3.28.2016
Visual Changelog: Pocky
Happy Easter everyone! Today’s character art update presents the incredible work our artists have done in bringing one our fluffy friends to life! Click to view the full size update and to watch the included timelapse video.
3.09.2016
Before --> After!
Inside the Art: Yellow Blocks
Today we launch a new series of visual changelogs focussed on Chemical Plant Zone. The spotlight this week is on an asset synonymous with Chemical Plant Zone, the yellow blocks. The original artwork was a shining example of the capabilities of Genesis hardware, so we needed to do the same when bringing the asset beyond those boundaries into the 21st century, giving it a modern look rather than merely upscaling it when making it HD.
9.06.2015
Staff Attack: Toni Leys
Music is really what brings a game a life, so we’re very pleased to share with you a few samples of music from one of our talented musicians, Toni Leys, in this edition of Staff Attack! As you may know, we’ve decided to revisit the soundtrack from the Alpha release to build upon and improve it for a unique Sonic 2 experience. Click on the image below to learn more and to access the media players to hear what Toni has been cooking up!
7.17.2015
A special announcement...
S2HD fans, today is a special day!
After evolving the character art style through three major revisions, with countless hours spent tweaking vector points, shading, and animation boils, I am proud to announce Sonic's entire frameset for S2HD is complete! None of this would have been possible without Ricky Earl's gorgeous animation drafts and patience in creating the revisions for our blue hero.
I would like to give special thanks to Tom Fry and Jared Kasl, as their efforts in 2010 laid the foundation for the final shading techniques that make S2HD look so amazing today. Finally, a huge thank you to all of you for your support and comments -- I love reading them and promise to keep character art as sharp and polished as I can!
-Vincent S2HD Team Leader
I would like to give special thanks to Tom Fry and Jared Kasl, as their efforts in 2010 laid the foundation for the final shading techniques that make S2HD look so amazing today. Finally, a huge thank you to all of you for your support and comments -- I love reading them and promise to keep character art as sharp and polished as I can!
-Vincent S2HD Team Leader
5.23.2015
Staff Attack! Jesús Campos
Today our master Illustrator and Concept Artist, Jesús Campos, aka Nerkin, is in the spotlight!
4.17.2015
Visual Changelog: HTZ Tree
In this changelog we'll be taking a look into the development of one of S2HD's most storied art pieces: the HTZ Tree!
1.31.2015
Making Of: Endpose Level Animation
Today we're taking a break from the staff profiles to show off a true making of for a new Sonic animation cycle unique to S2HD:
1.17.2015
Staff Attack: Jessica Jeansoulin
Our next artist profile is for Jessica Jeansoulin! Jessica has a brought a wide array of skills to our team, and this piece in particular highlights them.
1.04.2015
Staff Attack: Lewis Cross
Given the number of additions to the team in 2014 we want to point a spotlight on our artists one at a time showing off some of the pieces they're most proud of. We'll get started with the first artist who joined our team after the reboot last summer, Lewis Cross.
11.01.2014
Inside the Artwork: New Sonic Animations
S2HD isn't just about redrawing the original artwork to a higher standard -- our lead animator went back to the drawing board to create brand new animation sets. Here's a look at what's been done with Sonic so far!
9.16.2014
Visual Changelog: Flora edition!
It's been awhile since we showed off our work. Here is part 1 of our Hill Top Zone artwork series. More to follow soon!
7.16.2014
The results are in!
We'd like to extend a big thanks to all the artists who submitted pieces for us to review. You didn't make it easy on us! Plenty of great talent was shown, and we believe we have brought on some very skilled people to move the project forward.
Sprite Artist:
Lewis Cross
Level Artists:
Jessica Jeansoulin
Matt Allan
Animators:
Mike Harvey
Ricky Lee Earl
Illustrator:
Jesús Campos
Here's a sneak peek at some of the submissions pieces our new team members sent us for review:
Sprite Artist:
Lewis Cross
Level Artists:
Jessica Jeansoulin
Matt Allan
Animators:
Mike Harvey
Ricky Lee Earl
Illustrator:
Jesús Campos
Here's a sneak peek at some of the submissions pieces our new team members sent us for review:
And these aren't even the final pieces! Since then the artists who created these have moved on to creating additional animations and assets that will be seen in S2HD.
