Slugma – Common from Dragon EX, released in 2003, and illustrated by Kyoko Umemoto.
Like most Pokémon fans, I have a love of cards that reference elements or locations from the games. The new Charizard SIR from Phantasmal Flames looks amazing, but my chase card for the set is the Meowth IR, which has such a beautiful depiction of the view of Cerluean City from Route 5. This card depicts Slugma in the foothills of Mt. Chimney, approximately where the Fiery Path would be where you could catch it in Ruby & Sapphire. I adore Umemoto's attention to detail here with the cable car and the building modelled after the games sprites.
Artistically, Umemoto has been illustrating for the TCG for decades, and her style has changed significantly over time. A hallmark of her early cards (some other favourites are the Aquapolis Espeon and the goofy as all hell Crystal Guardians Diglett) is her vivid colour palate, and her strong use of gradients – we can see in this card that Mt. Chimney isn't just red or brown, it's a layering of browns, ochres, tans, and reds. Her understanding of colour theory is also evident here – the clouds aren't just white, we can see pink, red, and blue in there as well, which gives the card such a layered, deep look, while still keeping the perspective of two dimensions. This card, and the many others like it that Umemoto has illustrated across her career, are a clear homage to the Ukiyo-o landscape style of 17th, 18th, and 19th century Japanese art. This artistic movement was what brought Japanese art to global attention, with famous pieces like Hokusai's The Great Wave of Kanagawa becoming globally recognised symbols of Japanese art and culture. In this card it's the clouds that do it for me – they're not 'realistic' – they twist, and turn like living things, and look like they could be lifted straight off an 18th century woodblock print.
I found some of the comments funny yesterday. Several people were speculating as to how I find time to write this out – the truth is it is difficult. I'm a high school teacher and a parent, and 'free' time is not something I typically have a lot of. But I love to write. I used to write fiction, but right now, as my son is discovering Pokémon, and as I'm reconnecting with the hobby, I want to write about art, and that's something I can make time for. See you all tomorrow – this hobby is still cooking.
Current market value: $4.29 AUD.
by Galactic_Gandalf95