The Complete Sonic Art Style Retrospective
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 พ.ค. 2021
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Let's go over every prominent art style used in the entire Sonic the Hedgehog series' history!
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Let me know what art style is YOUR personal favorite. I obviously like the Adventure style (totally not biased or anything).
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Yeah! Uekawa's work has to be my favorite artstyle. It's always so dynamic and expressive and so iconic.
JPN Classic is just really iconic and captures the totally rad vibes of the 90s, but Adventure & Boost has Endless Possibilities (ha) for Character Design to go off of the Base Modern Model.
I really hope I made sense it's 1am 😅
My favourite sonic art is the sonic Japanese box art for sonic 1 2 3&knuckles
I like greg martin's and ukeawa's style
just something about their style i love so much
I grew up with Mega Collection and Gems Collection and I loved looking in those art galleries so I've loved pretty much all Sonic art. I generally like the JP art slightly more than the American art just cause I'm not a fan of the mohawk look but they're all great.
Sonic Adventure era art just oozes so much character and personality, still my absolute favorite renderings of Sonic and company.
Agreed
That’s why I hold the adventure era so close to my heart.
Toei and SA1 are the best in design both classic and modern hybrid!!!
Sonic Schoolhouse
Realistically It would be jp classic sonic 1991-1996
Same. I wish they kept the art style
We need a full movie with the Sonic CD style.
*Sonic OVA has entered the chat*
@@finnbai but that one was made from the same people that made Naruto lol
Kinda funny that the people that worked on Dragon Ball and Naruto share a character they also worked on haha
@@finnbai lol
@@secoTheSonicFan Well done on the research, as far as I can tell, this is completely true
There is one already. Sonic movie from 1999.
I think the "sketchiness" of Sonic Riders artwork could have been developed and used much more prominently in Sonic artwork. Giving the drawings a free-flowing, gestural quality would reflect the speed and easy-going nature of Sonic.
it's so cool and the background art is pretty nice
Bro YES the Sonic Battle designs are absolutely slept on. I'm glad someone with a decent audience expressed that 😊
Yeah I love the sonic battle design
i wasn't a fan at first but the art has grown on me
its garbage
@@spritesensation you're*
@@Persac7 its*
Yo no people ever talk about Spaz, he has such an awesome style and is one of the most underrated artists for the comics.
Yeees! He’s my favorite sonic artist
I grew up modeling my style after Tracy Yardley and it shows lol
That being said, I want to see Chaomix's embarrassing Sonic OCs from the past... 👀
He's definitely one of my favourite says well also Stephen Butler is one of my favourite too
I came here to say just that! Spaz was sooooo influential to me in my younger years. I would always doodle sonic with super expressive hands like he did. The "Death Egg Saga" was the first issue I got and they will always have a special place in my heart :)
Ayo nice pfp
Tyson Hesse (Classic or Modern), Junio/Toei, and the JP Classic era overall.
Agreed
They need to bring back the sonic jam art style
@@RealAGuy they really do and sonic r and the cd toei style
@@yoinki4679 Imagine those designs in a 3D cell shaded world, It could be a great sonic reboot, I feel the modern sonic design is getting pretty stale in my opinion and a new design will generate interest in sonic again, the adventure fans will get pissed off because CLaSsiC SoNiC design. The classic sonic in generations and forces looks more like a half assed attempt next to the OG design, they made him fat and cute and that makes him lose his cool edge that he had in the 90s.
I like the american art of the classics.
Evan Stanley is my favorite modern Sonic artist. Maybe it's because I've been following her work since 2009 but I think the way she draws Sonic characters is so charming.
Yeah! Stanley’s style has had a lot of development over the years. From the first page of Ghosts of The Future to the latest issues of IDW Sonic. 2009 had a sort of 06 feel to it and really worked for the era of Sonic. The colouring and shading style (and the way she draws characters) was probably the best it was in 2013- 2015. Her later works in IDW feel a lot like the adventure style (in terms of dynamics and positions) combined with the modern model (appearance)
Adam Bryce Thomas is my pick. He's basically IDW's SPAZ
what a lucky fella
now that you introduced me to evan stanley's artwork I'm on the same boat as you lol
the Mega Collection menu music in the art gallery is incredible.
