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There are a lot of reasons people still obsess over the base set Charizard card. Sure, there’s the rarity and value of the card, its incredible legacy over the last 20 years, even the power and abilities it can bring to a one-on-one match — but let’s be real, what drew a lot of us in first was that killer artwork.
Although our favorite fearsome dragon owes its existence to GAME FREAK character designer Atsuko Nishida (who also created Pikachu, by the way!), in many ways it’s artist Mitsuhiro Arita who helped make this Pokémon the pop culture juggernaut it is now. Like Nishida, he’s been with the trading card game (TCG) since the very beginning, and is now one of the most prolific Pokémon artists of all time.
Origins
Believe it or not, working on the TCG was one of Arita’s first gigs as a self-taught freelance illustrator in 1996. At the time, Pokémon wasn’t quite the phenomenon it is now; the Game Boy game hadn’t yet launched, and Arita seriously worried about finding another project before the end of his contract, according to his website.
Even at that early stage of development, Arita’s work was instrumental in setting the tone for the entire franchise. In addition to providing the art for all three Charmander evolutions for the Base Set, he also drew the iconic fat-cheeked Pikachu, Magikarp and Gyrados, Cubone (who doesn’t get choked up the sight of him looking up at the night sky like that?) and Marowak, Abra, Tangela, Meowth, Rattata, all three legendary birds, and many, many more.
He also worked on a lot of the coolest looking Team Rocket variants, too, including Dark Blastoise, Dark Dragonite, and… well, Psyduck. Honestly, doesn’t the fact that Psyduck is one of the few Team Rocket Pokémon without “Dark” in front of its name kind of imply that it’s always thinking dark thoughts?
The Pokémon Process
Arita’s drawn at least 693 cards and counting so far, and naturally he’s gotten the chance to revisit a few classic creatures, like his Squirtle from the Scarlet and Violet 151 set. (It’s kinda nice to see that whether he’s blowing bubbles or splashing around in the ocean, this little guy’s always having a great time!)
As his work has evolved, it’s only gotten more detailed and evocative — check out the dynamic poses on his Ultra Prism Lucario, BREAKThrough Xerneas, and Shining Legends Mewtwo.
No matter which monster he’s drawing, the creative process has typically been the same for each card: he works with the Pokémon team to discuss any specific poses, attacks, or setting information to include, starts with a few sketches to lock in a general direction, and then iterates through a few black and white versions until the final product is ready for approval.
“I've always tried to observe reality and nature and try to reflect that when portraying the Pokémon as if they could be realistic creatures,” he said in an interview with the official Pokémon website.
Other Works
Although Arita got his start in Pokémon, his work has appeared in plenty of other places. Thanks to some early experience with fantasy-inspired illustrations for a small Japanese book publisher, he was hired to help create the world of Vana’diel for the online multiplayer game Final Fantasy XI, which he worked on for eleven years until it was overshadowed by the now-popular FFIV.
That expertise also served useful when he joined up as a concept designer for the animated adaptations of Berserk: The Golden Age, which spanned a trilogy of movies from 2012 to 2014. In particular, he sketched a lot of the early background architecture, many of which appear in the published art book for the series.
Finally, Arita has done key illustrations for other TCGs, including Super Sentai Battle: Dice-O and Kamen Rider Battle: and Ganbaride, and Magic the Gathering’s all-animal plane, Bloomburrow (basically, imagine a cross between Pokémon and the Redwall books). He also designs his own commemorative “art cards” for the international conventions he attends as an invited guest, all based on a fantasy world of his own making.
Speaking of which, Arita’s a pretty popular guy these days, and travels all over the world to meet fans and share his work. He’s especially well-known for setting up an easel and showing off his talent in real time — and sometimes, he’ll even post examples to his YouTube channel for everyone to enjoy.
Arita’s Legacy
Regardless of whether he’s creating detailed, lore-rich fantasy worlds or honing in on the best pose for an adorable little creature, one thing is clear: Arita’s work has inspired countless thousands of people and shaped the direction of many popular franchises.
And in all that time, he hasn’t quite gotten used to how impactful his early work was, especially in Charizard’s case. "People will still come up to me and say that that's still their favorite Pokemon card,” he told GamesRadar in 2019. "I think it's amazing that I have polished my art skills for about 20 years now, and still the fact that people like that original one the best is really striking."
