If it were up to you, what color would you have the eyes of the characters?

[Dark Qiviut]

Well as I'm not allowed to say black (even though IMO, black is best suited for all characters), I'm gonna say dark brown. I absolutely despise the coloured eyes every Sonic character is equiped with nowadays, and in my honest opinion, black eyes look a whole look classier than coloured =/ I wouldn't mind seeing very dark brown (for obvious reasons =P), because correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't some of the old classic artwork show some of the characters having brown mixed in with the blacks of their eyes? I thought that looked alright still, too bad it never actually would become reality now though, it's not like they're just gonna randomly change the character's eye colours lol

Honestly, I don't know. I haven't researched the old "brown-eyed" Classic artwork if there ever were any.

Now, about the color choices, I wonder whether they actually will work or not. Honestly, I DON'T know why you chose dark brown. Is it due to being near black, does it possibly retain the "neutral" qualities, or because they're more "Classic"-esque like you already mentioned? Whatever it is, I'm not quite sure if you fully thought out the possibilities of utilizing brown eyes for the models.

Color isn't just something you see in front of you. Whenever people see color, their minds work with it. There's a huge psychological bond with it. Even brown, depending on the tones.

"Dark brown" is one huge umbrella. There are many types of dark brown. Bronze, mahogany, chocolate brown, aged copper, rust. Despite being dark brown, they each carry a meaning due to psychology in the tones, warmness, and coolness.

Let's dissect the dark brown further by entering the "browns." In the color wheel, blue and orange, yellow and violet, and red and green are their respective compliments. Mix the pairs, and you get various shades of brown.

Red and green: a warm, chocolate brown, sometimes dubbed "Christmas brown." This can represent warmth and comfort, even a muted passion, depending on the tone you're pushing for.

Violet and yellow: a sandy, sometimes hazy brown or bronze. Although pleasant, this would be a horrid choice of irises for Sonic, who represents adventure and life. He goes forward. The two compliments here are quiet and muddled when mixed together. Like a wet sand color depending on how much yellow you're mixing with the violet.

Blue and orange make a really dark, green-gray brown. Depending on how much blue or orange you use, the color can look like an icky green mold. Not nice to look at; VERY inappropriate for Sonic's eyes.

Despite being a neutral color, plenty of browns have a personality in themselves. It's up to you to consider which dark brown fits the characters emotionally or psychologically. Because even people who never took a design class will be bothered if the little detail feels out of place.

--

Now, back to other characters. I'm going to dissect each character's eyes one by one, beginning with Amy.

As you all know, Amy's eyes are the very same shade as Sonic's: a brilliant, Emerald green. Reasons why Amy's eyes are like this? Well, let's do it.

1. When Sonic Team decided to redesign the characters, one of the characters they possibly wanted to bring to the forefront was Amy, who following Sonic CD was almost never used. Amy's Classic design is really, REALLY retro. Sort of like a late-1970s to 80s outfit. Nothing we'd ever see in the late-90s. ST noticed this and updated her to a more modernized outlook.

2. This is where her eyes come into play. One of Amy's main traits is her consistent crush on Sonic. Depending on what shade of green you choose, green can mean a sense of pursuit, determination, and perseverance. Amy always has a set goal. When using this goal right, she's a really dynamic character. Adventure, SA2, and Next-Gen highlighted her well. Also, green is a very dynamic color with dozens of symbolic meanings. I already discussed this about Sonic in my previous post.

3. There's one other thing about Amy's bright green eyes that stand out: her pink fur/skin. Pink is a washed-out shade of red. Green and red are complements on the color wheel. So, when pink and green touch each other, they'll vibrate. (This is likely why the producers in Sonic X changed her eyes to a really dark forest green.) Conversely, though, because pink is muted, it contrasts quite nicely with the highly saturated green irises.

Now, Rouge. Unlike Amy's, hers is a washed-out green — something like an aqua green or a turquoise. Now let me guess why her irises are in this color. And there's only one: femininity. Turquoise is soft and very attractive. It's is a VERY popular color target towards women. Compared to Sonic (adventurous, nostalgic, iconic, fun-loving), Shadow (early-teens), Cream (young girls), and Amy (adolescent girls), Rouge's target audience is teenage women who feel the need to express themselves and be themselves. Turquoise is a very expressive, proud color. Rouge is proud of herself, from her personality to her sex appeal. She has the smooth, elegant voice, and is a convincing talker. The color of her eyes reflects her traits because they share the same symbolic meaning.

