Time waits for no person, no matter how famous they are. Whether we like it or not, our favorite stars and most beloved celebrities are growing older, just like us. However, in our imaginations, they usually still look like their younger selves on the screen and on the stage, when they helped shape our childhoods and teenage years.

Dutch graphic designer Ard Gelinck gives us a fresh perspective on how stars change over time by creating natural-looking photoshopped images of them posing with their younger selves. The ‘Then and Now’ picture series is incredibly popular and has earned Ard a following of over 301k people on Instagram. What’s more, Ard’s work is so good that celebrities themselves express their love for his photoshops.

Ard was kind enough to answer Bored Panda’s questions. He told us that it’s definitely the cast of the hit TV show Friends that is the most popular among his fans. “They were and still are mega-popular worldwide because this show was aired all over the world.” He added that his recent post with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez was also very successful because they got back together and this was all over the news. Ard also said that he had to find a “respectful and lovely way to honor” beloved actress Betty White who recently passed away.

Bored Panda also reached out for comment to celebrity expert Mike Sington who is known as Hollywood’s Ultimate Insider. “Seeing our favorite stars we grew up with grow older and older along with us can be overwhelming, but with a change in mindset, it can be comforting too. Realize that stars are no different than you or me, we’re all growing older and older together, and it’s happening at the exact same rate,” he said. Read on for our full interviews with Ard and Mike.

Scroll down, upvote Ard’s photoshops that you like the most, and let us know in the comments which younger-older star duos you think look the best. When you’re done with this article, we invite you to take a look at Bored Panda’s previous features of Ard’s work here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

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Ard explained that the images of beloved stars who passed away also get lots of reactions and lovely comments. “For example, stars like Amy Winehouse, George Michael, David Bowie, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and recently Betty White and Bob Saget remain very popular among fans,” he told Bored Panda.

When it came to honoring Betty White, Ard decided to “put her back together with her other ‘Golden Girls’ friends on the clouds in the sky, as they are reunited in heaven.”

 

 

Bored Panda was also interested to learn more about Ard’s favorite celebs who he thinks have gotten better at what they do with age.

“There are a few,” he said. “For example, I think Harry Styles has gone through a lot of development in music style and his voice.

This also applies to Miley Cyrus, she has grown from a child star to a major global star. Lady Gaga surprised me in a positive way. She was very good in ‘A Star Is Born.’ But there are so many more…”

Celebrity expert Mike told Bored Panda that when celebrities age naturally, it takes the stress out of aging. “With the internet, everyone knows how old you are anyway. If you accept it, and not fight it, it makes life so much easier,” he told Bored Panda.

“With stars, aging naturally can actually help you get more work, contrary to what many think. Once a star’s face appears altered or ‘worked on,’ they actually lose work. Trying to fight aging can end a career.”

 

 

Celeb expert Mike told Bored Panda that Meryl Streep is the “gold standard of celebrities.” Over decades of work, she’s definitely gotten better and better with age.

“And here’s the important part: she has wisely accepted her age, and has never tried to fight it. So we, as the audience, accept it too. That has led to her work being embraced and honored throughout her life, and ours too.”

 

 

“There are millions of photos from those celebs so the combinations are endless, you just have to see it,” Ard told Bored Panda earlier that he won’t be running out of ideas any time soon.

“Sometimes, I react to a news item, a birthday, or day of death and then post an edit of that celeb as an honor or celebration,” he told us how he decides what project to work on next.

 

 

The graphic designer explained that, on average, he spends around an hour working on most images. However, more complex photos obviously take far longer, for example, up to two or even three hours. Similarly, if the poses are easier to fit together, the time spent photoshopping a particular ‘Then and Now’ image can drop down to just half an hour. Ard said that sometimes the search he does for the best possible photos can take longer than the actual edits.

 

 

The graphic designer suggests that the people hoping to do what he does start off by getting Adobe Photoshop and learning to use it. “Just begin and try and practice a lot until, in my case, you have the luck that a lot of people like it,” he said that you won’t know what impact you can have on the world until you give it a try and put your work out there.

 

 

“I love the reactions from all over the world and see and read how it can make people smile and make them even emotional sometimes. Also, the list of celebs who shared my work is getting longer and longer. The biggest stars like Madonna, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Jones, Michael Douglas, Tina Turner, Rob Lowe, Gary Barlow, Ricky Gervais, and Snoop Dogg have all shared my creations and that also keeps me excited and gives me the energy to keep on doing this,” he shared.

 

 

Ard shared his first ‘Then and Now’ picture over 10 years ago. At first, he focused on featuring celebs from the Netherlands. However, after getting a very warm reception, the graphic designer decided to photoshop stars from around the world as well.

“About 5 years ago, I edited pictures for a lot of Dutch celebrities and it was a success, so I then started working with foreign celebrity photos. The first one was Madonna, and she even posted my image on her own Instagram,” he told Bored Panda earlier.