrait), and added some well-earned wrinkles that I’m sure she would have in modern-day. When you compare this one to my original Elizabeth creation (created over a year ago), I feel like I’ve grown leaps and bounds and that is super rewarding to see as a creator. After all, if you’re not embarrassed by your old works you’re probably not doing it right 😉 . There are prints of this work available! Etsy.com/shop/royaltynow . If you’re interested in supporting my work please consider donating a few bucks so I can purchase my software and the stock photos needed 🙂 A few ways to support: Patreon: Patreon.com/Royaltynow Paypal: www.paypal.me/royaltynow Venmo: @Becca-Saladin . Left Portrait: Public Domain, Right Portrait base: iStock photo. Created using @photoshop . #ElizabethI #Tudors #AnneBoleyn #MaryI #EdwardVI #HenryVIII #HenryVII #BritishHistory #EnglishHistory #Photomanipulation #Editing #DigitalArt #DigitalDrawing #Edits #Photoedits #Retouching #portrait #Drawing #GraphicDesign #HistoryMemes #Portrait #ArtRestoration #DigitalArt #ArtOnInstagram #History

A post shared by Royalty Now (@royalty_now_) on Jul 14, 2020 at 1:34pm PDT

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A very frequently requested subject, here is Mark Antony! Let me tell you, this one gave me a run for my money. I wasn’t expecting it to be such a challenge but it was a fun one which left me poring over every detail. The only description I could find for his looks was that he had medium brown hair and hazel eyes, so that’s what I went with here. . Marcus Antonius (known in English as Mark Antony), lived from 83 BC until 30 BC. He was an influential Roman military leader and politician during the pivotal time in Roman history when the empire was transitioning from a Republic to an autocratic Empire. . Antony was a friend and supporter of Julius Caesar – they had served together during the Gallic wars and the Empire’s civil war (of which Julius Caesar emerged the victor). After Julius Caesar’s assassination, Antony, Octavian, and Marcus Lepidus joined forces to defeat Caesar’s assassins, eventually becoming a three-man dictatorship. A notorious partier, Mark Antony began his infamous love affair with Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Eventually, tensions between Antony and Octavian became too strong and broke into a civil war. Antony was married to Octavian’s sister while openly carrying out his love affair with the Egyptian queen, further straining the relationship between the two men. Octavian declared war on Cleopatra and marked Antony as a traitor. Antony was defeated by Octavian’s forces at the Battle of Actium. He then fled to Egypt, where both he and Cleopatra notoriously committed suicide. Octavian then became the first true Emperor of Rome, taking on the name Augustus – a former Royalty Now subject. . If you’re interested in supporting my work please consider donating a few bucks a month so I can purchase my software and the stock photos needed: patreon.com/royaltynow. You can also make a one-time donation at www.paypal.me/royaltynow. I appreciate my supporters so dearly. . Left Portrait: Public Domain, Right Portrait base: iStock Photo. Information: based from Wikipedia. Created using @photoshop. . #MarkAntony #Cleopatra #JuliusCaesar #Rome #AncientHistory #AncientRome #RomanArt #HistoryofRome #Photoshop #RoyalFamily #History #Royalty #EuropeanArt #EuropeanHis

A post shared by Royalty Now (@royalty_now_) on May 26, 2020 at 12:56pm PDT