Competition For New Pokémon Card Has People Disqualified for AI Art

by Danica Davidson
June 26, 2024

Submissions are closed for the Pokémon Trading Card Game Illustration Contest 2024, and many people sent in their artwork for consideration. The coveted grand prize gets $5,000, plus their artwork will be made into an actual Pokémon card. On June 14 the top 300 artworks were revealed to the public, but soon concerns began to arise.

Some of the artworks appeared to have been made by artificial intelligence instead of a human. The Pokémon Company had made it clear that AI-generated artwork cannot be considered for this competition.

“We are aware that select entrants from the top 300 finalists of the Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest 2024 have violated the official contest rules,” Pokémon noted in an official statement online. “As a result, entrants in violation of the rules have been disqualified.”

They continued, “We’re committed to upholding the integrity of the Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest and appreciate fans’ continued support as we celebrate the artistic abilities of the talented Pokémon community.”

It’s not clear how many submissions were ultimately disqualified. It does mean that other artwork will be replacing the AI images in the top 300 submissions.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game Illustration Contest gave this description for itself:

It all started in Japan in 2019 with the Pokémon Trading Card Game Illustration Grand Prix, which was followed by another one the following year. Then, in 2021, the Pokémon Trading Card Game Illustration Contest 2022 started accepting submissions from both Japan and the United States for the first time. These contests let us see wonderful illustrations brought to life and new talents brought to light. This year’s contest has “Magical Pokémon Moments” as its theme, and we are accepting submissions from Japan, US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. We can’t wait to see what incredible and exciting artwork you will come up with.

There was also recently a row over AI artwork at the Ikebukuro Anime Philharmonic concert series. Yoko Takahashi, the performer for “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” from Neon Genesis Evangelion, pulled out of the event because she protested the concert’s use of AI art on its website, posters and fliers. The concert said that it had unknowingly used AI artwork, apologized, and replaced it with artwork from humans.

Source: IGN

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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.

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