The illustrators of Pokémon cards
Every Pokémon card is drawn by a named illustrator, and many collectors choose cards by the artist. Here you can read about the illustrators behind the cards we sell and see which of their cards are in stock right now.
- Ken Sugimori 杉森建 Ken Sugimori is Game Freak’s art director and the artist who drew and finalised the original 151 Pokémon. He also illustrated many of the very first Pokémon cards. No cards by Ken Sugimori in stock right now. New cards arrive every week.
- Mitsuhiro Arita 有田満弘 Mitsuhiro Arita drew Base Set Charizard – the best-known card in collecting – and has illustrated Pokémon cards ever since the game launched in Japan in 1996. No cards by Mitsuhiro Arita in stock right now. New cards arrive every week.
- Atsuko Nishida にしだあつこ Atsuko Nishida created the original design of Pikachu and drew the Pikachu Illustrator card, which sold for $195,000 in 2019. No cards by Atsuko Nishida in stock right now. New cards arrive every week.
- Kagemaru Himeno 姫野かげまる Kagemaru Himeno has drawn Pokémon cards since Jungle – including Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon there, and Dark Gyarados in Team Rocket. No cards by Kagemaru Himeno in stock right now. New cards arrive every week.
- Keiji Kinebuchi 杵淵敬二 Keiji Kinebuchi made the computer-generated 3D images on the first Pokémon cards – most of the Trainer cards and every Energy card in Base Set are his. No cards by Keiji Kinebuchi in stock right now. New cards arrive every week.
- 5ban Graphics 5ban Graphics is Creatures’ in-house 3D graphics studio, behind many of the computer-rendered ex, EX, GX and V cards since Black & White. No cards by 5ban Graphics in stock right now. New cards arrive every week.
- Yuka Morii 森井ユカ Yuka Morii makes Pokémon out of clay, sets them up and photographs them – which is why her cards look like tiny film sets. No cards by Yuka Morii in stock right now. New cards arrive every week.
- Kouki Saitou Kouki Saitou has illustrated more than 700 Pokémon cards since the e-Card era – including the secret rare Charizard in Skyridge. No cards by Kouki Saitou in stock right now. New cards arrive every week.
- Tomokazu Komiya こみやトモカズ Tomokazu Komiya draws Pokémon deliberately distorted, in a style reminiscent of children’s drawings – perhaps the card game’s most debated illustrator. No cards by Tomokazu Komiya in stock right now. New cards arrive every week.
- Naoyo Kimura 木村直代 Naoyo Kimura has drawn Pokémon cards since the Wizards era and painted Pikachu in Van Gogh’s style for the 2023 collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum. No cards by Naoyo Kimura in stock right now. New cards arrive every week.