Naoki Saito
Naoki Saito (Japanese: さいとうなおき Saitō Naoki, real name in kanji 齋藤直葵, born 1982 in Yamagata, Japan[1]) is a digital illustrator who has provided art for the Pokémon Trading Card Game since the HeartGold & SoulSilver expansion, as well as art for a couple of Pokémon games. Saito is a graduate of Tama Art University and previously worked at Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. before becoming freelance.[citation needed] In addition to the Pokémon TCG, he has also provided illustrations for several other trading card franchises: Duel Masters,[citation needed] Monster Hunter,[citation needed] Juushinden: Ultimate Beast Battlers,[citation needed] and Eternal Wheel.[citation needed]
Saito's style is vibrant and surreal, and often juxtaposes or merges the organic with the geometric. He also puts emphasis on texture to give subjects character. His work within the TCG is similar but subtler, instead using highlights and contrasting colors to make Pokémon stand out. In addition to card illustrations, Saito provided the packaging art for the Garchomp and Hydreigon Half Decks[2] and the box art for Everyone's Exciting Battle.[citation needed] He also illustrated the Pokémon Tales book Crustle's Moving,[citation needed] available to read on the Pokémon Daisuki Club website.
Designs
Characters
The following are a list of characters designed by Saito.
| Generation VII | ||||||||||||||
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| S M Sightseers[3] |
S M Veterans[3] |
S M Dancer and Hiker[3] | ||||||||||||
Artwork
This is a collection of official Pokémon artwork drawn by Saito.
There are 238 cards illustrated by Saito. For a list of cards that he illustrated, go here.
Core series games
This is a collection of core series Pokémon games that Saito has contributed artwork to.
Merchandise
This is a collection of official Pokémon merchandise that Saito has contributed artwork to.
Other artwork
This is a collection of other promotional Pokémon artwork that Saito has contributed to.
Works
Games
| Title | Platform | Release date | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs | Nintendo DS | 2010-03-06 | Oblivia map illustration[citation needed] Boss Pokémon illustration[citation needed] |
| Pokémon Black and White Versions | Nintendo DS | 2010-09-18 | Artwork |
| Pokémon Sun and Moon | Nintendo 3DS | 2016-11-18 | Trainer Graphics Design |
Manga and other published work
| Role/Title | Release date | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Colorist for Worst | 2002-05-30 | Akita Shoten |
| Colorist for Saint Seiya: Next Dimension - The Myth of Hades | 2006-04-27 | Akita Shoten |
| Illustrations for Les Chroniques de Sillage Vol. 5 | 2008-04-25 | Delcourt |
| Colorist for Baki the Grappler | 2007-12-07 | Akita Shoten |
| Colorist for Grappler Baki: Scarface | 2009-05-08 | Akita Shoten |
| Colorist for The Strongest Introduction to Philosophy in History | 2010-04-14 | Magazine•Magazine |
| Eguzamurai CG Lithograph | 2010 | Shueisha |
| Colorist for Garouden Vol. 25 | 2010-12-22 | Kodansha |
| Co-author and illustrator for Contes cruels du Japon | 2011-08-24 | Delcourt |
External links
- Chirarism, Saito's personal website (archived)
- Twitter account
- YouTube channel
- Article on Wikipedia
- Article on Japanese Wikipedia
References
- ↑ 「pixiv高校生イラコン2021」に向けて夏期特別講習を8/21（土）に開催！―この夏、もっとイラストが好きになる。｜学校法人 瓜生山学園 京都芸術大学のプレスリリース
- ↑ パッケージイラストご紹介！「サザンドラデッキ30」「ガブリアスデッキ30」| PTCG Blog, archived June 21, 2012 on Internet Archive
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Tweet about designing NPCs for Pokémon Sun and Moon
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Archived main page of Saito's blog with a post mentioning his work on BW, the post itself reveals the artwork he did work on
- ↑ Saito confirming he drew the Iono & Bellibolt art
- ↑ Link to the upload, which credits Saito
- ↑ Saito confirming his involvement with Project VOLTAGE
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This article is part of both Project Games and Project TCG, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Games and TCG, respectively. | 
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