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Pokémon TCG Reveals 2022 Illustration Contest Entries: Arcanine

Get ready for a new series here at Bleeding Cool that will show off some of the best Pokémon TCG artwork you've ever seen. There is an interesting twist, though. These illustrations are not, in fact, coming to an upcoming Pokémon TCG expansion like our other preview series. In fact, most of these will never become cards at all. What you're seeing in this series is a collection of the annual Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest submissions that have now been made public. These my personal selections from the Top 300 submissions as picked by TPCI. Today, let's take a look at the Arcanine cards included in this bunch.

Illustration contest entries. Credit: Pokémon TCG
Illustration contest entries. Credit: Pokémon TCG

So many interesting styles here! I personally love when cards show Pokémon hanging out with other, unlikely species. I adore the light touch of the ameruu piece, and the Grass-type Oddish snuggling with the Fire-type Arcanine by RossDraws warms my heart.

Illustration contest entries. Credit: Pokémon TCG
Illustration contest entries. Credit: Pokémon TCG

These two include such interesting use of the environment. Arcanine walks a pack of Growlithe through a stunning icy terrain in the submission by Ryo_has, as the background suggests the beginning of an aurora borealis. The card to right, credited on different platforms as the above characters and nijimaarc on others, uses such an interesting and dynamic point of view as we see Arcanine and Growlithe's reflections.

Illustration contest entries. Credit: Pokémon TCG
Illustration contest entries. Credit: Pokémon TCG

I ended up highlighting these two, the left by aka chiriko and the right by HIDEMARU ATSUTA, as they break from the standard Pokémon style for stylized takes that end up being cards that would stand out from the overall look of a set in interesting, captivating ways.

Stay tuned for the continuing journey through these incredible submissions to the Pokémon TCG 2022 Illustration contest. For more illustrations, you can check out the entire collection right here.


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Theo DwyerAbout Theo Dwyer

Theo Dwyer writes about comics, film, and games.
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