Illustration contests are contests in which entrants are invited to create artwork of requested Pokémon in effort to have it featured on a card in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The majority of these contests have only been open to residents of Japan, with many earlier competitions held in Shogakukan publications, such as CoroCoro Comic. Wizards of the Coast and The Pokémon Company International have also held contests in North America and many other countries worldwide during their tenure. The following is a list of contests held in conjunction with the TCG.
The first illustration contest was publicized in the November 1997 issue of CoroCoro Comic, released on October 15, 1997 and invited readers to draw and submit their favorite Pokémon. The winning entries were announced in the January 1998 issue of CoroCoro Comic, released in December 1997. Three entrants received the Best Award, each of them receiving 20 copies of a Pokémon trading card featuring their illustration and a special Pokémon Illustrator promotional card. These cards were subsequently printed as part of Expansion Sheet 1, available in special vending machines from March 23, 1998. Twenty entrants were also selected for the Excellence Award, all of them receiving a Pokémon Illustrator promotional card. One hundred entrants received the Special Award, each of them receiving a 1998 Pokémon Original Calendar.
Mewtwo's Counterattack Commemoration Illust Artist Contest
Another illustration contest was publicized in the May 1998 issue of CoroCoro Comic, released in April 1998, in commemoration of the upcoming Pokémon movie in July of that year. The contest invited readers to create their own original Pokémon trading card, and was divided into two categories: illustration and attacks. The winning entries were announced in the July 1998 issue of CoroCoro Comic, released in June 1998. One entrant received the Best Award in terms of illustration and attacks, receiving 20 physical copies of their card and a Pokémon Illustrator promotional card. This card was later printed as part of Expansion Sheet 3, available from November 24, 1998. Four entrants received the Excellence Award in the illustration category and three entrants received the Excellence Award in the attack category, each of them receiving a Pokémon Illustrator promotional card. Thirty entrants received the Special Award, each of them receiving a Mewtwo's Counterattack and Pikachu's Summer Vacation teaser poster.
Pikachu's Summer Vacation Commemoration Illust Artist Contest
A third illustration contest through CoroCoro Comic was publicized in the June 1998 issue, released in May 1998, commemorating the upcoming Pikachu short attached to Mewtwo's Counterattack. This contest was similar to the previous one, with both an illustration category and an attack category. Winning entries were announced in the August 1998 issue of CoroCoro Comic, released in July 1998. Although there was no Best Award, the four entrants selected for the Excellence Award in both the illustration category and attack category each received a Pokémon Illustrator promotional card. Thirty entrants received the Special Award, each of them receiving a Pokémon Pikachu.
CoroCoro Best Photo Contest
CoroCoro Comic held another contest in May 1999 and invited readers to take interesting pictures of Pokémon from the recently released Pokémon Snap and submit them in the Best Photo Contest. The top five winning entries had their artwork featured on reprints from Expansion Pack. The five winners each received 20 copies of their card.
Much like the CoroCoro Comic contest, the TV Tokyo variety show 64 Mario Stadium also held a Best Photo Contest in May 1999. The top five winning entries had their Pokémon Snap photographs featured on reprints from Expansion Pack.
Unlike the CoroCoro Comic contest, only 15 of each of these cards were distributed to each of the winners.
In early 2000, Wizards of the Coast ran an illustration competition for the English version of the World Hobby Fair Mewtwo promotional card. The chosen image was that of Christopher Rush and was included with the April 2000 issue of Nintendo Power.
In mid 2002, Wizards of the Coast also ran an illustration competition for the English version of Keita Takahashi's Pokémon Card Game Illust Artist Contest entry. The chosen image was created by Craig Turvey.
The Poké Card Creator Contest was a contest held by Kids' WB! in 2004. Applicants aged between five and fifteen were invited to create an image of one of five pre-selected Pokémon and submit it to Kids' WB! between February 16 and April 10, 2004. Pokémon USA designed five new cards using the winning illustrations. A total of 5,250 Poké Card Creator Packs were distributed in July 2004: 50 packs to each of the five grand prize winners, and one pack to 5,000 first prize winners. The grand prize winners also won a $500 Target gift card.
