Sonic-related pet peeves?

[Blue Blood]

Yeah, if they're gonna do fur they should do it Unleashed style where it actually looks like you could run your fingers through it.

 

But then it'd be a weird contrast between the CGI parts and actual gameplay, so it might be best to ditch the whole idea entirely and just keep Sonic the rubbery consistency he is now.

 

You mean as in this render? It's better, but I still don't like it very much. Generations Classic wins out.

[Chaos Incarnate]

You mean as in this render? It's better, but I still don't like it very much. Generations Classic wins out.

I would actually have to respectfully disagree with you and say the Unleashed renders, normal and Werehog Sonic, still win out over classic. Classic Sonic looked a little too light blue to me, and I couldn't stop looking at the color rather than wonder if the fur render was any good. I totally agree, Unleashed Sonic looked like he had real fur.

 

 

Anything is better than this duck billed atrocity, however, which makes Sonic look way too furry. Did someone splice Sonic with Werehog Dna in this? Look, I know it's a fan film, so it's obviously not going to have a good budget, but it's clearly the worst Sonic has ever looked.

[t0ms0nic]

So long as we're talking about the skin and fur, I really don't like the way that it's rendered on the characters at all. It doesn't look remotely like fur, instead it's more like elephant skin. I don't think there's anyway to render it nicely, and it shouldn't be bothered with either. Those little details are detrimental to the large-featured designs with bold colours.

 

It's even more jarring with this Mario & Sonic render where the two are standing directly next to each other in the same pose. Just look at those -hands- of all things, jeez.

 

The only added detail to the renders that I really loved was the chipped paint on the soles of the shoes, though they seem to have ditched that (starting with Lost World?) coupled with doing slight changes to Sonic's design (highlighted in the direction and redesign topic, particuarly his quills being given a little trim)... I have no idea how they thought the fur and gloves would still fly while doing changes like those.

Edited August 17, 2013 by t0ms0nic

[DocAzure]

 

Anything is better than this duck billed atrocity, however, which makes Sonic look way too furry. Did someone splice Sonic with Werehog Dna in this? Look, I know it's a fan film, so it's obviously not going to have a good budget, but it's clearly the worst Sonic has ever looked.

 

I...don't get it. Surely that design took much more effort than just giving him a smooth texture. Extra effort that just makes it look awful. The fur looks like shit, plain and simple. 

 

Also, the shaven arms really...irk me.

[Chaos Incarnate]

I...don't get it. Surely that design took much more effort than just giving him a smooth texture. Extra effort that just makes it look awful. The fur looks like shit, plain and simple. 

 

Also, the shaven arms really...irk me.

I think they were going with the idiotic "Sonic in the real world" aesthetic. Naturally, Sonic would have much more fur, but it looks really terrible with the character. I can accept the Werehog's design, as it was supposed to look more edgy and rough, but this does not fit Sonic's standard design at all.

[Tara]

The reasons it works for the Werehog do not end at him intentionally being edgy and beast-like.  The colors on most "fuzzy Sonic" are cringe-worthy, devoid of any kind of natural luster or shine.  If you look at the Werehog, you'll see that though he shares a similar color scheme, he is seen to have a sort of shininess to him.  Light reflects off of him much more naturally.

 

Normal fuzzy Sonic just looks like someone made Sonic out of a pair of denim pants.  That and the actual geometric design really does not lend well to photorealism.  It's beyond awkward seeing fuzzy blue fur with a face that is the complete opposite.  And that's about where my ability to artistically critique it ends.  It just looks repuslive to me.

[Chaos Incarnate]

The reasons it works for the Werehog do not end at him intentionally being edgy and beast-like.  The colors on most "fuzzy Sonic" are cringe-worthy, devoid of any kind of natural luster or shine.  If you look at the Werehog, you'll see that though he shares a similar color scheme, he is seen to have a sort of shininess to him.  Light reflects off of him much more naturally.

 

Normal fuzzy Sonic just looks like someone made Sonic out of a pair of denim pants.  That and the actual geometric design really does not lend well to photorealism.  It's beyond awkward seeing fuzzy blue fur with a face that is the complete opposite.  And that's about where my ability to artistically critique it ends.  It just looks repuslive to me.

Ok, not exactly for looking edgy and beast like, but the design makes him look like he has a darkness inside of him. I didn't exactly mean fur was what made him great, but it fits as the Werehog is supposed to be more beastial. 

[Tara]

Ok, not exactly for looking edgy and beast like, but the design makes him look like he has a darkness inside of him. I didn't exactly mean fur was what made him great, but it fits as the Werehog is supposed to be more beastial. 

I know.  I was agreeing. ^^; - I was just adding why else it might better for the Werehog and why it looks absolutely hideous on normal Sonic.

