Across decades, thePokemon Trading Card Gamehas created thousands of unique cards each year featuring each of its beloved and iconic creatures, characters and locations. What makes the TCG special outside of playing it is that collecting it is just as fun, with gorgeous art on even the most common cards to fill up any collection like an art gallery.
With so many talented artists helping, each and every single card has a different art style. While there have been plenty of guest artists, there are some illustrators that are legends to the TCG, having made hundreds of cards and their art is as iconic as the Pokemon themselves are.
This list’s data comes from the end of the Scarlet & Violet era.
Illustrator Information For Yuka Morii
Number Of Cards Illustrated: 211
Latest Set Illustration: Scarlet & Violet Black Volt / White Flare
First Set Illustration: Neo Discovery
We want to give a special entry to one of the TCG’s most valued artists who has made some of the best art the TCG has ever seen, as this list would just feel incomplete without her. Yuka Morri is a legend to the Pokemon TCG who has had a card in almost every set since theNeo eraand her art is instantly recognizable as she creates clay Pokemon models.
These clay models are sculpted by Yuka Morii herself and then shot in a fitting environment for that Pokemon to create a beautiful mix of realistic backgrounds with cute cartoon-style Pokemon clay models. Each one of the models she makes she keeps, so across her 211 cards, she must have quite an extensive Pokemon collection and her cards are the best.
Latest Set Illustration: Scarlet & Violet Black Volt
First Set Illustration: Platinum Supreme Victors
Despite only having worked for the TCG since the Platinum era, Shin Nagasawa quickly caught up with legends with the amount of art he has made. With over 297 total cards to his name, Shin Nagasawa is a popular artist in the modern era, having illustrated a wide range of Pokemon in his style.
Shin Nagasawa has a tendency to change his art style on a whim, but regardless, it always looks incredible. His clear comic book and manga inspirations make every illustration pop straight out of the card and, with the Pokemon almost always being drawn in dynamic action poses, his cards are bursting with life.
Latest Set Illustration: Scarlet & Violet Temporal Forces
First Set Illustration: E-Series Aquapolis
Originally starting her dive into the Pokemon series by creating art for merchandise, Midori Harada has been creating illustrations of our favorite monsters since the beginning. Bursting into the TCG scene in the E-Series expansion Aquapolis, she quickly became a popular artist and has been making brilliantly cute illustrations ever since.
Midori Harada is most known for her environmental art style, which is called ‘Aire Verte’, which translates to ‘green space’ in English. This style focuses on open European-styled environments with oil-painting-like details which can be clearly seen on her cards, and while the Pokemon look great, the surrounding environments are always equally stunning.
Latest Set Illustration: Sword & Shield Crown Zenith
First Set Illustration: EX Ruby & Sapphire
While traditionally the TCG dominantly has 2D illustrations, there has always been a good bunch of 3D art as well to make more dynamic cards, such as EX’s standout. One of the most dedicated and prominent 3D artists is Ryo Ueda, who has created countless cards of all forms, whether that be Pokemon, Items, or even Stadiums.
Ryo’s 3D art always looks so seamless and almost like a 2D illustration with how he stylizes his models. The added visual effects, shading and lighting make them even more refreshing and perfectly capture the Pokemon in their poses in a side that we rarely get to see in any of the video game models.
First Set Illustration: Team Rocket
Many of the bigger Pokemon TCG artists have actually also played massive roles in the design of the Pokemon themselves and Atsuko Nishida is no exception. If you ever wondered who to thank for the existence of almost all theEeeveelutions(bar Flareon and Jolteon), then you best look to Atsuko Nishida, as she is the designer of them and many other fan favorites, including the series mascot, Pikachu.
In the TCG her artwork carries the same level of cuteness and not a single one of Atsuko Nishida’s works will fail to make you squeal from cuteness overload. Her soft, often pastel color palette style makes for some of the most visually distinct cards that are just plain adorable, and we can’t get enough of their cozy vibes that warm our hearts just by holding the card.
First Set Illustration: EX FireRed & LeafGreen
In a world as colorful and bright as Pokemon with countless strange creatures, capturing their more excentric designs is key to making great illustrations of them, and Masakazu Fukuda is a master of this. With grace, Masakazu Fukuda is able to make cards that are dynamicly fluid and vibrant in the right mood to fit each Pokemon or trainer.
One of Masakazu Fukuda’s biggest calls to fame is that he illustrated nearly everyGold Star cardreleased in the EX era, including the now iconic Umbreon Gold Star and even the Charizard Gold Star. His style is super flexible, as, from era to era, he keeps improving his style to make the Pokemon look even more dazzling.
First Set Illustration: Jungle
While some of the TCG’s artists may go for similar styles to unify under the Pokemon brand, nothing will stop Kagemaru Himeno from drawing the way she wants. Kagemaru Himeno has been illustrating for the TCG since the second expansion ever, Jungle, and her cards have never disappointed, with every illustration being amazing and instantly recognizable.
Her soft color-filled illustrations burst with life unlike any other, with star-studded shadows and highlights adding even more vibrancy that shows how much she loves what she creates. The passion behind each artwork is through the roof, and you can just tell by looking at her more modern pieces that, even with decades on the job, she still cherishes her work.
First Set Illustration: Base Set
Having been around since the TCG’s debut, Mitsuhiro Arita has both time and history with it written all over his art. Some of the most legendary cards from over the years are his works, which even include none other than the collector’s holy grail, Base Set Charizard. This card is no doubt the TCG’s most iconic card. However, he has made plenty of other great illustrations too.
From popping special illustration rares to beautiful common cards, Mitsuhiro Arita’s cards are always some of the best. His style has evolved with the TCG itself, and it’s such a treat to look back on. Back in the Base Set days, Mitsuhiro Arita’s works had defined lines with more watercolor-like coloring, but now his illustrations have a lineless realism approach with more vivid colors.
Latest Set Illustration: Scarlet & Violet Twilight Masquerade
With over 691 cards to his name, Kouki Saitou is the biggest solo artist who doesn’t have ties to the rest of the Pokemon series and his long history makes him one of the TCG’s most iconic illustrators. First debuting in the E-series Aquapolis set, Kouki Saitou has gone on to draw Pokemon and Supporters with a pinch of manga flair.
Kouki Saitou’s main style is a wonderful mix of realistic, detailed environments and stylized anime-esque Pokemon that creates a sharp dynamic between the two because of their differing details. The intense shading and lighting can change radically between the style and tone the Pokemon needs and every time his cards end up as some of the sets' most vibrant.
Latest Set Illustration: Sword & Shield Silver Tempest
One of the most influential artists of all of Pokemon will always be Ken Sugimori. If you ever wondered who was behind almost every single key artwork made of the Pokemon and trainers, we are surprised you haven’t ever heard his name. Ken Sugimori has been creating art for the Pokemon series since its very first steps and has even designed Pokemon such as Gengar,Mewtwoand Blaziken.
Unfortunately, in the TCG, Ken Sugimori’s cards are seen as quite lazy, as they are the TCG’s way of making quick filler. By just reusing the artwork he made for use in the promotion of the games, these cards leave little to be excited about. There are exceptions though, mainly with his Supporter full arts, and these give us some high-budget Sugimori art that is always a treat.
