Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest returns for 2024 - contest expands to artists from the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

Have you dreamed of illustrating your very own Pokémon Trading Card Game card? Well, now you can compete for the opportunity to make it happen. The Pokémon Company International have announced the Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest 2024, where budding artists will have an opportunity to share their talent and passion for Pokémon by depicting "Magical Pokémon Moments" in art.

Whereas previous illustration contests were only open to artists residing in Japan or the United States, this year the contest expands to artists from several more English speaking countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Barry Sams — Vice president of the Pokémon TCG at The Pokémon Company International said:

“We were astounded to see the sheer talent and passion of the Pokémon fan community from contest submissions in 2022. With the contest expanding to additional markets in 2024, we’re eager to see what our dedicated fans have in store for us and how they envision ‘Magical Pokémon Moments’ in their creative minds.”

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To be eligible to compete, artists must be a legal resident of one of the eligible countries, and be capable of communicating in English or Japanese. Entrants must also be legally an adult in their place of residency, which for most artists will be 18 years of age. Residents of Alabama or Nebraska however will need to be at least 19 years old, while residents of Mississippi must be at least 21 years old.

This year's contest will be held in two divisions, with entrants having the option to select between a standard Pokémon card illustration and a Pokémon ex card illustration for their submissions.

The theme of this year's contest is "Magical Pokémon Moments". To participate, artists will need to capture their chosen Pokémon enjoying a moment in their day, or in a cool or dynamic pose, in a way that satisfies this theme. This year's eligible Pokémon include the perennial Charizard and Pikachu, as well as a selection of new and old fan faves with Eevee, Feraligatr, Flygon, Absol, Bidoof, Melmetal, Amped Form Toxtricity, and Koraidon. Artists can freely choose to depict the same Pokémon or different Pokémon for each image submitted, with the sole exception that they cannot enter artwork of Shiny Pokémon.

Each artist can submit up to three illustrations total between both standard and Pokémon ex cards, and completed artwork can be submitted anytime between October 12th, at 8:00pm (PDT), and January 31st, 2024, at 5:59pm (PST). Artists can resubmit entries already submitted prior to the end of the contest, however doing so will use up one of the artist's three illustrations, so it's best to not submit until you're happy with your artwork.

All submissions meeting the contest requirements will be reviewed by a panel of no less than four judges. Potential judging panel members include directors and executives from The Pokémon Company International, The Pokémon Company, and Creatures Inc; Masahiro Karasawa, the director of the Japanese National Crafts Museum, which recently hosted the Pokémon × Kogei: Playful Encounters of Art and Japanese Craft exhibit; and a selection of new and old Pokémon TCG card artists including OOYAMA, kantaro, and past Illustration Contest entrants Teeziro, and Atsushi Furusawa.

One overall artist will be chosen from the entire field, with winning artists to be announced in September 2024. The prizes include:

• One Grand Prize Winner: $5,000 USD cash prize
• One Best Standard Card Illustration Winner: $3,000 USD cash prize
• One Best ex Card Illustration Winner: $3,000 USD cash prize
• Six 1st Runner-Up selections: $1,000 USD cash prize
• 15 Judges Award selections: $500 USD cash prize

For more entry rules and the entry form, please check out this link. Theme & Pokémon reference materials can be found here. Make sure to review all contest rules and conditions before submitting artwork.