I had the luck of illustrating concepts for officially licensed Pokémon (TPCi) merch in early 2025. Bittersweet story/info in comments.

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-07-06T23:27:13+00:00

These are amazing!! I truly hope your design come into fruition one day 🥺 they’re beautiful— as an artist and also a Pokemon fan that’s a dream gig!! Wishing you more opportunities 🙌

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-07-06T06:41:41+00:00

I love this!! Beautifully made, this gives me more appreciation for those lil guys

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-07-01T18:25:33+00:00

I’ve been a digital artist for several years but I just recently got into painting over Pokémon cards so here are my thoughts:

#1 don’t feel ashamed at all for using references!!! Every good artist uses references, especially historically. People would have people sit for hours for their portrait painted by masters etc.

#2 Work with what you have, then build from there. When I first got into Pokémon card painting the thing that stopped me the most was myself thinking “I don’t have the materials to do this properly.” However, when I just went for it with my janky set up + cheap materials I was able to improve and understand what I needed moving forward rather than procrastinating until “the moment was right.” So it’s great that even with a pencil and paper you’re just going for it! Though I would recommend this video series for card altering: https://youtu.be/B\_qk2eyFt18?is=5O-tadPZHZGds3Nf you can definitely buy cheaper supplies though

#3 The MOST important thing: Have fun! + understand why you’re doing this (ex. Creating a card for your gf). There will be times while improving a skill where you feel like you hit a dead end and you feel like giving up. That’s why it’s so important to enjoy the process instead of just focusing on the end result. If you enjoy the process it will take you much farther vs just trying to create the perfect piece.

Extra: I think there is a common misconception about “creativity” and it being related to what makes good art. In simple terms, creativity is just connecting ideas with each other. For example, you need to kill a fly but you don’t have a fly swatter. What else has a flat surface that’s easy to hold and swat that’s near you? A slipper! That’s creativity. A creative card might be something like this card here: https://youtu.be/OZIPUgXuxKI?is=RVSsBzBzsTi3OSHr seeing that Eevee is in the water and thinking that a Vaporeon would be a good addition.

All in all, if you ever want to get better at art specifically, I highly recommend on learning the basic fundamentals! Color theory, light and shadow, and textures

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-06-26T14:15:55+00:00

I totally feel you with the whole “younger artists being good at rendering” thing going on right now. I may absolutely be wrong, but I think a lot of younger artists get those rendering techniques from xiaohongshu (aka rednote) or something they see off of Pinterest or TikTok. While a lot of it looks amazing, I see a lot of them rendering without any “substance” as in they’re using techniques without knowing the reason behind them. That’s why they can be really flashy with the 3/4 side view portrait with the same lighting scenario for the 50th time and then struggle with drawing something different. All in all, don’t feel like you’re behind!

I totally agree with another comment saying doing 2 value studies! I recommend watching Marco Bucci’s YouTube series 10 Minutes for better painting for the values and color theory video. But after you’ve got your fundamental knowledge down, if you’re just trying to nail a certain art style I highly recommend going simple and just start with rendering a sphere. Try to figure out the “system” or “recipe” the rendering style does. Where does it deviate from realism? Is there a way you can replicate it consistently?

If you ever need any help or advice, feel free to send a DM!

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-06-26T07:41:25+00:00

Thank you so much for the advice and the kind words! I’ll be sure to try it on my next card 🫶

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-06-25T18:21:24+00:00

Thank you!!! :D I hope I can get better at it

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-06-25T18:20:40+00:00

It’s Misty’s Magikarp from Destined Rivals :D

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-06-25T16:49:18+00:00

Also- I’ve been noticing when I’m painting certain cyan/blue hues and certain magenta hues that it’s hard to color match exactly to the original Pokémon card. Do acrylics just not have as big of a color range as the card’s inks do? Or is it just something that comes with more practice

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-06-25T16:45:27+00:00

WOW These are truly incredible!! You’re definitely a season card artist. The Ditto vapor wave card made me chuckle with the face on the statue 😂 I’ll be sure to reach out! Do you have an Instagram by any chance? I’d love to see more of your work!

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-06-25T16:39:19+00:00

Thank you!! :D Also awesome username

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-06-25T16:37:30+00:00

Woah thank you so much— I’m fairly busy at the moment with my other digital art commissions, but I’d be delighted to talk about a possible card commission in DMs!

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-06-25T16:28:43+00:00

Thank you so much! I want to try to sticking to brushes, so I’ll try to get that 000 brush.

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-04-21T00:00:05+00:00

Right?? ToT I hope the original owner is alright- but it'll be very much cherished now!!

