A Rare Look Into the Design Process and Feedback Between Creatures and Pokemon Card Illustrators

[Pokemon1982]

The cards should be less on model

I agree. I feel older artists can get away with sneaking some weird off model things in (like the realistic grandma in Mimikyu AR from Shiny Treasure), but it sucks to see how newer artists are railroaded into following the reference sheets to a T. I actually would have preferred the draft Arcanine with the stubbier mane and ears.

Compare the shiny Enteis. In my opinion the Star's more dynamic angle, edgier line art, and slight goofiness make it more charming than the perfect newer one.

 

[Charmaster:)]

I agree. I feel older artists can get away with sneaking some weird off model things in (like the realistic grandma in Mimikyu AR from Shiny Treasure), but it sucks to see how newer artists are railroaded into following the reference sheets to a T. I actually would have preferred the draft Arcanine with the stubbier mane and ears.

Compare the shiny Enteis. In my opinion the Star's more dynamic angle, edgier line art, and slight goofiness make it more charming than the perfect newer one.

I think I’m starting to understand what people mean by “on-model” more and more as this conversation goes on. Early in the conversation I thought it referred to how clean the lines were (which was why I mentioned that some of Komiya’s art has smoother lines than his other pieces), but now I’m realizing it has more to do with decks like the pose or line art.

I was looking at more of Atsushi Furusawa’s work, and I wouldn’t be worried about his creativity being stunted by the design notes. His initial Draft B was already far more faithful to the Ken Sugimori artwork than Draft A, so after choosing that draft, it was natural to try and make it more like the source material it so closely emulated. But if you look at his Joltik Illustration Rare from Paradox Rift, you’ll see that the eyes are larger, and, as you put it for Entei, goofier than those of other Joltik, giving it an unwieldy feel that makes it true scale even more startling. As someone who grew up watching Pokémon the Series, I remember Joltik being small enough to latch onto the side of a Pokéball, and I never questioned that it could actually do that at an acclaimed height of four inches. In contrast, I was not familiar enough with Yamper to remember that it was only a foot tall, or only two and a half times the height of Joltik. By drawing this Joltik with goofy and disproportionate eyes, the artist draws on our lore-influenced bias that Joltik can’t possibly be this large, giving the viewer time to sit on this paradox and eventually begin to question which is correct: Joltik’s Pokédex height, or it’s anime lore. (Also, there is no way this Pokémon can latch onto Yamper’s leg undetected if it’s this large. It barely fits on Yamper’s back! Evidently Atsushi invites us to make fun of ourselves for mindlessly accepting that lore, too. And the aforementioned Pokédex is even featured on the card itself! It’s funny to see what happens when the design team don’t take themselves too seriously and can joke about their own plot holes.)