Today I will give you all the art history of a cute little Pokémon: Mudkip! Mudkip has made MANY appearances for a 3rd-Gen Pokémon, mostly due to the fact that it's a starter. So, without further ado, let's start.
EX Ruby and Sapphire
This, along with the card I'm about to post next, was Mudkip's debut card. Aw, look at those big cute eyes.... I think I found a new favorite Mitsuhiro Arita drawing!!!
EX Ruby and Sapphire
And here is Ken Sugimori's Mudkip. As is the style with Ken, it's just one of his drawings slapped on a background... although I must say his newer drawings have MUCH better backgrounds than his old ones, as demonstrated here.
EX Dragon
This is a nice Hironobu Yoshida illustration... This artist has a style of making the illustration look like it's a screenshot from the animé, which can turn out looking very nice, as seen here.
Promo
This is the first Mudkip promo, illustarted by Atsuko Nishida. The water looks rather nice, and makes Mudkip look very cute....
Promo
And here's the second promo, illutrated by Kagemaru Himeno. I think this is a nice, rather comical drawing. That pose Mudkip lifting up its little foot to walk along strikes me as hilarious.... Am I just weird?
EX Team Rocket Returns
Here is Mudkip *. I think Fukuda's original Pokémon *, like Mudkip here, look rather lame compared to his later ones, like Raikou *. Not that this one's bad (hey, if you like little mud fish leaning their arms on the border around the picture, go ahead and vote for it!), the water looks very nice, but he's just done better.
EX Team Rocket Returns
All right, all right, I know, it's not a Mudkip card, but I thought I would put it here, because it makes a cameo in the drawing.... This is the only CGI artwork of Mudkip done, if you care to know that. Nothing too spectacular. (A good card, though....)
EX Emerald
Here is Nishida's Emerald Mudkip... Why did they make it angry? That thing can't do much damage with that cute little tail, so why is it angry? I dunno.... and then the firey background doesn't make it too happy either.... Still, not the worst drawing ever done.
Kid's Creator Pack
Apparently, they got a bunch of kids to draw pictures of Pokémon, then slapped them on incredibly broken cards and put them in impossible-to-get packages. Here is Rowan Laidlaw's rendition of Mudkip splashing mud on a Slicoon, and compared to the others, it's very good. I wonder how old this kid is....
EX Crystal Guardians
This is Hisao Nakamura's EX: CG Mudkip, and like all other Nakamura drawings, is... lame. However, compare it to their Swampert drawn for the set, and you've got yourself a masterpiece here. Maybe I'm being too picky... this artist does have a nice cartoony style....
EX Crystal Guardians
Now how can you say Hajime Kusajima is a bad artist after this? I love the coral reef drawn here.... I think this is one of the finest Mudkips I've seen so far.
Brock's Mudkip
This card and the following 2 have so far only been released in Japan... But we're hoping to get them in the future! This one is Brock's Mudkip. (Have a hard time figuring that one out?) It appears to be a Ken Sugimori drawing with Brock in the background, but the scan's too small to tell.... I like the shooting star and water ripple effects.
Japanese Promo
Here's a happy little Mudkip swimming along with his Slowpoke, Psyduck, and Surskit friends. How dadorable. Honestly, if this thing gets any cuter, I'm gonna have to barf. (Not really)
Japanese Promo
Here we have a stunning Fukuda drawing of Mudkip leaping out of the water (see, I told you he got better!). The water looks stunning, and the Pokémon fantastic. An excellent drawing indeed.
Okey dokey! So far, that there's every single Mudkip that's been slapped on a TCG card. I will now say what I think are the best and worst...
BEST
1st place: Ruby/Sapphire Arita!!!!! C'mon, how can't that thing win?
2nd place: Japanese promo Fukuda!!!! Sigh... If only the scan were a little bit larger...
3rd place: Crystal Guardians Kusajima!!!! Anyone who draws coral reef that well deserves to get on this list.
WORST (The drawing by the kid excluded)
1st place: Emerald Nishida!!!! I can easily see people opposing my choice, but I just don't think Mudkip looks good angry.
2nd place: Crystal Guardians Nakamura!!!!! When was the last time you stood on water?
3rd place: Cutesy Japanese promo!!!! Hey, hey, the gang's all here. It's not just that it's too cute, but it's not drawn the best either....
Well, that's that. If you have any suggestions for art histories I should do, feel free to PM me. (Please do... I haven't gotten a single PM in about a month)If not, just do your own histories!!! I know there's many people out there who can tell the difference between a good and bad artist, so why not share what you think? (we won't laugh.... too hard.) I think my rant is over now... so, until next time, seeya!
