A previously unseen cover illustration by Akira Toriyama has emerged after over thirty years. The artwork features a more realistic portrayal of Goku riding a dragon, depicted as if he were a jockey.
This illustration was recently published on the Toriyama Archives, the official website that shares rare artwork every other day for a limited time. The image, dated January 10, 1990, is an early draft of the cover for Akira Toriyama – The World, a 1990 art book featuring Toriyama’s full-color illustrations, mainly from Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball Reveals an Akira Toriyama-Original Goku Design Celebrating Major Art Release
This artbook showcases Akira Toriyama’s color artwork, focusing mainly on his work from Dragon Ball. The cover features a brand new illustration of Goku riding a dragon, and it’s incredibly detailed – you can almost feel the texture of the dragon’s scales.
The artwork depicts Goku, looking like a jockey, riding a red and black striped dragon. He’s sitting in a saddle and leaning forward as if racing. Goku is wearing a cap with goggles, a detailed jacket, gloves, pants, and boots with straps and buckles, and he’s holding a red staff like a riding crop. The dragon also has goggles and a harness, and is drawn with detailed scales, claws, and stripes using heavy shading. The background is plain, emphasizing Goku, the dragon, and their gear.
Unlike most images of this kind, which are usually flat and simple, this illustration focuses on creating a sense of depth and realism. The dragon’s skin looks rough and textured, similar to what you’d find in a science textbook, and Goku’s outfit is incredibly detailed – you can even see the stitching on his hat and gloves. The artist used shading and highlights to make the whole image appear more three-dimensional.
This style isn’t typical for Dragon Ball, which usually features clean lines and smooth textures, especially for its weekly releases. Toriyama often kept even detailed illustrations simple. This cover sketch, however, uses much more shading on both the dragon and Goku’s clothes, making them look more solid and realistic. The final published cover is very close to this draft, though the colors are brighter and more vibrant.
The artwork featuring a jockey and Goku appeared in the first book of the Akira Toriyama – The World artbook series. This series of illustration books, primarily focused on Dragon Ball, was originally published between 1990 and 1995 during the height of the series’ popularity. These books included new artwork, short stories, and interviews with Toriyama himself. While reprints are still available today, the original editions from 36 years ago are now valuable collector’s items.
Fans of Dragon Ball can find more of Akira Toriyama’s artwork on the official Dragon Ball website. The Toriyama Archives section is updated with new illustrations almost every other day for a limited time. You can also read the Dragon Ball manga now on Shueisha’s MANGA Plus app or through Viz Media.
Read More
- Gold Rate Forecast
- Bitcoin After Dark: The ETF That’s Sneakier Than Your Ex’s Texts at 2AM 😏
- Mark Ruffalo Finally Confirms Whether The Hulk Is In Avengers: Doomsday
- Six Flags Qiddiya City Closes Park for One Day Shortly After Opening
- Stephen King Is Dominating Streaming, And It Won’t Be The Last Time In 2026
- How to Complete the Behemoth Guardian Project in Infinity Nikki
- Pokemon Legends: Z-A Is Giving Away A Very Big Charizard
- Fans pay respects after beloved VTuber Illy dies of cystic fibrosis
- AVAX PREDICTION. AVAX cryptocurrency
- XDC PREDICTION. XDC cryptocurrency
2026-01-20 23:38