Top 8 Finalists Announced for Pokemon TCG Illustration Grandprix!

crystal_pidgeot

Bird Trainer *Vaporeon on PokeGym*
Member
I'm pretty sure it was a Japanese-only contest, so (assuming you aren't from Japan), I don't think you were eligible for the contest

Yeah, I suppose. I would have drawn Ho-Oh flying with a flock of Pidgey around Burnt Tower. Most likely a sunset and some kind of party going on land. Maybe one of the Pidgey would have been shiny, since I want a shiny Pidgey card.
 

KeoKeo

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I just realized how much I like the art that don't focus on just the pokemon, but also places emphasis on the background; we've received so many generic "pokemon attacking" art on cards, even the epic ones become a bit dull.

If this type of creative, unique art was standardized, well that would resurrect the collector in all of us (at least me!!!!).

(as a side note, the parameter that asked people to focus on the background seems to have been ignored by many of the artists, explaining to some extent the choices of the top 8 - quite many did just drew the above mentioned default art)
 

FluffyFlareon

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I'm surprised that the hand-drawn bottom-right Mewtwo didn't make the top 8. I love the art! A couple of the Darkrai drawings are also fantastic. And then 2 slowpokes go on to become top-8 drawings? umm okay. clearly no bias going on here....

On the other hand, the Gardevoir and Eevee top-8 selections are awesome. The top-50 in the Eevee category must've been drawn from a crazy-competitive pool.

Last thing - why can't more than just one of these be printed? I'd basically buy them all!
 

OVERGRO

Pokemon is lyfe.
Member
Japan just can't get enough Gardevoir.

Also isn't it kinda weird it refers to itself as "the Active Pokemon" instead of "this Pokemon" or something?
 

Wechselbalg

brb
Member
Considerig the other entries that made top 8, (or even top 50) this is completely underwhelming.
 
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Sabaku

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Considerig the other entries that made top 8, (or even top 50) this is completely underwhelming.

Beyond design, the art also has to do a good job of portraying the Pokemon's personality or how it interacts with its own environment.
 

Frost

Ice/Fairy Stan Account
Member
This artist is undoubtedly talented, but I don't even think this was the best Gardevoir submission. The one with Gardevoir and Cherrim making a rainbow was a lot better and more memorable to me.
 

Skeleton Liar

サーナ~
Member
Putting my preference for Gardevoir aside, pretty much all of the top 50 "deserved" to win. All of the artists are insanely talented, and a lot of the artwork showed styles, techniques, and concepts that we've never or rarely see in the TCG illustrations. Everyone can have their favorites and preferences, but saying that one deserved to win over another, in my opinion, doesn't make sense.

Now, putting my preference back into place, I'm very happy that this won! It's such beautifully vibrant artwork! And it's so satisfying, just as a piece of artwork. I can't really put it into words how well this works.

But on the other hand, on a far more selfish note, I kind of wish it hadn't won. Ha ha. I don't know if this is the same for this contest, but I recall only the winners of recent art contests received the cards. (But perhaps I'm wrong?) So there are very few in existence, and if any are sold, they'd be astronomically expensive... (And I had a difficult time justifying $70-90 for the shiny Gardevoir from the Japanese Dark Explorers set. ...Still haven't bit that bullet.) But I suppose I'll have to accept the fact that I'll never own this card, unless Creatures Inc. decides to release this in a more widely available way in Japan.
 

starg09

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Japan just can't get enough Gardevoir.

Also isn't it kinda weird it refers to itself as "the Active Pokemon" instead of "this Pokemon" or something?

Just a misspell during translation, it does say "this Pokémon" and not the active :)
 

Sabaku

Aspiring Trainer
Member
This artist is undoubtedly talented, but I don't even think this was the best Gardevoir submission. The one with Gardevoir and Cherrim making a rainbow was a lot better and more memorable to me.

True enough. If it were a matter of the art alone, it definitely would be a top contender, but at the same time, the theme was to highlight an individual Pokemon, and the Gardevoir/Cherrim art fell short in that aspect.
 
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