Yes it is
Toei sonic is just...* chef's kiss *
Junio
@@secoTheSonicFan toei
@@0sharkyshakes126 pierrot
Masterpiece
@@0sharkyshakes126 Tonio
Tracey Yardley! is one of my favorite ones because exactly of what you faulted it for, bold lines, square shapes etc. I love them
Same here! XD I love his and Yuji Uekawa's art styles >♡
This video made me realize just how much I dislike the Modern Sonic design. I actually really liked it when it was first introduced, but I personally think Generations should have been the last time they used it, as a sort of send-off. Even if we can't get the Adventure style back (which was actually what got me into drawing Sonic characters as well), it'd be nice to just see SOME return to 2D promotional art for main series games. Fantastic video analysis!
1000% agree! I miss the 2D art SO BAD. Glad you enjoyed the video. 😁
I, strongly disagree with you
lol it's you
i mean modern sonic is adventure sonic just different art styles
You’re into sonic? Very cool
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Fuck naw
Yooooo sonicsta
Aye
@SRG Productions If your a member, you can do that
its okay man next year when they release sa3 they'll bring back the adventure era artstyle
Lol
Personally, I consider Sonic Heroes as SA3
Not possible but possible
You mean sonic 06?
in all honesty i really hope they don't do an SA3
they can only fuck it up
Sonics battle is definitely underrated sonic Riders animation is one of my favorite i wanted to see Tv show so bad with that art style
Everyone praises the Juino look, but I'm moreso a big fan of Uekawa's work. All the Sonic Adventure artwork is just
*P E R F E C T I O N*
MY FAVORITE SONIC IS THE AMERCIAN SONIC THE ONE EVERYONE HATES FOR NO REASON
@@JaxTheEpicoh come on, he looks like a spike villain
One of my favorite Sonic art styles is Nathalie Fourdraine’s work for the IDW comic covers. I love the painted line less style and the amazing lighting in these covers! They are honestly so pretty and I love the tweaked proportions of the characters, plus they are always super expressive. It’s actually a style I’m really inspired by as an artist.
YES !!!!! A thousand times yes. I love love love that art style ! Also one of my favorites !
The 3D renders from mid 90s are the most nostalgic
I dont like the render used on the SADX cover though, the rest are nice
While the Boom design definitely isn't perfect, one detail I love are the smaller quills that make Sonic's quills look more messy.
Also, yeah, Sonic Battle and Riders have *amazing* style
Now I suddenly want to go back and draw again.
Exactly what I'm doing as we speak
I personally believe that Sonic's design contributes to half of his success. His design's flow, its uniqueness, it just screams iconic. In my opinion, the best design was the american design from 91 to 95, but all designs are pretty good. Without his design, Sonic honestly wouldn't be as big as he is today, and I will defend that statement until the end of time.
“The best design is the American one”
You mean the one with the stupid mohawk?
@@secoTheSonicFan damn ;-;
@@robertwyatt3912 Greg Martin was the freelance cartoonist that drew the american box art. he said sonic did not have a mohawk. he took the title screen art and posed sonic when making box art. in no circumstances was sonic supposed to shown from behind in his art just that classic side view. so that settles it. It was no mohawk it was just a drawn imitation on of the sonic 1 title screen.
i personally like the japanese design better. That mohawk just doesn't sit right with me
@Nobody comments are not funny you troglodyte ah yes, because opinions can be objective, fuck off dude
Fun fact: Feels actually isnt the name of the rabbit prototype. It actually was a name meant for the ristar prototype so technically he doesnt even have a name lol
I really like Evan Stanley’s style from 2011/12-2013. The style felt a lot like 06 and I feel it just worked. It made the characters look more like they were actual teenagers (‘cause they were) and the expressions on each character were just perfect. From Shadow’s grumpy face in GOTF 7 to all of Silver’s expressions in GOTF 9.