In 2009, Shogakukan held the Pokémon Card Design Contest through many of their publications. Entrants were invited to design the artwork for Spiky-eared Pichu and Arceus. Aside from two magazines that held contests for original drawings, each one provided an outline of the requested Pokémon drawn by professional illustrators (whose artwork were also featured on the cards in the Movie Commemoration Random Pack). This contest was restricted to residents of Japan and had varying application periods across participating publications:
Kindergarten; Televi-Kun; Elementary School 1st Grade: February 28 - March 31, 2009
Elementary School 2nd Grade - Elementary School 6th Grade: March 3 - April 2, 2009
CoroCoro Comic; Pucchigumi: March 14 - April 14, 2009
At the time the contest was ongoing the following distribution figures were published, covering a total of 552 winning entries across twelve of the thirteen publications, broken down into four bands:
Highest award (1 winner; 12 total): 100 copies of their winning design and a limited edition Daisuki Club Giratina Nintendo DS Lite.
Outstanding performance award (5 winners; 60 total): Jumbo copy of the entry along with a DX Monster Ball DP
It is believed that this was not how the cards were distributed when the contest ended, however. A previously unmentioned publication, Shōnen Sunday, also ran a contest. None of the jumbo cards which were intended to be awarded to the 60 originally-mentioned runner-up contestants are known to have surfaced. Significantly fewer of these cards have appeared than that of the 2010 Pokémon Design Contest and it's speculated that each winner may have received between one and thirteen full sets of the winning designs instead of 100 of their own design.
At the same time these cards were released, another Shogakukan publication, Weekly Shōnen Sunday, organised a commissioned Pichu design by Gosho Aoyama, the award winning illustrator of the Detective Conan series first published by the same magazine. This card was released as an insert in the magazine and formed part of Japan's DPt-P promotional set.
In 2010, Shogakukan held another Pokémon Card Design Contest through many of their publications. Entrants were invited to design the artwork for Illusion's Zorua and Illusion's Zoroark, again using a pre-drawn template. This contest, much like the one held in 2009, was restricted to residents of Japan. The application period across all publications ran from February 20 to April 2, 2010. Winners were announced on July 27, 2010.
A total of 660 winning entries were chosen across the ten publications, broken down into four bands:
Lucky award (50 winners; 500 total): Five booster packs of Reviving Legends
All selected entrants also received the regular prints of Illusion's Zorua and Illusion's Zoroark (660 total).
† The officially published figure for the number of cards each winner would receive according to both the Pokémon website and the Shogakukan magazines which ran the contest was 100, however in July 2021 an (image was shared) of the pack of cards the Pucchigumi winner Miho Sugano received, identifying the Pucchigumi card as "PCG-Z-PLP67-JPN" and displaying the quantity of cards contained in the pack as 200.
Unlike the contest ran in 2009, all 660 chosen entrants were showcased on the Japanese Pokémon movie website. Below are the top six entries for each publication, including some additional entries from Pokémon Fan magazine.
The first international illustration contest invited players of Pokémon Art Academy to create original Pokémon illustrations with the opportunity to have their artwork featured on specially created Pokémon TCG cards. Overall, there were three separate instances of the competition:
Japan (where the competition was named Pokémon Art Academy × Pokémon Card Game) – open to residents of Japan.
North America – open to residents of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Europe and Oceania – open to residents of Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and Russia (Italy was specifically excluded).
The Japanese competition began first, with the submission period open from December 13, 2014 to February 1, 2015. The North American competition and European and Oceanian competition began simultaneously on February 18 and ran until March 29, 2015. Each competition comprised two categories: Dress-Up Pikachu and Your Favorite Pokémon. Dress-Up Pikachu required players to portray Pikachu in a costume of their design, inspired by Cosplay Pikachu as featured in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Your Favorite Pokémon invited players to create an image featuring any Pokémon. Once entrants had completed their chosen image in Free Paint mode, they were required to upload it to Miiverse and submit it as part of the competition.
The 5 winning entries from each category in the Japanese competition were announced in March 2015. The 3 winning entries from each category in the North American competition and European and Oceanian competition were announced on June 8 of the same year. The top entrants in each competition were selected from a panel of judges including Pokémon Trading Card Game illustrators. Each of the winners received 100 copies of the card featuring their illustration.
Another illustration contest began in late 2018 and invited people to create artwork with theme "Pokémon Landscapes". Images were required to feature one of ten pre-selected Pokémon complete with an accompanying background—forests or cities were cited as examples. These Pokémon included: Charizard, Pikachu, Slowpoke, Eevee, Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, Gardevoir, Metagross, Darkrai, and Solgaleo. The competition website included Pokédex entries, official Ken Sugimori artwork and 3D models of each Pokémon by Creatures, Inc.'s in-house art team 5ban Graphics for reference. Only residents of Japan were eligible to enter the competition. The application period was open from December 17, 2018 until March 31, 2019. Entrants could apply up to three times and were required to submit their artwork via the competition website. All entries were reviewed by a panel of judges, which consisted of The Pokémon Company President Tsunekazu Ishihara, Creatures, Inc. President Hirokazu Tanaka, Creatures, Inc. Executive Producer Yuji Kitano, Creatures, Inc. Art Director Kenichi Koga, and TCG illustrators Mitsuhiro Arita, Kouki Saitou, and Kagemaru Himeno.