Cream's is a dark brown, the only character to have it. When being specific, it's more a "chestnut brown" (Concept: Mobius). Brown, being neutral, can create several emotions by tweaking the tones and neutrality. Chestnut is more golden. Her brown irises are very warm an lively. Cream, despite her innocence has a sense of dignity and responsibility. The warmth of her irises reflects this because it's very warm and isn't gray-like.

Silver and Blaze are next. Now, both have one equal shade of color for their eyes: golden yellow. Why do THEY work?

Well, gold is a symbol of wealth. Blaze is a princess. Gold is a warm, beautiful, feisty color. Blaze can be solemn, but she also has/had a temper. Her main power is usage of golden yellow fire to emphasize herself. The color itself is very passionate and wise. Blaze is proud and has a sense to protect her kingdom (or prevent the future from falling under an even more serious disarray). Her eyes work well with her lavender fur. Lavender is a washed-out purple (make purple, add white, and you'll get lavender). Her eyes are very saturated, so they'll stand out more. However, they won't vibrate a lot because her fur is muted, making her eyes a good fit for her fur.

Gold also has a sense of wisdom, and this reflects Silver's main personality trait. Despite his young age, Silver was wise beyond his years in '06. He was put through literal HELL in his future. He had a goal, and he'll do anything it takes to stop it. Gold has a sense of value no matter how young or old it is. Silver wanted to preserve the future to make it comforting and safe after he's gone. Even when we die, gold carries that psychological wealth among generations. Despite the memory wipeout at the end of '06 and its alternate timeline in Rivals, Silver there carries the same virtue. Combine that with his white fur (which is considered "holy" in Western culture), his stern eyes fit well.

Now, despite being one-time-only, I'll analyze Tikal's eye color choice. Tikal is described as a character with a complete 180 of her father. Compared to his temperament, Tikal is peaceful. She doesn't want to fight; she's a pacifist. Blue, when in a medium shade, is relaxing and peaceful. It's still and serene, compared to Tails's which are more young and innocent. Tikal's eye color is more saturated and more mature, just like her, too. Despite her eyes and fur color being near opposites (peach is a washed-out orange), her irises work because the color values vary greatly.

Now the Babylon Rogues' Jet and Wave. Each carry one eye color: a deep cobalt blue. Why that shade when ST can choose others?

Cobalt blue is a stern blue. Straight to the point. Despite being laid back, Jet is not afraid to show his pride for being excellent in Extreme Gear. The same goes for Wave, who has prowess for understanding how Extreme Gear works. Wave is the only one of the Babylon Rogues who isn't afraid to confront Jet's lazy "leadership" approach. When seeing serious situations, on the other hand, Jet doesn't hesitate. He'll do what it takes to do his job. Despite being half-foils, the iris colors bond well with them because their personalities call for it.

Chip's next. When he didn't have memories of Light Gaia, he had this playful, childish personality. He was pretty much like a newborn: wondering, impulsive and curious. How does this relate to his eye color? Well, for one, Chip's eyes are a burnt yellow. They're not like Espio's brilliant yellow. Chip's are muted to go with his plum fur color. Now, they're closely similar to hazel, which is considered to be a color of accessibility (as hazel eyes are psychologically connected to this trait). Chip wants to fit in, but he was playful, too. However, hazel is a soft, proud color. The yellow side of his hazel eyes caves in to the point where he becomes focused and straightforward, a huge trait of yellow.

Finally, the Chaotix, beginning with Espio.

One thing about Espio is that his yellow eyes are as equally saturated as his purple skin. So, why doesn't the yellow stand out that much? Well, it's the iris size. They're small and mask well with his white sclera.

But what makes his yellow eyes work? Well, it's that yellow matches well with his personality. Espio is very upfront and stern. Yellow is in-your-face and confronting. You'll ALWAYS see a yellow of a high saturation because it's the brightest color on the spectrum. Yellow is blunt, and Espio isn't afraid to talk about a problem as is albeit his meditation. He's very sincere, and yellow fits his characterization best.

Charmy's orange eyes are next. The reason orange fits well with him is due to how well his characterization works well with it. Orange is the in-between of red and yellow on the color wheel. Warm like yellow but not "adult" or fiery like red. It's a very playful, youthful, and energetic color. Charmy is spunky, hyperactive, and (sometimes) annoying. The relationship between Charmy's personality and his irises are excellent!

Finally, Vector. Unlike Shadow, his are vermilion. The combination to create vermilion's red, orange, and a little gray. When using just red-orange (a.k.a., scarlet), it becomes a soft, welcoming red. Vermilion softens it, yet retains the welcoming value, just more relaxed. Vermilion can be described as the color of stability, and Vector's the one who holds the Chaotix Detective Agency together. Plus, vermilion retains the similar qualities of red itself: warm, passionate, alert, quick to notice. Vector has an eager, attentive personality, and his eyes fit them.

