Danica Davidson
September 23, 2024 
The Pokémon Trading Card Game Illustration Contest 2024 hit some snags earlier this year when it turned out a bunch of the artwork submitted had been made by AI, even though Pokémon had made it clear only artwork made by humans would be considered. The AI stuff got disqualified, and then Pokémon went through the rest to pick its winners. And those winners have just been announced, so let’s take a look!
Out of 10,830 entries, the Grand Prize goes to the above Pikachu, which was created by Kazuki Minami. Minani responded to the win by saying, “I’m truly honored to receive this prize. As this was my first time taking part in this contest, I wasn’t sure what to draw and how to draw it. That’s when my dog came into 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’re both extremely happy and honored. Thank you.”
One of the judges explained their reasoning for this Pokémon pick, saying, “It’s a situation that seems to capture a moment that you witness by chance, and the heartwarming, goofy, exquisite cuteness of the yawning Pikachu is very attractive. Of course, the background that is depicted in detail is wonderful, but even while plants and other objects are realistically drawn, the expression of light and touch make it feel as if Pikachu—the main character—is firmly present in the space.”
There are also winners for different categories. Here is the Best Standard Card Illustration.
Here is the Best ex Card Illustration.
Here are the First Runners-Up.
You can check out the top 100 on this site.
Likewise, you can check out the top 300 on this site.
Or, if you want to look at all the winners very quickly, you can check out this video that shows them off.
Congrats to all the winners!
Source: Pokémon
____
Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