Really, I like almost all styles of Sonic and friends,(minus some from Archie, till they stuck with the final art style) I like SA&2 of course, O6 will always be my favorite, because it shows a older/mature looking Sonic, Unleashed Sonic will always be my top 1, because it shows a vibrant, upbeat, and positive vibe with Sonic.
IDW is great too, especially with the banter among the gang.
Others including, Mania, Riders, Boom, but fan versions.
@@secoTheSonicFan Yeah
Also, to clear up a small misconception, the Oshima-style artwork for Sonic Jam was actually done by Uekawa, not Satoshi Okano. It's pretty hard to tell it's Uekawa because it looks nothing like his later work, I imagine Oshima must have been looking pretty heavily over his shoulder while he was doing the art for Sonic Jam.
i frickin love how you change the music for each game
The 06 model has gotta be my favorite of all time. Wish that game wasn't rushed out and broken, if they weren't so scared to reuse anything from that game I think we would've seen that model again. If we're going 2d art it's Adventure 1 and 2
I absolutely agree! Something about the 06 models not only for Sonic, but also Shadow and Silver that makes them look really cool and badass, especially when standing together.
I can't agree more on the overuse of the modern design. Sonic really needs a shake up to his design and art style. This design was great when we first saw it in Shadow, and still great by Unleashed, but it's so stale at this point. And it's not helped by the stiff cutscene animation in every game past Unleashed.
generations should have been the last game to use it
@@Ryze2803 well, Lost World was the last game to use that model, while Forces gave Sonic a new model with shorter quills and a lighter blue coloring
tbf At least up until the point Sonic Frontiers was released, Sonic Team didn’t really have the budget to make any radical changes to Sonic’s current design.
*and that’s when sonic prime appeared*
it’s insane how u can always tell it’s sonic yet he’s presence is sooo different
I really wished people talked about Spaziante more, his ability to replicate styles was cool but his own artstyle (particularly during the 2000's era) was really cool and easily my favorite artstyle during Archie's run, it felt like a perfect balance between the sa2 Uekawa style and the 06 renders. Apparently he's pretty old now and mostly works on art for children's books (having even worked on a sonic book awhile back, with his abilities of replicating Uekawa's modern style still being top tier). I hope he's doing okay.
Team Sonic Racing actually has a new render for his portrait in the cutscenes and its...interesting, to say the least
*Sa1 boss theme plays* "Ken Penders...."
7:20 "His small but confident smile"
I'm sorry but I don't see a smile
the uekawa artstyle, i like to believe even if it's so clear that it made a impact, made a HUGE chunk of my artstyle so the instant i saw this vid i skipped to that section just to see one of my most fave artstyles be covered
the sonic X also made a huge impact on how i draw, but that's also based on uekawa's work as said in the vid so...side effect?
You forgot the OVA design. And it should be noted that Sonic’s limbs and quills have gotten taller and the blue in his fur has gotten darker. And I can’t wait for your video on Ken Penders.
I like the early concept artstyle of Sonic, basically any artwork of him before his first game released in 1991.
Some characters changed more than others. For example, Amy looks COMPLETELY different, while Metal Sonic barely changed at all.
THE BOI GOT SPONSERED WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
Loved the video, great perspective and always good quality. Definitely one of the best sonic channels out there. Keep it up man.
It was great hearing you pick these apart and I especially appreciated the spotlight on the Saturn era stuff. Good work!
21:40 Yo I didn't know I was featured in this video.
I do like the idw art style but I can see how you think it's basic
and yeah thick outlines can make it harder to put in smaller detail
Didn't I see you the other day
So glad I found this, I've always been interested in the artwork of this series, and just like you, I would look at the artwork in Mega Collection, and it inspired me to draw as well. Would love more artwork videos like this, especially of the Archie comics. Thanks for mentioning Spaz, by the way. More people need to talk about his art!
the thumbnail is perfection
Edit 1: Now they're both pointing
Btw the 3D models used in Sonic 3&K were originally intended to when the game was meant to have more 3D elements using the SVP chip. If I’m not mistaken, I’m pretty sure the models in the title screen were leftovers, but I’m not entirely sure
28:15 Maybe its just me but this is my favorite modern 3d render to date.