[Jet Prower]

I had honestly never given the fur of Sonic and friends a ton of attention before. He always looked well done to me in most cases. I know in some of the games, such as unleashed, they made the fur a bit more detailed to where it stood out more, but I honestly I liked that. They are another for of furries, though Sonic furs and traditional furries are two different things of course. Sonic is still an animal and many animals have fur on them that should be slightly fuzzy to pet. You can see this alot more with Tails, since foxes being canine like the werehog technically is supposed to, can be petted and meant to have a fur coat to keep them warm. Hedgehog's normally dont have fur, but the way hedgehogs are designed here, they have alot more fur than the tons of spikes a normal one has.

 

The whole thing is just being overthought a bit it sounds like. Maybe hedgehogs dont normally grow hair on their arms and stomachs. It may not be that he shaves, but just it naturally doesnt grow there.

[DocAzure]

The whole thing is just being overthought a bit it sounds like. Maybe hedgehogs dont normally grow hair on their arms and stomachs. It may not be that he shaves, but just it naturally doesnt grow there.

 

See, I would go for that if it wasn't the case that both Shadow and Silver have fur on their arms and chest. Although maybe Sonic and Amy are a different species of hedgehog...but then I'm just over thinking again.

Edited August 17, 2013 by DocAzure

[Jet Prower]

See, I would go for that if it wasn't the case that both Shadow and Silver have fur on their arms and chest. Although maybe Sonic and Amy are a different species of hedgehog...but then I'm just over thinking again.

I think we are all overthinking this. Like how, maybe the fur on their chest is just a gene that some hedgehog's get and others dont get. Genetics of species is a rather tricky thing to explain, with all the stuff about dominate and recessive genes of parents being passed onto the kids. Like, how Shadow was made in a lab, so the fur could be part of the experiments. I've seen many people that want to say Silver is a future son of Sonic and Shadows line at some point merging, which could explain his fur. So many variables. XD

[Tani Coyote]

You mean as in this render? It's better, but I still don't like it very much. Generations Classic wins out.

 

Oh no, I meant as in the Werehog. The fur actually looked real there. The faux fur look they're going for with standard Sonic just looks weird.

 

Anything is better than this duck billed atrocity, however, which makes Sonic look way too furry. Did someone splice Sonic with Werehog Dna in this? Look, I know it's a fan film, so it's obviously not going to have a good budget, but it's clearly the worst Sonic has ever looked.

 

Ultimately it was a case of "let's make him look realistic without having a budget to make him look realistic."

 

While there's good CGI without a high budget... I still think there's a bottom line somewhere.

 

Never mind the "let's go realistic but keep the cartoony proportions" idea. If you're going to make him realistic, you need to alter everything else about him too, to a point he probably won't look much like Sonic.

 

 

I suppose this somewhat communicates the idea? While he's still Sonic he's more furry, has actual anatomical structure, an actual set of eyes and nose, etc.

 

It's even more jarring with this Mario & Sonic render where the two are standing directly next to each other in the same pose. Just look at those -hands- of all things, jeez.

 

The only added detail to the renders that I really loved was the chipped paint on the soles of the shoes, though they seem to have ditched that (starting with Lost World?) coupled with doing slight changes to Sonic's design (highlighted in the direction and redesign topic, particuarly his quills being given a little trim)...

 

You've reminded me how it always bothered me that there's so much detail in the gloves and then the characters look cartoony. Even in the Wii titles you see a fair bit of texture on the gloves and it's really weird.

 

As for the second part; I always found that neat as well. All the renders have chipped paint, as I noticed when looking at Shadow's shoes in the posters I have of him. It's a neat little detail.

[Chaos Incarnate]

Oh no, I meant as in the Werehog. The fur actually looked real there. The faux fur look they're going for with standard Sonic just looks weird.

 

 

Ultimately it was a case of "let's make him look realistic without having a budget to make him look realistic."

 

While there's good CGI without a high budget... I still think there's a bottom line somewhere.

 

Never mind the "let's go realistic but keep the cartoony proportions" idea. If you're going to make him realistic, you need to alter everything else about him too, to a point he probably won't look much like Sonic.

 

 

I suppose this somewhat communicates the idea? While he's still Sonic he's more furry, has actual anatomical structure, an actual set of eyes and nose, etc.

 

 

Wow, that's actually a great way to make sonic look realistic! The fur is a tad bit too dark, but if they're trying to make Sonic look realistic, this design here works really well. Nice find! Could you send me the link to that artist?

Edited August 17, 2013 by Chaos Incarnate

[Kat]

If I just look at the way the characters are (officialy) rendered, it would never strike me as odd that the peach parts are supposed to be not furry. It looks right.

But as soon as I start thinking about it, I find it almost repulsing and simply need to think of those parts as covered in fur. Not like that of the fan-movie Sonic, though. More like the fur of a horse, possibly; which is also what I think the curious "elephant skin" texture is supposed to represent.

 

Oh, and looking at that Mario & Sonic render: Why are Sonic's shoes looking like they're made of rubber (in contrast to the strap)? If they make the gloves look like actual fabric, why not the shoes, too...

Edited August 17, 2013 by Kat

[Tani Coyote]

Wow, that's actually a great way to make sonic look realistic! The fur is a tad bit too dark, but if they're trying to make Sonic look realistic, this design here works really well. Nice find! Could you send me the link to that artist?

