♬∞ Punch♏︎Tsubasa ☉☯

how can you smile when you can barely stand?

KNUCK KNUCK ITS KNOCKLES

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 🎃🎃🎃

Crazy how he only gave Shadow a piece

https://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannel/special/staffcolumn/20240920_008667/

The official Sonic Channel calendar artwork for October 2024 features Knuckles & Sage

Here’s a personal take!

The Sonic Prime 3D models have the best facial expressions seen from the modern cast. Why? Well, I’ll explain with my 0 experience in 3D animation. I’m only explaining as an observer. Not a professional. Anyways, onto the fun.

First of all, let’s talk about the current models in the games. The animators became better at animating them in Sonic Frontiers.

You can tell effort was being put in, but Frontiers still has limits due to the structure of Sonic’s face and eyes. I’ve seen fan animations with this model which animates him wonderfully. But no matter what, he’s still going to have limitations because his hands are too big, eyes are too far apart, mouth looks like it was made to only stay on the side, and more issues. The design frankly looks dead. Even in motion.

In all fairness, this character was built for a 2D design due to it being inspired by Mickey Mouse. But Sonic Unleashed (because they used different models like Dream Team) proves this character CAN be expressive in 3D with a good workable model. It’s not the animation that’s the problem in Frontiers. Here are similar expressions from Sonic Prime and Frontiers.

See how wider the expressions are in Prime? It allows their faces to be more flexible and warped. Prime!Sonic has rounder eyes making his head look easier for his facial structure to have an array of expressions. It’s kind of close to Sonic Dream Team with the minor tweaks of the OG models. Which is why the expressions in that game looked so good. ESPECIALLY when animated.

It’s even why other designs are able to have great facial expressions. The eyes being close together just works. While the OG looks like he’s pushing expressions that’s near impossible to push. Yes, it’s still expressive, but you can see how limiting it is because the eyes aren’t supporting the face. And his mouth is always stuck to one side.

Onto more compliments to the Sonic Prime models. They emphasize the hight differences too. I personally think Sonic and Shadow look like mixtures between their 06, modern, Boom, and movie designs. They have long quills like 06. Their entire look is inspired by the modern designs. Their eyes are shaped similar to Sonic Boom and they have cool textures like in the movies. Other characters count but it most notably is for the two hedgehogs.

The hands are smaller like in the movies and Boom. The pupils being bigger gives volume to the faces. I also adore their fur and quill patterns to give the designs flare. Their gloves have little details too. I especially love how they can change the quills for Sonic and Shadow and make them look similar to a 2D style. Usually they’d make the quills smaller in the games to get that 2D look but Prime Shadow and Sonic are able to have long quills while the animators adjust them however and whenever they need to.

Their mouths are also well animated and smooth when transitioning to different sides of the face. The characters body shapes are also 100% better. While the Game model looks too straight the Prime model has a pear shape torso that are also given to Boom and Movie Sonic respectively. The Prime models look like they were made for action scenes.

I know some people complain about the eyes not going down, but honestly it’s what makes the expressions weaker when used in 3D. I’m glad they have a balance of it sometimes to allow the expressions to get their points across. I really appreciate the colors on everyone also. They look lovely and bright with help of the lighting.

The few critiques I have are due to multiple watches but they’re not a HUGE deal.

1. I can easily see their necks at points.

2. The mouth animation looks weird when characters makes an O shape and the tongues/teeth are jarring.

3. I wish their hands weren’t so flat and skinny. Other models had their hands shaped like Disney characters, but Prime’s hands can look flat sometimes.

These are just nitpicks though.

Even compared to the CGI cutscenes while still good I think Prime conveys a subtly previous models didn’t do too often. Of course the CGI looks amazing and it still holds up, but the nuance in Sonic Prime cannot be ignored. Hope my take makes the slightest of sense.

Stay Creative! 💜

Sonic and friends has the chance to do the funniest thing ever :

this episode is just about sonic and eggman knowing each other better than anyone and eggman making sure sonic is alright in a coy villainous way

Sonic X 71 *-*; <3

another INCREDIBLY important sonic x scene

I think there’s something wrong with YOU Knuckles, they animated you with having fingers instead of gloves for once.

snacc break

I was just watching Sonic X episodes on a whim and Sonic’s expression here cracked me up. X Sonic was so emotionally reclusive so much of the time that moments like these stand-out.

Aaaah look at them!

Team Dark hanging out with Cream and Cheese. Omega learned to make a flower crown! And he made one for Shadow!

And them!

And also them old friends hanging hanging out

And these two! Look!

And finally, look at the best friends of all time

The Brothers! 🥹

Here's new official artwork featuring Knuckles and the Chao training in the Chao Karate Dojo!

he likes himself

I wish Knuckles and Chris had interacted with each other more.

I like how Knuckles seems to be able to read other people fairly well, much like Sonic does.

Probably should expand your diet a bit. 😅