[Casshern]

So Shadzter at the stadium found this

Quote

Our firm, and illustrator Greg Wray, designed and developed Sega's original Sonic the Hedgehog character. We had a long run with Sega that included the design of more than 50 game packages including Joe Montana Football and the infamous Dynamite Duke (that's an inside joke). With more than 85 million Sonic games sold, it's the one character all kids recognize. That's a lot of chili dogs. Need an excellent brand development firm to create a game package? Call us before a competitor beats you to it.

Now to me it sounds like the guy just designed the cover, taking the already redesign Sonic from SOA, and whoever wrote that is just trying to be misleading. But there's also the possibility this guy was the one who came up with the redesign and Greg Martin just mimicked his style for the other covers (along with Western franchise just following what he established.)

Here's more of his work

The guy is still active apparently and has a personal and public facebook accounts. Anyone know more about this?

This post has been edited by Casshern: 27 January 2015 - 02:43 PM

[Black Squirrel]

Funky - I'll go make a page now.

EDIT: Plonk - Greg Wray

This post has been edited by Black Squirrel: 27 January 2015 - 03:31 PM

[TheKazeblade]

Wow, that's crazy. Funny thing is, after knowing this and looking at the US Sonic boxart again, I realize how many subtle differences there are between S1's box and Greg Martin's work later on. Less light-dark contrast, for one. It's hard to actually describe what they are, but there really is a discernible difference.

Great find!

[Casshern]

Actually you're right. There are many differences if you start paying attention to their work. I wonder if Wray did something else for the Sonic franchise? Like, who was responsible for the Master System cover?

[Sodaholic]

That's interesting. Amazing how many little mysteries unravel themselves even decades later.

Casshern, on 28 January 2015 - 01:06 PM, said:

Like, who was responsible for the Master System cover?

No idea about the background, but Sonic is pretty clearly the stock image by Oshima.

[Casshern]

Sodaholic, on 28 January 2015 - 02:20 PM, said:

That's interesting. Amazing how many little mysteries unravel themselves even decades later.

Casshern, on 28 January 2015 - 01:06 PM, said:

Like, who was responsible for the Master System cover?

No idea about the background, but Sonic is pretty clearly the stock image by Oshima.

Ooops, instead of writing Game Gear I wrote Master System :/

This is the cover I was talking about.

[Black Squirrel]

That's a Greg Martin piece. The Master System is more interesting because we don't know where the background comes from.


Although a good chunk of the Sonic covers can be accounted for. It's only things like PAL Sonic 3 and probably a few Game Gear titles.

[Black Squirrel]

Sodaholic, on 28 January 2015 - 02:20 PM, said:

Sonic is pretty clearly the stock image by Oshima.

Actually the Sonic 1 and 2 Japanese covers (and maybe 3 - I couldn't confirm or deny it) were drawn by Akira Watanabe. At least, according to this book.