Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Artist Spotlight, Asako Ito, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG

Pokémon Trading Card Game Artist Spotlight: Asako Ito

Our weekly Pokémon Trading Card Game Artist Spotlight series takes on crochet artist Asako Ito who arrived in the hobby in Sun & Moon.

Throughout the years, the Pokémon Trading Card Game has featured a variety of incredible art styles. Now that the hobby has been around for more than a quarter of a century, we have seen the artwork of Pokémon TCG cards elevated by daring new artist choices as well as illustrators who have been veteran contributors since the very first releases. Let's take a journey through the eye-popping, mind-expanding history of Pokémon TCG artwork by exploring some of the hobby's most interesting and unique artists. Today, we will spotlight Asako Ito.

Asako Ito is a crochet artist that debuted in the Pokémon TCG during the Alola-themed Sun & Moon era. It was the first set of that era, Sun & Moon base set, in which Ito delivered their first card, which featured Poliwag.

Ito uses a mixture of crochet, felt, and likely other material to make the Pokémon and their environments. We have seen Ito create real depth with their work, with floating Pokémon such as their Drifloon from Sun & Moon – Ultra Prism and Luvdisc from Sun & Moon – Celestial Storm.

After that first Poliwag, Asako Ito became a staple of the hobby, with cards that stood out in a manner similar to Yuka Morii's clay cards. Read more about Yuka Morii and her work in the vintage, classic, and modern eras here.

Ito's work continued in the Galar-themed Sword & Shield era with cards like this floating Chimecho from Sword & Shield – Vivid Voltage. We even began to see Ito contribute multiple cards to single sets like Sword & Shield – Silver Tempest, which featured Ito's work on cards such as Swirlix and Espurr.

Asako Ito finally got a major special card with the Altaria Illustration Rare from Crown Zenith. Seeing the full scope of the diorama and Altaria's design shows how much detail and care Ito puts into their work.

Be sure to check Bleeding Cool every day to follow our in-depth Pokémon TCG coverage as we explore the hobby's past, present, and even future with upcoming set reveals.

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