Interviews with Mitsuhiro Arita and Kouki Saitou were published on the competition website on February 12, 2019 and March 5, 2019, respectively, which explore their methodology of creating an image as well as insights into the interactions between the illustrator and client.
In total, 5,343 entries were submitted. Fifty illustrations that passed the primary screening were published on the competition website on April 26, 2019. The top 8 entries were announced on May 30 and the final positions were announced during the 2019 Pokémon Japan Championships on June 8. One overall winner received ¥300,000, a trophy featuring their name and winning illustration, and had their artwork featured on an oversized TCG card; one runner-up received ¥100,000 and a trophy featuring their name and illustration. The website stated four entries as selected by the panel were to receive ¥50,000, yet five were ultimately included as part of the Judge's Award, as well as an additional Slowpoke Award, chosen due to its popularity amongst the panel. It is unknown if the additional Judge's and Slowpoke Award-winning entries were also given a prize. Entries deemed excellent by the panel were also approached by Creatures, Inc. to produce official artwork for the TCG.
Other showcased entries following primary screening
Illus. aya
Illus. 黒井ススム
Illus. teeziro
Illus. 野崎 想
Illus. 古澤あつし
Illus. いもむし
Illus. 欄外
Illus. んまんま
Illus. 雨音はるじ
Illus. おかちぇけ
Illus. くのじ
Illus. 白石貴士
Illus. namakemono
Illus. バクルズ ジョー
Illus. はしむすび
Illus. フジイカクホ
Illus. 井上茉莉
Illus. オオウラシオリ
Illus. 前屋 進
Illus. ワキサカ
Illus. わたあめ
Illus. 井上ムラマサ
Illus. 雲丹海苔
Illus. sho
Illus. フジツキ
Illus. GoldenBoden
Illus. Tarai
Illus. 二条和水
Illus. ほたてぃーの
Illus. takuyoa
Illus. n:go
Illus. 軍島曹一郎
Illus. 水野 佑
Illus. you8
Illus. AKI
Illus. 犬ビコちゃん
Illus. 潤宮るか
Illus. J-Dragon
Illus. とみなが まい
Illus. 西山はな
Illus. きんぎん
Illus. 星見 しょーり
2nd Pokémon Card Game Illustration Grand Prix
A second Grand Prix illustration contest began in Japan in late 2019, this time inviting people to create artwork with theme "Pokémon's Cool Moments". Like the first Grand Prix, submitted artworks were required to focus on one of a number of pre-selected Pokémon. Entrants could select to portray either Charizard, Pikachu, Tyranitar, Milotic, Lucario, Genesect, Wishiwashi, or Zacian. The contest was only open to residents of Japan and entrants could submit up to three illustrations to competition website from the period December 9, 2019 to March 31, 2020. All entries were reviewed by a panel of judges, which consisted of The Pokémon Company President Tsunekazu Ishihara, Creatures, Inc. President Hirokazu Tanaka, Creatures, Inc. Executive Producer Yuji Kitano, Creatures, Inc. Pokémon CG Studio Art Director Ujiie Junko, Creatures, Inc. Art Director Kenichi Koga, and TCG illustrators Hitoshi Ariga, Ryota Murayama, and Yuta Otani.
The competition website included articles that provided information and insight from individuals at Creatures, Inc. and official illustrators. The first article featured an interview with Kenichi Koga in which he discusses a general overview of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the varying illustration styles that have been an enduring attribute of the TCG, and tips for creating an effective illustration. The second and third articles featured interviews respectively exploring Mitsuhiro Arita's and Kouki Saitou's approach for creating illustrations. These three articles were originally published for the first Grand Prix. The fourth article featured an interview with two members of Creatures, Inc.'s Pokémon Card Development Division: Art Design Team Manager Satoru Nagaya and Illustration Team Sub-manager Natsume Suwabe. The pair discuss the response to the first Grand Prix, the impetus for the second, and exploring the "Pokémon's Cool Moments" theme. The fifth article, published on January 31, 2020, featured an interview with illustrator Hitoshi Ariga. The sixth article, published on February 28, 2020 featured an interview with the winner of the first Grand Prix, Yuu Nishida.