Edit: An analysis of the other characters' irises is

Edited May 1, 2011 by Attitude Adjustment

[Your Vest Friend]

That post was marvellous and all, and I could certainly not top that (what can I say, I'm a zoologist and not an artist ), but...

Orange is the in-between of red and orange on the color wheel.

I'm afraid I had to LOL.

[Sonowske]

All of the eye colors of each character seems fine...

[KingMan]

They're alright as they are.

[RootingForTheEmpire]

I'm quite fond of Eggman's blue. They seem to contrast every single aspect of his character, which I like. Brings out the human side of him.

[Tobbii]

I'm quite fond of Eggman's blue. They seem to contrast every single aspect of his character, which I like. Brings out the human side of him.

We only saw those eyes in 2006 right?

[RootingForTheEmpire]

We only saw those eyes in 2006 right?

Indeedy, we did.

[Tobbii]

Indeedy, we did.

I liked that.

[Uraraka]

it is confusing, Knuckles has blue eyes in SA and SA2, but purple eyes in Heroes.... He has light blue eyes in Sonic Advanced 3.... confusing.  I prefer the blue ones.

[Sega DogTagz]

it is confusing, Knuckles has blue eyes in SA and SA2, but purple eyes in Heroes.... He has light blue eyes in Sonic Advanced 3.... confusing.  I prefer the blue ones.

 

You sure about that? I seem to recall Knux rocking violet eyes in both SA1 and SA2

[Uraraka]

You sure about that? I seem to recall Knux rocking violet eyes in both SA1 and SA2

 Actually, after research, I'd  have to say your right, except, the drawings always had blue eyes... I wish I could post a pic, but I don't know how....

[Your Vest Friend]

It's true that certain pieces were a bit...confused.

But since other pieces were more clear on the colour being violet, I'd say this is more down to artist choice for those pics.

Edited June 13, 2013 by VEDJ-F

[spinny]

Yeah, I used to be confused by it too. While I settled on them being purple/violet/whatever around the time of Heroes, before that I was thinking "are they blue, grey or violet?"

Natural violet eyes are incredibly rare in real life as well if I remember correctly, even though some certain genes can certainly make it happen.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Super Spindash

[Uraraka]

 In Generations, His eyes are periwinkle... maybe he has grey eyes and wears contacts!!

...Or not....

Actually,  do believe that there are people with purple eyes. I think I have heard of it before... I know someone who's eyes change color in different light... like, rainbow eyes! (no joke either!)

[Mauro Fonseca]

Interesting analysis ideas on this thread, even though I tend to prefer my Sanics with deep black eyes like old cartoons. I like the basic idea of having the eye colour contrast the fur, and in that sense would give Focke Wulf dull red eyes, really dull, tending more to brown.

 

Nack, I'd give the same eye colour as Knuckles, perhaps a bit bluer. A brighter version of his fur, basically. I think being the one character with the fur and the eyes the same colour would make him stand out.

 

Honey... what were the original Honey's eye colours? Brown, right? A bit boring, but I suppose for the reference to be taken fully...

 

Now, moving outside games.

 

I'd give Manic pink eyes and Sonia blue eyes. Why? To connect them with Sonic and the three as brothers- Sonia has Sonic's colour as eyes, Manic has Sonia's colour as eyes, Sonic has Manic's colour as eyes. I do this in this direction and not Sonia with Manic and Manic with Sonic to avoid yet another green-blue combination.

 

Sally has blue eyes, works right. Contrasts her orange (I prefer her orange rather than brown).

[Mr Useful]

It's true that certain pieces were a bit...confused.

But since other pieces were more clear on the colour being violet, I'd say this is more down to artist choice for those pics.

Don't forget Sonic Advance 2 and 3.

Advance 2

 

 

Advance 3

 

Though that might be palette issue considering these are both GBA games.

[-blank-]

Personally, I'm fine with the eye colors the way they are. Though, I wouldn't mind Sonic having darker green eyes. It might contrast better with his blue fur.

[Aquaslash]

 

I'd give Manic pink eyes and Sonia blue eyes. Why? To connect them with Sonic and the three as brothers- Sonia has Sonic's colour as eyes, Manic has Sonia's colour as eyes, Sonic has Manic's colour as eyes. I do this in this direction and not Sonia with Manic and Manic with Sonic to avoid yet another green-blue combination.

