The winning card art from the Pokemon TCG illustration contest is an adorable Pikachu with an unlikely inspiration

The Pokemon Company announced the winners of the 2024s Pokemon trading card game Illustration Contest 2024, a competition that gives artists around the world the opportunity to print their work on an actual Pokemon trading card. The contest ran from October 2023 to January 2024, with the theme “Magical Pokemon Moments.”

As revealed on the official Pokemon illustration contest website, this year The grand prize winner is Japanese artist Kazuki Minamiwho presented an adorable portrait of a Pikachu scratching his ear, inspired by their dog. As the grand prize winner, Kazuki is set to receive a cash prize valued at $5,000 USD, and their Pikachu illustration will be made into an official promo card in the Pokemon TCG. Kazuki gives credit to their pet dog For inspiring this cute and casual rendering of Pokemon’s global icon that prevailed over 10,829 other entries:

“As it was my first time participating in the contest, I was not sure what to draw and how to draw it. That’s when my dog ​​came in my sight being cute – I was inspired to draw Pikachu in such a way that reminds me of my dog. So the prize belongs to my dog ​​as much as it does to me, and we are both extremely happy and honored.”

Comments from the judges are Available on the official website of the contestWhere they praise the image of the illustration of a genuine, carefree moment in striking detail:

“This illustration beautifully captures Pikachu in a tender moment during warm morning light. It’s challenging to make simple scenes like a yawn engaging, but the artist succeeds in creating a relatable and evocative setting. Placing Pikachu in the center of the frame emphasizes the Charm of the moment, while the subtle stylization adds originality without straying from authenticity.

How does the Pokemon TCG illustration contest work?

How this Pikachu portrait beats out 10,000 other Pokemon fan illustrations

The 2024 illustration contest was announced a year agoIn September 2023. The theme for entries was Magical Pokemon MomentsWith a list of 10 Pokemon for artists to depict:

• Charizard

• Pikachu

• Evey

• Feroligotar

• Flygon

• Absolute

• Bidoof

• Melmetal

• Toxicity (amped form)

• Coroidon

While many of these Pokemon are obvious picks, some more obscure favorites like Feraligatr and Toxtricity added variety to the lineup. The two rough-nosed reptiles are even the subjects of the winners of Best Standard Card Illustration (Feraligatr, by Accorviart), and Best Ex Card Illustration (Toxtricity, by Anderson).

Submissions for the contest began all the way back in October, with a deadline of January 31, 2024 for all submissions. After a long judging period for the nearly 11,000 entries, the Top 300 were announced by the Pokemon Company on July 2 and narrowed down to the Top 100 later that month.

Apart from the Grand Prize, 23 other artists were awarded prizes:

• One best standard card illustration: $3,000 cash prize

• One best ex card illustration: $3,000 cash prize

• Six First Place Runner Ups: $1,000 cash prize

• 15 Judge’s Awards: $500 cash prize

Why the Pokemon TCG Illustration Contest is important

A fun and engaging tradition that is only getting bigger as Pokemon continues to dominate the planet

With the massive international participation in 2022 and 2024, it seems that The Pokemon Company is continuing to codify this spectacle of fan engagement in a more regular, if not annual, facet of the brand. The Pokémon TCG has A long tradition of art contestsDating back to November 1997 in the Japanese magazine CoroCoro Comic. Fan art competitions returned in various iterations over the years, including a few by the card game’s original distributor outside of Japan, Wizards of the Coast.

2019’s Pokemon Illustration Grand Prix in Japan established a format that has continued in recent international illustration competitions, with its theme and list of Pokemon for entrants to use as their theme. The 2022 illustration contest opened the format to artists from the United States and Japan, and this year’s competition is First to allow entrants from other countries: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Pokemon is always looking to add exciting new promo cards, and with the success of this year’s competition, we’re pretty sure the Illustration contest Will be back in the future, with artists from even more countries being allowed to enter.

Source: Pokemon illustration contest