In total, 4,050 entries were submitted. Fifty illustrations that passed the primary screening were published on the competition website on May 1, 2020 and the final positions were published on July 17. One overall winner received ¥300,000, a trophy featuring their artwork, and an official TCG card using their artwork; one 2D Excellence Award winner and one 3D Excellence Award winner each received ¥100,000 and a trophy featuring their artwork; five entries as selected by the panel each received ¥50,000. Entries deemed excellent by the panel were also approached by Creatures, Inc. to produce official artwork for the TCG.
Other showcased entries following primary screening
Illus. N氏
Illus. あいらんど
Illus. カサイタイガ
Illus. せんこんさん。
Illus. にそにそ
Illus. 雲丹海苔
Illus. 金井 亮介
Illus. 橋本ルウ
Illus. ささしままい
Illus. みる
Illus. 魚野景
Illus. 仁子
Illus. ○A
Illus. crudefish
Illus. シトニ
Illus. ナカジマ ユウキ
Illus. ひらやま
Illus. えすてぃお
Illus. タケノコノコ
Illus. ぱにぱに
Illus. 畑 健太朗
Illus. AKI
Illus. sgtoon
Illus. ハチ
Illus. 黒井ススム
Illus. 塩見キキ
Illus. 西山はな
Illus. yorikane
Illus. シブリンガル
Illus. タケノコ太郎
Illus. でんぢ
Illus. ユウイチ
Illus. Ca.OF-3
Illus. momo irone
Illus. えぐざ
Illus. 末宮 市悠
Illus. 西廻り航路。
Illus. DyG
Illus. Ho-oh リン
Illus. TAPI岡
Illus. ヤマタカ
Illus. 砂川 宗一郎
Pokémon the Movie: Koko × Pokémon Card Game Illust Contest
An illustration contest was held in the months leading up to the Japanese theatrical release of Secrets of the Jungle. Those wishing to participate were required to follow the Pokémon the Movie: Koko official Twitter account. A digital copy of the application form could be downloaded from there or the official Pokémon the Movie website; physical copies could also be obtained from participating Pokémon Centers and Pokémon Stores. Entrants were invited to color in a line drawing of Koko and DadaZarude based on the Tetsuo Yajima illustration used on a promotional Koko card. The application period ran from October 15 until November 15, 2020 and while the contest was not limited to residents of Japan, prizes would only be shipped to a Japanese address. Entrants could apply once per account and were required to post their artwork on Twitter with the hashtag #ポケモン映画カードイラコン, Pokémon Movie Card Illu Con. Teams of parents and their children could submit their artwork for consideration using the additional hashtag #親子賞, Parent-child Award. Children were required to color the line art of Koko and Zarude; parents could color in the background and add more illustrations if they so wished.
Of all the entries submitted, 55 were nominated by a Pikachu Project judging panel to receive a 2-player TCG Movie Original Design Paper Playmat (Japanese: 映画オリジナルデザイン紙製プレイマット) featuring Koko and Dada Zarude. Nominees were notified via Twitter in late November 2020 and their artwork was showcased on the official website on December 23. Of these nominations, four overall winners were selected across four categories: the Director's Award, the Creatures Award, the Parent-child Award, and the Twitter Special Award. The Twitter Special Award was revealed as a surprise category upon the announcement of the results on December 25, and was determined by the artwork that received the most likes up to December 1. Each of the winning entries received a Jumbo card featuring their artwork plus other Pokémon goods, which began to shipped in late March 2021.