 

 

I remember you saying this before, a very interesting decision that.  Only problem with it is that Sonia already really has way too many colors in her palette.  Even with the modern design I've given her, which sticks to her classic palette and then removes a color, there are still issues when it comes to needing to shade the already present colors.  Though we've now advanced to the point in technology where palette limitations aren't even a thing anymore, I still doubt we're going to see anything as wild from Sonic Team as Classic Amy and Sonia were.

 

Still, totally love the whole idea behind that though.

 

Also, Re: Knuckles in the Advances, the eye color in his sprites is very much blue. (32, 64, 248).  I believe it's a visibilty issue.  The GBA doesn't have a backlight, and tends to mess with the colors as you see them.  Something like using a CRT monitor vs a LCD monitor.  Given that the eyes are literally two pixels of color with a black pixel in the middle, and that resolution is very small, your eyes fool you into thinking it's purple.  This is the same logic behind Shadow's fur in Sonic Battle not using actual shades of back, but rather a super washed out blue.

Edited June 15, 2013 by Kyoryu Aqua

[Tani Coyote]

I like the eye colors the way they are now.

 

I wouldn't mind if there was some sort of Archie/Fleetway plot device that explained he originally had brown eyes but they changed over the years, however. It's the little details like this that help flesh a universe out more, such as telling what each character's favorite food are. Just makes it all seem so much more real without going creepy real about it.

 

Though I could probably be swung in favor of Silver having red eyes. I liked that design choice in Sonic the Comic Online, and I'll admit I've always been fond of the theory that Silver is in fact descended from Shadow in some way, shape or form. Giving him that eye color gives another point in favor of that theory...

 

For the record I don't care if it's another "Sonic is DBZ lololol" thing. If one cannot recognize something called archetypes in fiction, there is no hope for them and they are not worth discussing such matters with.

Edited June 15, 2013 by Ogilvie Maurice

[WarioBone]

If I was in charge, all the characters would have blue eyes.

 

And blonde hair.

 

hedgehog supremacy

[Tani Coyote]

If I was in charge, all the characters would have blue eyes.

 

And blonde hair.

 

hedgehog supremacy

 

Well we've got a world dominating mad man if nothing else.

 

Speaking of Egghead.

 

It was neat how in 06 they actually showed his eyes for once. A nice gray-blue or so. I'd be fine with establishing this again in a later title, even if I always liked the black sclera/red irises thing he has going in the comics, cartoons and classic games. Gray-blue eyes do help separate the game continuity from the alternate continuities, certainly.

 

...though I'd be in favor of a gag where his glasses fall off and someone is intimidated by those black voids. He then explains this is why he wears such thick lenses - not because he can't see ("I fixed my eyesight problems with self-performed laser surgery years ago!") but because it really scares people. Good interrogation method!

Edited June 15, 2013 by Ogilvie Maurice

[Kamakai]

My theory: Sonic and the rest of the gang went through puberty in the 4 year gap between S3&K and Sonic Adventure.

 

...

 

fine, I'll give an answer.

 

I like the characters' eyes the way they are now. Green is the best colour to go with blue. Yellow would've also been a good choice. In fact, the worst colour Sonic's eyes could've been is orange. Picture that.

 

 

Ugh.

 

As for the others... well, they're ok. It really doesn't matter to me, as long as they're not plain ugly.

[Dizcrybe]

If it were up to me, I'd focus on making the games as good as possible instead of stupid things like eye color. You know, because that's what Sonic the Hedgehog is. A video game. Not some beauty contest.

Edited June 17, 2013 by Dizcrybe

[Nepenthe]

If it were up to me, I'd focus on making the games as good as possible instead of stupid things like eye color. You know, because that's what Sonic the Hedgehog is. A video game. Not some beauty contest.

That's why we have billions of other topics where you can bitch and gripe and moan about any subject concerning the gameplay to your heart's content. Coming into a topic meant to discuss something else about the games aside from gameplay to lament that it's not talking about gameplay is not profound or smart. It just means you're off-topic to some degree and strangely proud of doing so. Congratulations. Don't ever make a post like this again, in any topic. Either discuss the subject at hand or don't post at all.

[Amomynous]

It irks me somewhat how characters with 'amber-ish' eyes seem particularly inconsistent in the exact color,  like Vector, Silver, Blaze,Espio and Charmy,they seem to alternate between various places between yellow and brown.

 

I'd fix it so they're more consistent in the following colors;

Vector and Charmy- Amber.

Blaze and Espio- Yellow

Silver-Gold

Edited June 18, 2013 by Amomynous