Hitoshi Ariga: Difference between revisions

'''Hitoshi Ariga''' (Japanese: '''有賀 ヒトシ''' ''Ariga Hitoshi''; born August 23, 1972) is a professional artist who primarily illustrates manga and picture books, and has assumed the position of graphic designer for several Japanese titles in the game industry. He first began providing illustrations for the [[Pokémon Trading Card Game]] in 2011, though has been a fan of the franchise for many years. His main passion, however, lies with the ''{{wp|Mega Man}}'' franchise, known as ''Rockman'' in Japan, where he has illustrated numerous manga and artwork for affiliated products since the mid 90’s. He likes to engage the community when he has the opportunity, appearing at exhibitions, and maintaining an online presence across several sites.

[[Ken Sugimori]] recognized Ariga's design work and invited him to work on {{g|X and Y}}.<ref name=Kalos>[https://www.deviantart.com/hitoshiariga/art/Pocket-Monsters-XY-413536751 Pocket Monsters XY by HitoshiAriga on DeviantArt] (posted on November 14, 2013)</ref> When designing {{p|Amaura}} and {{p|Aurorus}}, Ariga considered that a theropod would pair well with {{p|Tyrunt}} and {{p|Tyrantrum}}, suggesting that the latter may have been considered first. Previous Pokémon such as {{p|Lapras}}, {{p|Meganium}}, and {{p|Deino}} already existed with a similar body shape, so Ariga chose to base the new family off the Amargasaurus, with the large fins on its neck.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20230410130327/https://twitter.com/ariga_megamix/status/458627994395762689</ref> In creating the artwork for the [[Villainous team|villainous organization]] [[Nintendo 3DS|3DS]] themes, Ariga pointed out the special attention given to how it looped seamlessly as the user navigated the 3DS menu.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20230410113110/https://twitter.com/ariga_megamix/status/1640157094321217536</ref> In the same thread, he also revealed that there were plans to create a 3DS theme for [[Team Flare]], but they fell through as a result of the series moving from the [[Nintendo 3DS|3DS]] to the [[Nintendo Switch|Switch]].<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20230410112857/https://twitter.com/ariga_megamix/status/1641046957325193217</ref> Ariga's first spot as the lead character designer on the series was with [[Pokémon Unite]], though his affinity for paleontology led him to create a new design for {{p|Pikachu}} for the real-life Pokémon Fossil Museum, where he was reached out to by the organizers of the museum themselves.

Although he began officially working on the series in 2011 with the {{PTCG}}, his Pokémon fan-art on DeviantArt dates back to 2010. From as early as 2011, Ariga would upload online battles against other players to his YouTube channel, which was something that he continued with well after the release of {{g|Sword and Shield}}.<ref>https://youtu.be/vaOcH66Ofj0</ref> Though they were uploaded to what was originally his main YouTube channel, Ariga has recently shifted focus to regularly livestreaming art with his VTuber avatar.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/@ArigaHitoshi/featured</ref>