Even if modern sonoc is reused, something about this render feels fluid, feels alive, feels different but famillar.
The only thing I'll knock it for are the ears, they look very very flat and are very stiff.
sonoc
I like this model too, but I admit some renders look kinda lifeless
Unpopular opinion but I enjoy the Sonic Boom style. The varying size in spikes is actually cool but Knuckles being buff like that is just strange
I’m sure someone has already commented about this and I realize this video is a little old now, but one of my favorites is terms of art style and animation, is the Sonic OVA. I was a little surprised to see it didn’t get brought up here, but other Sonic animated adaptions did. This is the first video of yours I’ve watched though, so I’m curious if you’ve already talked about the OVA. Either way I love this video, as both a beginner artist and a sonic fan. I can’t imagine how much time this took to research and put together. Thank you so much!
Yes, his shoes ARE metal.
Durability.
The evolution of Sonic's art style is one of my favorite subjects in regards to this franchise, and I feel like it's a topic that's slept on way too often by content creators, so it's refreshing to see a well-informed vid on the subject like this one.
Would've been cool to hear your thoughts on the in-game renders for Sonic's dialogue in Team Sonic Racing. They're clearly still based on the same Modern model SEGA has been using since Secret Rings, but they also have this sort of loose vibe of SA1 Sonic to them (in terms of expressiveness & proportions), interestingly enough... I've heard mostly mixed opinions on them. Actually, I wonder if those renders were created by Sumo Digital or if they were provided by Sonic Team themselves? I imagine it was probably Sumo Digital.
Anyways, great video, as always.
awesome video man!! I’ve learned about a few art styles I didn’t even know about!
Sonic riders is my favorite artstyle, i remember being a kid and being in awe, came back to it last week (15 years later) and im still in shock and now wanna do all my artwork with that shading style
Something really but REALLY bothers me in today designs, it's the side mouth in the genesis games it's fine because it's a sprite and it's a 2d game and it makes sense(and it's only in Sonic 3 the sprite had a mouth if i remember right) in the adventure games it's fine because they have normal mouths but in shadow the hedgehog onwards they only use the side mouths (in shadow they only used for the cutscenes) i'm not against them but the problem it's super weird when you really look at them i wish they used the normal mouths more, they can make it work just look at the cd opening or other animations the just need to make it more smooth and don't place the camera in front of his face all the time like lost world and colors did
Yes, I think the side mouth could work in cutscenes if they’re very bouncy and stylized, but in gameplay he should just have a normal one
The Adventure style is so good 😭💙
When I was in high school, I had to do a senior project where I interviewed someone in the field I wanted to be a part of. At the time, I wanted to be a comic artist, and Tracy Yardley was my favorite artist at the time. He was kind enough to provide me, an 18 year old high school kid, a full interview over email, and I've never forgotten. He's a real gem of a person.
Great work getting all the then and now Sonic the Hedgehog evolutions together in this video clip 👍👍
Yuji Uekawa will always be my favorite artist for Sonic. He has such a wild, urban style. It looks like something I’d find graffiti’d on the side of a building. He gives the guy so much flavor. It’s honestly perfect for the modern iteration of Sonic. I personally prefer his style post-Adventure era. The kinda art he’d make for Sonic Rush and such.
I’m also a huge fan of Adam Bryce Thomas’ art in the IDW comics. He’s great at giving characters emotion and making them feel alive on the page.
No mention of Richard Elson from STC/Fleetway ☹️
Good vid tho!
I think it would be awesome to see the various comic artists highlighted. I've been re-reading the Archie series lately and I always find myself checking the credits pages to see who drew what I just read. You said some of my favs in this vid, but there's a cool story with Jay Axer that I'd like to learn more about.
the adventure 1 & 2 design just looks sick looks more modern the colours and outlines look awesome
You should do a video discussing the changes of Eggman's designs. Frankly, I find the radical changes to his design throughout all of the Sonic media more fascinating.