EX Ruby and Sapphire
This, along with the card I'm about to post next, was Mudkip's debut card. Aw, look at those big cute eyes.... I think I found a new favorite Mitsuhiro Arita drawing!!!
EX Ruby and Sapphire
And here is Ken Sugimori's Mudkip. As is the style with Ken, it's just one of his drawings slapped on a background... although I must say his newer drawings have MUCH better backgrounds than his old ones, as demonstrated here.
EX Dragon
This is a nice Hironobu Yoshida illustration... This artist has a style of making the illustration look like it's a screenshot from the animé, which can turn out looking very nice, as seen here.
Promo
This is the first Mudkip promo, illustarted by Atsuko Nishida. The water looks rather nice, and makes Mudkip look very cute....
Promo
And here's the second promo, illutrated by Kagemaru Himeno. I think this is a nice, rather comical drawing. That pose Mudkip lifting up its little foot to walk along strikes me as hilarious.... Am I just weird?
EX Team Rocket Returns
Here is Mudkip *. I think Fukuda's original Pokémon *, like Mudkip here, look rather lame compared to his later ones, like Raikou *. Not that this one's bad (hey, if you like little mud fish leaning their arms on the border around the picture, go ahead and vote for it!), the water looks very nice, but he's just done better.
EX Team Rocket Returns
All right, all right, I know, it's not a Mudkip card, but I thought I would put it here, because it makes a cameo in the drawing.... This is the only CGI artwork of Mudkip done, if you care to know that. Nothing too spectacular. (A good card, though....)
EX Emerald
Here is Nishida's Emerald Mudkip... Why did they make it angry? That thing can't do much damage with that cute little tail, so why is it angry? I dunno.... and then the firey background doesn't make it too happy either.... Still, not the worst drawing ever done.
Kid's Creator Pack
Apparently, they got a bunch of kids to draw pictures of Pokémon, then slapped them on incredibly broken cards and put them in impossible-to-get packages. Here is Rowan Laidlaw's rendition of Mudkip splashing mud on a Slicoon, and compared to the others, it's very good. I wonder how old this kid is....
EX Crystal Guardians
This is Hisao Nakamura's EX: CG Mudkip, and like all other Nakamura drawings, is... lame. However, compare it to their Swampert drawn for the set, and you've got yourself a masterpiece here. Maybe I'm being too picky... this artist does have a nice cartoony style....
EX Crystal Guardians
Now how can you say Hajime Kusajima is a bad artist after this? I love the coral reef drawn here.... I think this is one of the finest Mudkips I've seen so far.
Brock's Mudkip
This card and the following 2 have so far only been released in Japan... But we're hoping to get them in the future! This one is Brock's Mudkip. (Have a hard time figuring that one out?) It appears to be a Ken Sugimori drawing with Brock in the background, but the scan's too small to tell.... I like the shooting star and water ripple effects.
Japanese Promo
Here's a happy little Mudkip swimming along with his Slowpoke, Psyduck, and Surskit friends. How dadorable. Honestly, if this thing gets any cuter, I'm gonna have to barf. (Not really)
Japanese Promo
Here we have a stunning Fukuda drawing of Mudkip leaping out of the water (see, I told you he got better!). The water looks stunning, and the Pokémon fantastic. An excellent drawing indeed.
Okey dokey! So far, that there's every single Mudkip that's been slapped on a TCG card. I will now say what I think are the best and worst...
BEST
1st place: Ruby/Sapphire Arita!!!!! C'mon, how can't that thing win?
2nd place: Japanese promo Fukuda!!!! Sigh... If only the scan were a little bit larger...
3rd place: Crystal Guardians Kusajima!!!! Anyone who draws coral reef that well deserves to get on this list.
WORST (The drawing by the kid excluded)
1st place: Emerald Nishida!!!! I can easily see people opposing my choice, but I just don't think Mudkip looks good angry.
2nd place: Crystal Guardians Nakamura!!!!! When was the last time you stood on water?
3rd place: Cutesy Japanese promo!!!! Hey, hey, the gang's all here. It's not just that it's too cute, but it's not drawn the best either....
Well, that's that. If you have any suggestions for art histories I should do, feel free to PM me. (Please do... I haven't gotten a single PM in about a month)If not, just do your own histories!!! I know there's many people out there who can tell the difference between a good and bad artist, so why not share what you think? (we won't laugh.... too hard.) I think my rant is over now... so, until next time, seeya!
