Ken Sugimori  

Ken Sugimori (born January 27, 1966 in Tokyo, Japan) is a renowned Japanese video game designer, artist, and director who has made significant contributions to the Pokémon franchise as well as other titles such as Pulseman. He drew all of the original 151 Pokémon himself and worked on various Pokémon movies, trading cards, and games like Super Smash Bros. series. Sugimori began his career by illustrating a gaming fanzine called Game Freak from early 1981 until 1986, where he discovered the magazine in a dōjinshi shop and decided to get involved. He eventually pitched an arcade game design idea with Satoshi Tajiri, which led to the formation of a development company and production of Mendel Palace. Sugimori is most famous for his work as character designer and art director for the Pokémon franchise, where he drew all of the original 151 characters himself. He also directed a team of 17 people in designing new characters for Pokémon Black and White while always drawing the final designs. Sugimori's inspiration often comes from observing animals in aquariums and zoos. His process typically involves making a rough sketch, tracing it onto film paper, polishing it, and then drawing the character many times until he is satisfied with its proportions.