(air whooshing) (fast-paced piano music)
- Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of ROSSDRAWS. My name is Ross and I draw. But can I draw well enough
to win an art contest? Well, almost, but before
we get into all of that, let's jump back in time, six months ago. (air whooshing) (light-hearted music)
So sometime in September, my video editor messaged me saying, "Hey, the Pokemon Trading Card Game is running an international art contest, and the winner gets their art turned into an official Pokemon card." What?! I haven't entered in a
contest since 2010 which is twelve years ago. (whistle blows) For the Blizzard Holiday Card Art Contest. And I've always had massive stage fright when it comes to art
contests for some reasons. Maybe it's my... - [Man] Fear of rejection.
(wow cheering) - [Ross] For any 90s
kid, and for any artist, and especially a 90s kid artist, the thought of having your own art on an official Pokemon card
is like a dream come true. There's no way I could pass up a chance at my childhood dream. So I immediately check my calendar and. Oh. Wow. We are only halfway through
the digital art bootcamp, and this monster video needs to get done. New York Comic Con is in a few weeks. We have to prep for Black Friday. (man screaming)
Okay, well. I'm going to find some
time and make it work. So here are the rules, choose
from eight different Pokémon, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Pikachu, Arcanine, Galarian Rapidash, Scizor,
Greninja, or Cramorant. The grand prize winner and first runner-up will have their illustration made into an official promo card. (people cheering) Each artist can submit up
to three illustrations. I barely have time for one illustration. So I'm going to put all
my eggs in one basket. (man hollering) Originally, I wanted to pick Bulbasaur, and draw them in a calm, luscious field, a beautiful flower. But looking at all the
existing Bulbasaur cards, most of the art already looked exactly like what I was planning. Maybe, great minds think alike. But I wasn't gonna stand out doing the same exact thing
that's already been done. Pikachu was my second choice.
- [Pikachu] Pikachu. - [Ross] But Pikachu had the
most cards of any Pokemon ever, with over 150 different illustrations. - [Pikachu] Pika pika pikachu.
- [Ross] Oh, man. I started looking at the
previous year's winners to get some ideas. But I was distracted at how
amazing everyone's entries were. There art styles are so clean, so sharp, with strong liners and clean edges. And now, I'm not inspired
as I am distressed. (man screaming) But you know what? After sleeping on it for a few days, the answer was staring
me right in the face. I wanted to paint Bulbasaur and Pikachu because they're cute, but they aren't my favorite from the list. My actual favorite is Arcanine. (Arcanine roaring) Arcanine just has this
beautiful majestic presence with a perfect balance
being cool and cute. But Arcanine has fur and big dog anatomy. And that is so much more difficult. But, hey, maybe challenging
myself for this contest is the right move. So here's my idea, Arcanine curled up, sleeping
in a tranquil forest. I started this piece,
drawing Arcanine from memory, but I missed a lot of detail. Like they basically have a whole beard, a tail that folds, and a mullet. I went back and forth a lot on whether to have a
dark dramatic background or keep it bright. I think in general, Pokemon
cards have a brighter presence. And with a theme of "A Day In The Life," a brighter background could work better. But then, I wanted to see how the darker background
looked on a physical card, and I mocked it up, and holy (beep). (angels singing)
Oh my God. Yes. It looked so legit. I ultimately chose a darker
background to help Arcanine pop. And maybe they're
protecting a small Oddish who's also sleeping.
(Oddish cries) I wanted to play with a contrast of using a super big Pokemon
with a super tiny Pokemon to help depict that friendship comes in all shapes and sizes. I'm unsure about adding
an extra Pokemon though. (people speaking in Japanese) - [Ross] I come from
an industry background of using photobash techniques which is basically using
precut assets and stock images to help save time. But looking at all the
other amazing entries, everything is painted
and looks so purposeful, and I couldn't rely on
that photo batch skillset as much as I wanted to. But, thank God, I had some
amazing grass and flower brushes to help me through. For Oddish, I think I remember them pretty spot on from memory. Oddish isn't round like a circle, but a bit of a smushed circle
resembling a potato. (laughs) And for our final touches, color dodge, and there we go.
(angelic singing) I'm so proud of this piece. Oh my gosh. Okay, so I submitted, and
now it's time to wait. (bonks) (bonks) (ball bouncing) (cheerful music) And there you go. Top 300.
(people cheering) Yeah, I am mentally accepting that I'm not moving any further. (laughs) Because looking at all these entries, everyone's pieces are just
so unique, so awesome. And they serve the brief super well. You know, maybe I should
have done another Pokemon like Cramorant. (laughs)
(Cramorant cries) Or maybe taken their advice
and not added another Pokemon. But hey, you know what? The Pokemon company saw my art and decided it was good
enough for their top 300. And that's the story of how I
almost won the Pokemon Art... (phone buzzing) (air whooshing)
- [Ross] Hold on. (phone buzzing) (air whooshing) - [Woman] Hello there, um. We sent you an email,
but we got no response. I just wanted to confirm
that you got second runner-up for the Pokemon TCG art contest. - What? What! Oh my God. Me? Holy (beep). Oh, hey, uh, sorry. I'm
just so excited that's such great news. (laughs) - [Woman] That's okay. I'm really glad I get to make these calls and hear how excited everyone gets. (excited triumph music)
- I can't believe it. Second place. My art gets to be on an official
Pokemon card. Oh my gosh. My life flashed before my
eyes. My childhood dreams. This is the best day ever. (Pokemon theme music) - [Woman] Second runner-up. (speaking slower) Second runner-up. (speaking in slow
motion) Second runner-up. - So that's the complete story of how I didn't know the difference between second runner-up and second place. Third place never fell so bad. (laughs) But congrats to the winners. Congrats to everyone in the top 300. And even if you just submitted
your art, I'm proud of you. Everyone did such an amazing job. And, you know what?
I'll get them next year. Maybe it was that dang
Oddish's fault after all. (angelic singing) (light-hearted music) (air whooshing)
