Cards by Keiji Kinebuchi: TCG Illustrator Guide

Keiji Kinebuchi (Japanese: 杵淵敬二; born February 14, 1956 – c.2002) was a 3D illustrator who has contributed artwork to the Pokémon Trading Card Game. When the TCG was first released, Kinebuchi was one of the few 3D artists, making his art for the first few expansions instantly recognizable.

He designed his artwork using LightWave 3D. Due to limitations of 3D software at the time, many of the Pokémon he created images for were composed of very simple shapes, consisting of basic textures and lighting effects. He was known for creating the art for the majority of early Trainer cards, and as the TCG continued, he worked on Trainer card art almost exclusively. He had invited Mitsuhiro Arita to join the project.

Kinebuchi's last illustrations were featured in the Aquapolis expansion, during which time other 3D illustrators were beginning to contribute with more sophisticated images. He was credited as the illustrator for all Basic Energy cards, as well as a few Special Energy cards up until the Expedition Base Set, where there was a major change in the card layout. Mitsuhiro Arita designed the Energy symbols on the cards, whereas Kinebuchi designed the Energy cards' layouts.