CGC Cards Artist Showcase: Naoki Saito

When it comes to pop culture collectibles, the artwork displayed on a comic, card, video game or home video collectible is — to put it mildly — significant. Some collectors will center their collections around one or more artists due to a preference in art style, proving just how impactful an artist’s work is to a product’s success.

To celebrate these artists’ accomplishments and contributions to our favorite TCGs, CGC Cards™ is dedicating a regular series to artists and their work on TCGs, collectible card games and other pop culture collectibles. In this installment we showcase Naoki Saito.

About Naoki Saito

Naoki Saito is a Japanese illustrator and manga artist who is well-known across the industry for his many contributions to popular franchises, such as the Duel Masters TCG, Hatsune Miku merchandise, Dragalia Lost and the Pokémon TCG. Saito graduated from Tama Art University in Tokyo with a degree in graphic design. He has used his education and experience to publish YouTube videos and books teaching others how to improve their artwork.

Naoki Saito and Pokémon

Saito began providing artwork for the Pokémon TCG as early as the HeartGold & SoulSilver expansion. Though he started by providing Pokémon illustrations, Saito has become very popular for his Trainer card artwork. Notably, his illustration of Lillie in the Ultra Prism set has become incredibly sought after by collectors, both because of his artwork and the card’s rarity. Saito also illustrated Marnie (SWSH121), another popular Trainer card.

Click images to enlarge.

Fans speculate that Saito’s experience in manga illustration and his work for the Hatsune Miku franchise influence his art style, which is described as “vibrant” and “surreal,” with a unique emphasis on combining organic and geometric shapes with textured subject matter. His style is especially showcased in his trainer artwork, which stands out among some of the best cards in the entire Pokémon TCG.

Although Saito is very well-known for his trainer illustrations, his Pokémon showcases are not to be ignored. Some of his notable Pokémon illustrations include his artwork of Mew and friends in Mew V from Fusion Strike, and his iconic Reshiram & Zekrom GX illustration, which combines his iconic trainer artwork of N with the flagship legendary Pokémon from Black and White.

Click images to enlarge.

In addition to illustrating for the Pokémon TCG, Saito has also contributed artwork for the Pokémon video games. Some of his contributions include map artwork for Unova, full-picture illustrations of Black City, White Forest and Castelia City, trainer artwork for Generation VII and boss Pokémon illustrations in Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs. Saito has also provided artwork for various Pokémon merchandise campaigns, including Project Voltage.

If you liked these cards featuring Naoki Saito’s artwork, be sure to check out his YouTube channel for more of his illustrations, artwork tutorials and other works. Also, keep an eye out for more CGC Cards Artist Showcase columns in the future.

About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for sports cards, TCGs and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation and more. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray and more.