Me too
The Adventure series style and the Mania style are definitely my favorites
I love how zero's battle theme started playing during the Ken penders section lmao
Big fan of the designs used for Team Sonic Racing's shorts, really liked this video!
Id love to see separate videos about the comics and other art styles in the future! If you would consider doing that? 🤩✨
Definitely!
Sweet! Looking forward to watching them! 🤩😄
I love Uekawa style a lot myself, tho I think I have always been more inspired by the Naoto Oshima and Akira Watanabe Box Art ilustrations, ESPECIALY the ones in Sonic Jam. But truth be told its hard to really choose which one I like more
Those old JP box art illustrations are so cool looking they ooze personality.
8:35 this is the right music to put for sonic's american box art
The Adventure Art Style will always be my favorite bc of its flashy and easy on the eyes design. It just shows so much personality To each of the characters
Godtier content as always. Cd sonic reigns supreme imo!
adam bryce thomas and spaz is my absolute favorite sonic comic artists
yuji uekawa is my fave sonic artist period. love his modern work. strong second is the riders or battle style.
im also a big fan of tyson hesse's mania animation design.
Seeing the back of Sonic’s head in X gave me the chills
Finally, something I always wanted to see!
Congrats on the sponsor bro! 🎉🎉
Thanks my dude!
The way I see the progression of the character designs is just that they are aging in-universe over the course of the series.
Classic Sonic is clearly a pre-teen (and even his voice was high-pitch back then) as he is short and full of energy.
Adventure and Modern Sonic have grown up quite a bit into teens and their more dynamic designs (almost like shonen manga or anime) reflect their 'cool' factor along with a lot more confidence from their experience. Of course, being a teen, Sonic has also picked up some traits such as laziness or aloofness, which are also reflected in some art and a lot of his actions.
I'm honestly curious how an even older Sonic would look or act as he and the other characters develop more in-depth personalities.
@@secoTheSonicFan Sonic characters have had a lot of age changes over the years. For example, in some cartoons and comics, Tails was 4, not 8.
Amy also went from being 8 to being 12.
Not to mention that there are at least five games in the series that act as time-skips.
Sonic Adventure is clearly set a couple of years after the classic games. The classic games had TONS of spin-offs, canon or otherwise, that took place between the main series games. (Fighters, Knuckles' Chaotix, etc.) Also Amy is officially 12 in that game and went through a large redesign. The other characters were given older-looking redesigns as well as proper voices that reflected their new ages. This was a much needed change as their voices and appearance in TV shows made them sound very young.
Sonic 4 is clearly meant to be a mid-quel in between the classic and adventure eras. No debate on that.
Sonic Generations confirmed that the entire Adventure-06 arc was a year long (all of the games happen relatively close together and are linked together fairly well) making Sonic 16 and the rest of the cast a year older as well.
Sonic Forces came out after a few other games were made and gives a time-skip of half a year, making Sonic around 17.
Sonic Chronicles (whether you treat it as canon or not) takes place after a very long time-skip as well.
For the character ages, I think it goes something like this:
Classic Era
Sonic: 11
Tails: 4
Amy: 8
Knuckles: 12
Classic spin-offs and Sonic 4 happen over time and are loosely connected to the main series. The characters aged over the course of the spin-offs and went through bits of puberty.
Sonic Adventure Era
Sonic: 15
Tails: 8
Amy: 12
Knuckles: 16
Sonic Adventure all the way up to Sonic 06 are all connected very well to each other, not leaving a lot of gaps in time.
Sonic Generations/Modern Era
Sonic: 16
Tails: 9
Amy: 13
Knuckles: 17
After a number of loosely-connected games Sonic Forces happens.
Sonic: 17
Tails: 10
Amy: 14
Knuckles: 18
These age changes also reflect their personality changes and character arcs over the course of the series.
The characters themselves definitely act like events are years apart from each other.
