James Turner is a name that many Pokémon fans have come to recognize, having most recently served as Pokémon Sword and Shield art director. Turner also has a long history with the franchise prior to the latest mainline installments, as he recently demonstrated in his latest art tribute to 2003’s Pokémon Colosseum.
Wes, from Pokémon Colosseum. This was the first Pokémon game I ever worked on so it holds a special place for me. pic.twitter.com/CYSu6vdWqQ
— James Turner (@JamesTurner_42) August 3, 2020
The illustration features the game’s protagonist, Wes, along with his Espeon and Umbreon. Pokémon Colosseum was the first Pokémon game that Turner worked on, and he would become even more heavily involved with its direct sequel, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. Turner also recently shared his experiences helping design XD’s Shadow Lugia along with some minor characters, and creating the game’s opening cutscene.
Yep, Mr. Hiromoto designed Wes, and almost all the human characters in Orre, but I helped out a little bit in XD. I decided the colours for almost all the main characters in XD I think, and designed a few minor characters. I helped design this big lad… pic.twitter.com/jUpCnxur3R
— James Turner (@JamesTurner_42) August 3, 2020
Thank you! Here’s a fun fact..I created the opening cutscene for XD so I composed this image… pic.twitter.com/GCUtX2eQcy
— James Turner (@JamesTurner_42) August 3, 2020
Turner also contributed artwork to the Hello Ponyta! toy line revealed last month, and shared an adorable Pokémon/Star Wars mashup illustration in celebration of this year’s Star Wars Day.
Written by Reece Heather
A veteran Zelda Universe editor and First-class journalism graduate, Reece emerged with a Nintendo 64 and a lifelong obsession after a narrow escape from Santa’s Naughty List in 1998. Outside of games, he’s reading Punisher comics, being bossed around by his cocker spaniel, and cornering innocent bystanders to rant about the importance of game preservation.
