A makeup artist transforms herself into characters using only beauty products, paper, and creativity

Her work is especially popular on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, where she shares both photos of her completed looks, and videos that show her creating them.

She was heavily inspired by the SYFY series "Face Off," in which makeup artists compete to create looks using special-effects techniques.

"I originally started my Instagram to practice special-effects makeup after being inspired by the show, but I randomly decided to do a cosplay of the character Cynthia from 'Rugrats' and that post tripled my following at the time," Thomas told Insider. "So I switched my focus to mainly cartoons and cosplays."

"Funny enough, drawing cartoons was my biggest passion as a kid — I have boxes upon boxes filled to the brim with drawings of Nickelodeon characters," she said. "It's crazy that it all came full circle without me realizing!"

This photo, for example, shows Thomas transformed into Angelica Pickles from "Rugrats." She painted the character's face and body across her own, and also attached paper pieces to illustrate Angelica's pigtails and cheeks.

"Creating full-on cartoon characters, using my body as a canvas, came very naturally to me —I'm assuming from drawing them on paper so many times as a kid," Thomas said. "I guess it's a weird form of muscle memory."

Though Thomas says it once took her between four and eight hours to make each cartoon-character look, she now usually finishes each transformation after three to five hours.

"I'm getting faster," Thomas said. "I typically start out by gluing down my eyebrows and applying a bald cap. This helps me visualize myself as a flat surface without any details to distract me."

The artist's sketches are made using eye shadow so that she can "perfect the dimensions" of her art before she starts painting. She later fills everything in using body paint.

"It just takes practice at manipulating lines to make them appear to be drawn on a flat surface, but that challenge is the fun part," Thomas said.

When transforming herself into Fiona from "Shrek," for example, Thomas painted only one side of her face and body green. In doing so, she was able to show Fiona as both a human and as an ogre, just as she's seen in the animated film.

Using special-effects makeup techniques, Thomas was able to create lines that give the illusion of a large nose and arched brows, and therefore alter the shape of her face to make her look more like Lord Farquaad from "Shrek." She also tied her hair back and wore a paper hat to achieve this transformation.

Because her work is so detailed, one might assume that Thomas spends hours figuring out which characters she wants to re-create, the tools she'll need, and what details she'll include. But while speaking to Insider, the artist said that's rarely the case.

"I'm not great at planning," Thomas said. "It actually kills my inspiration, so I have no idea what I'm going to create until I sit down to do it! I think most people don't realize that all of my looks are first attempts — I don't practice them ahead of time."

"I get a lot of frustrated messages from followers who say that they would love to do what I'm doing, but they don't have the money to do so," Thomas said. "I started with a cheap paint set, my camera phone, and poster boards I got from the dollar store that I used as backdrops for my photos."

"Not to mention, all of the additional pieces that I use for my cartoon looks are made out of paper," she continued. "You can do anything that you set your mind to if you have enough passion and drive to get there."

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