@@secoTheSonicFan IIRC, during the scene where Amy remembers Sonic CD (and other adventures) her model in the flashback is wearing her classic 'Rosy the Rascal' outfit. That might just be exclusive to the Director's Cut version.
Also Tails is still a fairly young kid and they likely didn't want to make multiple models for characters if they didn't have to. Especially with time-constraints...
25:40 i personally LOVE the shining texture they have them for their shoes and wish they kept using it for 3D renders
Great video! I always like to see how Sonic’s awesome design evolves and changes over the years. Also, I’d like to offer a correction: the art at 30:50 is not by Tom Fry, it’s SXSW exclusive artwork by Kieran Gates I believe. Anyways, enjoyable video, keep it up! 👍
"Imagine not buying chaomix merch". A True Gamer , 2021
I was against you at first with Tracey Yardley but once you got into the more angular pen strokes on the details like the joints and eye brows I had to agree some of the best sonic art around is when the sonic characters look bendy and flow like water an example obviously being the art for the Sonic adventure games both the (idea designs and the chosen designs) so honestly I gotta agree with you I mean I do loooove his shading and coloring and he keeps the characters very faithful but again same thing with the modern 3D models I really wish more cartoony and bendy character designs were more spear headed in the series so yeah you managed to convince me of course I still think he is an amazing artist but still prefer watery flowy sonic characters
I adore that Adventure style (and all the similar styles)
I do believe that the more Adventure style of art work is absolutely beautiful. It expresses Sonics personality the best.
Dude, THANK YOU for giving Spaz the attention he deserves. Nobody knows him, but I actually looked him up when I was younger and studied his art style. I especially love the way he draws hands with knuckle detail and wrinkle folds in material. Not only is he my favorite Sonic art style, but one of my favorite artists, hands down! You're like the first person on the internet I've seen to shine any light on him. Good work on the video!
When added zeros theme to when Ken penders came I laughed too hard
This video is awesome ! Thanks !!
Another great video brotha
I always knew there were many art styles in Sonic but this video REALLY highlights it, great discussion
Video idea: Talk about a retrospective of sonic plushes.
I really do hate how TH-cam never recommended me this channel till now. Chaomix is the best!!
The classic sonic calendar art were also used as screen savers for the pc version of sonic 3K
It's interesting seeing how classic Sonic style was slowly changing to its Sonic Adventure style. Heck I remember nobody complaining then about the Green Eyes. Like it was a slow evolution.
The music shift when Penders hit the screen was magical
Ill be honest I absolutely ADORE the greg martin art I just really like its overall look, colors, and shading. Its so good in my opinion and I didnt even grow up with sonic so its not even based on nostalgia I just genuinely love the art so badly
Also might be in the minority here but I also really like the 3d render of the title screen for Sonic 3 idk I just think its charming and looks nice
I think Greg Martin's Sonic illustrations were good, the only thing that weirded me out about his drawings was that he often didn't draw Sonic's tail. Yuji Uekawa's art style is still honestly my favorite of the bunch.
Early Uekawa Art rocks my socks
My favorite style for Sonic is Tyson's style OUTSIDE of Sonic Mania and the Sonic movies. Some of Tyson's work on TSR: Overdrive, Sonic Origins, and just casual art inbetween all just gets me to draw. It speaks heavy Modern-Uekawa with a new flare to it.
I love that you put ZERO's theme for Ken Penders. Lol
This has inspired me to purchase the Sonic art book.
6:10
*What the hell is it saying to the left to sonic 💀*
I like how people just slap "retrospective" at the end of something and call it a day lmao.
DUDE last year I litteraly searched sonic art styles and found nothing idk why people dint talk about it until you made a video about it
Thank you so much!
That's the TH-cam algorithm for ya
0:08 same, tbh i draw whatever show I liked at the time or something I thought was cool.
Adventure style is my favourite
“I also think these animations might be the most masterful display of Sonic’s pure speed. There’s just no other piece of media that’s given Sonic a sense of speed on this level. It’s just in it’s own ballpark.”
Unleashed Opening: Hold my beer