Gallery
Winning entries
Director's Award
Creatures Award
Parent-child Award
Twitter Special Award
Illus. にゃべにゃ
Illus. うさまる
Illus. そうたパパ
Illus. にじまあるく
Other nominated entries
Illus. あおなぎ
Illus. モネォツェル
Illus. ちゃま
Illus. 五十鈴 吟叶
Illus. KAZU
Illus. AXEL
Illus. かな
Illus. なつモン
Illus. ジュリ
Illus. ハチ
Illus. あき
Illus. 石動らとね
Illus. Moca®︎
Illus. せいくん
Illus. たこやき
Illus. さき
Illus. こうた
Illus. 手袋てって
Illus. アイリ
Illus. 夏月 舞
Illus. かざと98
Illus. ろーあ
Illus. そーたろ
Illus. moeka
Illus. 大鳥あお
Illus. さしみ
Illus. ミナキ
Illus. よもぎ団子
Illus. クロイス
Illus. あきやま かずや
Illus. うさ吉郎
Illus. 七星める
Illus. ユイくん
Illus. 横澤 真理子
Illus. seya6
Illus. ちくわ1310
Illus. さめのま
Illus. そらちゃん
Illus. ちー
Illus. そうちゃん
Illus. TOSHI
Illus. りひと
Illus. そうまくん
Illus. WOR
Illus. ソラ -Y-
Illus. ぷくりん
Illus. ひろむ
Illus. いつきち
Illus. そうすけ
Illus. あちき
Illus. シェフチェンコ
Pokémon Trading Card Game Illustration Contest 2022
Following the success of the Illustration Grand Prix contests held in Japan in 2019 and 2020, another illustration contest was announced in September 2021 that was expanded to include residents of Japan and the United States. The premise of the contest remained the same as the most recent Japanese competitions: participants were invited to portray one of eight pre-selected Pokémon centered around the theme "The Daily Life of Pokémon". The eligible Pokémon included Bulbasaur, Charizard, Pikachu, Arcanine, Galarian Rapidash, Scizor, Greninja, and Cramorant. The submission period was open between 12:00 PM JST on October 14, 2021 and 11:59 PM JST on January 31, 2022 for Japanese residents and between 8:00 PM PT on October 13, 2021 and 6:59 AM PT on January 31, 2022 for residents of the United States. Entrants could submit up to three unique works to the competition website.
All entries were reviewed by a panel of no less than four judges that included directors and executives from The Pokémon Company International, The Pokémon Company, and Creatures, Inc. President Tsunekazu Ishihara represented The Pokémon Company. Those representing The Pokémon Company International included President Kenji Okubo, Trading Card Game Senior Director Yasuhiro Usui, Graphic Design Director Chris Franc, and Product Marketing Manager Courtney Kim. Those representing Creatures, Inc. comprised President Hirokazu Tanaka, Senior Executive Director Yuji Kitano, CG Studio Art Director and Executive Director Atsuko Ujiie, Senior Project Manager Kota Okamoto, Senior Art Director Kenichi Koga, Art Director Satoru Nagaya, Illustration Director Haru Saito, Illustration Team Associate Manager Natsuki Suwabe, Illustration Team Members Yuki Shikama and Ayaka Hagiwara, and Art Design Team Member Eiji Ide. Established TCG illustrators Kouki Saitou, Tomokazu Komiya, and AKIRA EGAWA were also part of the panel. Eligible submissions were scored based on the following criteria: interpretation and clarity of the theme (40% of score), creativity and originality of the theme (30% of score), and overall design (30% of score).
Five columns were uploaded to the competition website that provided insights into the creative processes involved with the TCG. The first three were available to view upon the launch of the website, while the fourth and fifth were uploaded on December 21, 2021 and February 28, 2022, respectively. The first column explored the essence of creating illustrations for the TCG and featured input from two directors at Creatures, Inc.'s Pokémon Card Development Division, Satoru Nagaya and Haru Saito, as well as Chris Franc from The Pokémon Company International. The second and third columns featured interviews with TCG illustrators AKIRA EGAWA and Narumi Sato. The fourth column delved into the worldwide appeal of the TCG and featured discussions with the Game Director of Creatures, Inc.'s Pokémon Card Development Division, Atsushi Nagashima and the Vice President of the Trading Card Game at The Pokémon Company International, Barry Sams. The fifth column featured interviews with the winners of the previous Japanese Illustration Grand Prix contests, Yuu Nishida and Jiro Sasumo.
In total, 10,830 entries were submitted. The results of the first round of judging were announced on April 11, 2022, in which the top 300 quarter-finalists were published on the competition website. Results of the second round of judging to determine the top 100 semi-finalists were announced on May 12, 2022, and the final results, of which 20 finalists were selected, were announced on June 10, 2022.
One Grand Prize Winner from either Japan or the United States received a cash value of $5,000/¥550,000 and had their illustration featured on a promotional card. Two total First Runners-Up, one from Japan and one from the United States, received a cash value of $3,000/¥330,000 and had their illustrations featured on promotional cards; two Second Runners-Up from either Japan or the United States received a cash value of $1,000/¥110,000. Fifteen Judges' Award Winners from either Japan or the United States received a cash value of $500/¥55,000.
and Arceus. Aside from two magazines that held contests for original drawings, each one provided an outline of the requested Pokémon drawn by professional illustrators (whose artwork were also featured on the cards in the Movie Commemoration Random Pack). This contest was restricted to residents of Japan and had varying application periods across participating publications:
