The Pokemon Company has officially revealed the winners of the Illustration Contest 2024, with multiple runner-ups and special prizes awarded, after an intense period of judging. As announced, the winner of the grand prize is Kazuki Minami, who submitted an artwork of Pikachu mid-yawn and scratch. The artwork is a lovely, yellow-hued work set within a forest, and according to Minami, it was inspired by watching their dog.
Minami will receive USD $5000 for this winning entry, and it will be turned into a trading card. Acorviart, who drew a Feraligatr idling through a lilypad-filled river, won the prize for the Best Standard Card Illustration, and will receive USD $3000 for their artwork. Artist Anderson will also get USD $3000 for their electric-infused Best ex Card Illustration of Toxtricity.
In addition to celebrating these winners, The Pokemon Company has also awarded cash prizes for a range of runners-up, with other artworks spotlighting Absol, Eevee, Flygon, Bidoof, and more. There’s a particularly lovely illustration of Pikachu by satoutubu in the bunch, and that’s our personal pick for winner of our hearts. Notably, this year’s Pokemon TCG Illustration Contest was plagued by controversy as it kicked off, due to some entrants cheating by using AI to create images for them.
After rampant complaints online, and many folks pointing out how unfair it was to accept “top 300” entries from non-artists who put in zero effort, The Pokemon Company eventually disqualified.