The Pokemon trading card game has provided collectors with some stunning art over the last 25 years, but unfortunately, those images are far smaller than some fans would like. Over the years, some artists have taken it upon themselves to rectify that, “finishing” the art by painting over the rest of the card and adding several new details. Artist @bumblpaints on TikTok did just that with a Squirtle card that originated from the Sun & Moon — Team Up expansion. The original image features a Squirtle sleeping in a field, and the artist expands on that with a number of additional details.
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The video from @bumblpaints can be found in the Reddit post embedded below.
What’s truly amazing about the painting is just how faithfully the altered art replicates the original piece. The artist has really matched the style of the original card; it’s almost hard to tell where the original art ends and the new art begins! For their process, @bumblpaints revealed on Reddit that there’s a lot of trial and error. After applying a neutral gray, they locate the closest color they have to the original and then “begin to mix in small amounts of warm, or cool tones.”
Viewers on Reddit were really impressed with the video, with many sharing follow-up requests. @bumblpaints told viewers that they are planning on making an Alolan Vulpix in the future. The artist also plans on taking commissions, but might hold off until May when they’ll be opening an Etsy shop. Given the quality of the Squirtle card, it seems like a safe bet there will be a lot of demand once the shop opens!
While the Pokemon TCG has been around since the earliest days of the franchise, it has seen a massive increase in popularity over the last few months. The secondary market for cards has been growing in a big way, which has caused problems for kids and passionate fans just looking to find new cards for their personal collections. With official cards becoming harder to locate, perhaps fans will start looking at altered cards to add to their collections, instead!
What do you think of the altered Squirtle card? Would you purchase a customized card for your Pokemon collection? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!