 

That would be Thalia Evans, who does work with Sonic the Comic Online!

 

But as soon as I start thinking about it, I find it almost repulsing and simply need to think of those parts as covered in fur. Not like that of the fan-movie Sonic, though. More like the fur of a horse, possibly; which is also what I think the curious "elephant skin" texture is supposed to represent.

More or less my thoughts. Have you ever shaved an animal? It looks repulsive. Skin is for humans (and primates to an extent), period. It just looks disturbing on animals and makes me wonder if they were subject to testing or something.

...maybe THAT's how Sonic got his speed and why he has such angst against Eggman... hmm...

 

Oh, and looking at that Mario & Sonic render: Why are Sonic's shoes looking like they're made of rubber (in contrast to the strap)? If they make the gloves look like actual fabric, why not the shoes, too...

I presume so he can burn rubber when he runs.

In all seriousness who knows.

[Jet Prower]

More or less my thoughts. Have you ever shaved an animal? It looks repulsive. Skin is for humans (and primates to an extent), period. It just looks disturbing on animals and makes me wonder if they were subject to testing or something.

 

 Many animals don't look too pretty when shaved yes. Never understood why people want the pets that look shaved like that, since they look ugly and rough to me. Give me something fluffy and furry any day. Still, no telling why he has them, but if his parents had them, then it explains why he has bare spots there. Who knows.

[Tani Coyote]

Still, no telling why he has them, but if his parents had them, then it explains why he has bare spots there. Who knows.

I'm now imagining that in Sonic's family, when they reach a certain age, they have their chest, arms and face ritualistically shaved, with the fur follicles plucked out to prevent regrowth. No wonder he's so good at running!

Though I am genuinely curious if such a trait might be genetic...

[Jolt_TH]

Oh, and looking at that Mario & Sonic render: Why are Sonic's shoes looking like they're made of rubber (in contrast to the strap)? If they make the gloves look like actual fabric, why not the shoes, too...

I'm not sure, sometimes they look fabric, other times they look leather, what are sonic shoes made of? (The red part)

Also I'm now confused, they render sonic in fur, so does that mean that either:

A) Sonics spines are his hair

Sonics spines are MADE of his hair

Or

C) Sonics spines are part of his skull and covered in hair?

[Kat]

Well, according to that sprite, the spines are at least not part of his skull...

 

 

[Jolt_TH]

Well, according to that sprite, the spines are at least not part of his skull...

Still leaves us with two options

Are they made of his fur clumped together or are they proper spines :/

Edited August 17, 2013 by Jolt_TH

[Tara]

I'm not an expert on hedgehogs, but I don't believe a hedgehog's quills are part of its skeleton as much as they are mere protrusions similar to hair, feathers, etc.  I don't know if real hedgehog quills are covered in fur or not, but I'm going to assume that regardless, Sega stylized Sonic's quills so that they'd remain consistent with the rest of his body.

 

That's another reason why fuzzy Sonic is simply a poor design choice:  It raises too many questions. =P

Edited August 17, 2013 by Akito

[Jet Prower]

I'm not an expert on hedgehogs, but I don't believe a hedgehog's quills are part of its skeleton as much as they are mere protrusions similar to hair, feathers, etc.  I don't know if real hedgehog quills are covered in fur or not, but I'm going to assume that regardless, Sega stylized Sonic's quills so that they'd remain consistent with the rest of his body.

 

That's anothe reason why fuzzy Sonic is simply a poor design choice:  It raises too many questions. =P

I don't think real hedgehog quills are fuzzy at all. Hedgehogs I dont think are really fuzzy at all like Sonic. The quills are very similiar to porcupine quills. I've seen pictures before that people show his large quills he has are made up of many smaller quills that can poke people or be pulled out. Its just that like a hedgehog, when they are relaxed and comfortable around you, you can touch them and they dont poke you, unlike if they are scared or feel threatened by you. I've never owned one, but I've talked to those that have before.

[Tara]

I don't think real hedgehog quills are fuzzy at all. Hedgehogs I dont think are really fuzzy at all like Sonic. The quills are very similiar to porcupine quills. I've seen pictures before that people show his large quills he has are made up of many smaller quills that can poke people or be pulled out. Its just that like a hedgehog, when they are relaxed and comfortable around you, you can touch them and they dont poke you, unlike if they are scared or feel threatened by you. I've never owned one, but I've talked to those that have before.

Hedgehogs are actually quite fuzzy, but a quick Google image search shows there's a clear distinction between the texture of their quills and the rest of their body.

[Blue Blood]

Sonic's spines are either hair several small spines clumped together into a 7 large spikes (which would mean his entire body is covered in small spines, flesh and fur on top of bone/cartilage or just... nothing really to think about. I kind of doubt Sonic has any real considered or canon anatomical structure. You can't make sense of it.

[Kat]

I suppose it's meant to be several small spines clumped together. But they'd better not start texturizing that properly, or else we get fan-movie-Sonic ;-).