It's also worth announcing that our team of musicians/composers has expanded from the one during the alpha release days to three now, and each zone will be given a brand new treatment with distinct music for each Act.
Once again, thanks to all the fans who continue to be the driving motivation for S2HD. Look forward to a brand new changelog update focused on the Hill Top Zone pieces we've been working on!
6.25.2014
Looking for a way to contribute?
Here's where you, the fans at large, come in.
If you're interested in becoming a contributing member of the S2HD team, we're looking for you! Our team is in need of a talented graphics artist and an animator. Given this may or may not come in the form of a single person, you can choose a specific role to fill by submitting the corresponding example to S2HDStaff@gmail.com. Once this has been done our team leaders will review the submissions and reach out to you for direct contact.
Graphics artist: are you an experienced Photoshop user who knows vector art and blending modes?
You can submit an example work based on Chemical Plant Zone done in art style of S2HD as seen in the alpha release. This could either be one of the badniks, one of the more recognizable level art pieces from the zone itself, or an entire screen, it's all up to you! We are looking for a degree of artistic license in the example so long as the design is distinct to CPZ. Concepts are welcome, but concept progression to a more polished piece is preferred.
Animator: do you like bringing art to life?
Please show us either an animation draft or a set of animations that best represents your skills.
We'd like to also note that we'll be posting up regular progress updates either in text or screenshot form. One of the criticisms leveled against S2HD in the past was the secrecy it was surrounded by and it won't happen anymore. Before too much longer you can look forward to seeing what we're doing with Hill Top Zone and the Special Stages. As for the inevitable questions on future release dates: when a new zone is graphically complete and the main engine is ready, more of Sonic 2 HD will make its way into the hands of fans worldwide -- but with your help, S2HD will speed up development!
We look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Sonic 2 HD is back!
Hello everyone!
The only thing more surprising than seeing an official post from us here is our announcing that S2HD is no longer dead.
You read that correctly: work has once again begun on Sonic 2 HD! That said, we'd like to give you all a brief tie-in for recent events leading to the project's reboot.
As many of you know, the leading reason behind the project's cancellation was due to the programming element being removed with no possibility of return in its existing form. As of last year, this changed. Before anyone raises the question, no, the former programmer and the S2HD team members have not had a reunion; instead, a fan of the project independently created and submitted his own engine to Vincent, the project leader, for evaluation. After integrating the art assets from the alpha release and successfully testing it, Vincent began to let the rest of the prior team members know, and we've picked up where we left off sans those who are unavailable due to real life obligations. Two other talented programmers have since offered their skills to recreate the game's physics to match the original, and to port the game to the Mac OS platform (the latter of which is still in the earliest possible stage, and we have no estimate on when it will be playable, so stay tuned!).
In response to some of the questions we have seen, the Alpha Release build is officially discontinued and will not get any form of support as we do not have the source code. The next release will be entirely new programming from the ground up.
We'll provide more details in how you can help us out in the next few days. It's good to be back!
The only thing more surprising than seeing an official post from us here is our announcing that S2HD is no longer dead.
You read that correctly: work has once again begun on Sonic 2 HD! That said, we'd like to give you all a brief tie-in for recent events leading to the project's reboot.
As many of you know, the leading reason behind the project's cancellation was due to the programming element being removed with no possibility of return in its existing form. As of last year, this changed. Before anyone raises the question, no, the former programmer and the S2HD team members have not had a reunion; instead, a fan of the project independently created and submitted his own engine to Vincent, the project leader, for evaluation. After integrating the art assets from the alpha release and successfully testing it, Vincent began to let the rest of the prior team members know, and we've picked up where we left off sans those who are unavailable due to real life obligations. Two other talented programmers have since offered their skills to recreate the game's physics to match the original, and to port the game to the Mac OS platform (the latter of which is still in the earliest possible stage, and we have no estimate on when it will be playable, so stay tuned!).
In response to some of the questions we have seen, the Alpha Release build is officially discontinued and will not get any form of support as we do not have the source code. The next release will be entirely new programming from the ground up.
We'll provide more details in how you can help us out in the next few days. It's good to be back!
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