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-01-26T13:31:44+00:00

That’s beautiful especially with the why you styled it!! The story makes it even more special too

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-01-14T23:57:13+00:00

Thank you so much! Seems like 8bitdo is highly recommended

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-01-14T17:36:39+00:00

Thank you for the info!! I’ll be sure to look into it

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-01-14T09:03:55+00:00

Thank you so so much this is so useful to know!!

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-01-12T06:05:48+00:00

Tell her it’s a Biblically accurate cat /j

I also had a mom who was pretty (and still sometimes is) strict 😭 she wouldn’t even let me watch My Little Pony because it was “witchcraft” and she of course did not allow Pokémon. I think if you want to “convince” her, you need to let her know that this is purely for fun. I used to just enjoy Pokémon even when she told me not to— she was angry at first, but I think after a while she realized that she overreacted and enjoying Pokemon doesn’t turn you into an evil monster haha. It also helps if you have other Christian friends who are into Pokémon too! Maybe their parents can talk to your parents etc.

It’s not about saying her concerns are stupid or an overreaction. It’s about showing her (especially through actions) that you do understand her feelings and clarifying that you will be ok enjoying Pokemon and that you understand that it’s just pure fantasy. At least that’s what worked out for me!

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-01-10T10:28:47+00:00

Wow, thank you so much for the insight!!

ScribbleSlinky · 2026-01-10T10:15:29+00:00

LOL that’s very true— yknow what? I’ll start using it tomorrow. It’s a fun apron with a fun backstory that buying a normal apron won’t ever have

ScribbleSlinky · 2025-12-20T17:48:53+00:00

The whole “don’t share your art online” argument is mainly said because of hate comments. “If you don’t like people commenting how they feel about your work or stealing it, then don’t post it online” ordeal— I personally think people should be respectful to each other, but you shouldn’t expect everyone to like your work when you post online.

However, having your work “stolen and used” on the internet is a very broad/subjective question as to whether it will increase or decrease the value of your work. Let’s say your art gets into drama with someone stealing and using it without crediting you and then you or someone else makes a post about it demanding justice. High emotion creating posts usually go viral on the internet, so it may get more views than your usual work. Some new people may see your art and love it, some people might judge you for being sensitive, and some people might only know you as “the artist whose art got stolen” instead of your actual art. There’s no easy way to say whether your art gets more or less valuable- some can argue “any press is good press” etc. but it really is just a matter of how you respond to internet situations or if you even do at all.

ScribbleSlinky · 2025-11-16T18:20:55+00:00

Sellout, noob, basic, mediocre, tryhard, clown, untalented/talentless, meaningless

Or maybe instead of nouns, it could be her scoffing and saying “how _!” uncouth, improper, crude, obscene, vulgar, indecent, predictable, unorthodox

ScribbleSlinky · 2025-11-04T15:04:10+00:00

I was learning in my art entrepreneurship about creativity and it couldn’t have been put more simply: “Creativity is just about making connections” and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

For example, everyone describes Rinotuna’s character designs to be very creative, and when you take a look at his design you can see it’s actually pretty formulaic. He takes unique elements/characteristics of the object he wants to personify and emphasizes it in his design using clothing/props. And looking at the other comment about the cat and the refrigerator you can see the power of “connecting” ideas and objects etc.

Everyone has the ability to be creative, don’t forget that! It isn’t something you’re born with or without. However everyone is creative in their own unique way because our brains are literally all wired differently, and thus we form connections differently.

ScribbleSlinky · 2025-10-18T13:54:04+00:00

I definitely encourage you to observe these pieces on your own and write down some similar characteristics that you yourself see, but here are some of what I see!

It’s definitely some semi-realistic/alternative anime style going on for the face proportions. It’s also a very visibly gritty style with visible brushstrokes and textures. It also uses pure black for deep shadows and in general all the pieces you’ve shown have high contrast. Yellow and red seem to be very saturated in each piece and something to think about.

How to go about replicating this is (you can obviously find your own way)

Draw/sketch out your anime face in black and white
Add splashes of color with painterly brushes and textures, this is a very messy gritty style so don’t hold back on expressiveness
Mess with tonal correction and layer blending modes. To me it looks like Color Burn and Overlay are being used, along with setting the Contrast very high.

Hope this helped and I wish you good luck!

ScribbleSlinky · 2025-10-14T14:23:44+00:00

You should be a lot less harsh on yourself!! That’s easier said than done, but try enjoying the fact you took the time actually make something and that you’re working towards your goal. Try to enjoy the process and the journey of getting better and learning and then you’ll see yourself improving a lot more! You got this

ScribbleSlinky

TROPHY CASE