Before Photoshop: How SEGA’s Sonic Artwork Was Made – The Retro Hour EP548

How do you turn a handful of pixels into one of gaming’s most recognisable characters? Recorded live at RetroMessa 2026, Dan and Joe meet illustrator Duncan Gutteridge, whose hand-painted artwork helped define Sonic’s European image during SEGA’s 16-bit glory years. Duncan recalls reimagining Sonic 2, creating artwork for Sonic 3 and Knuckles, working with airbrushes, phones and fax machines, and enjoying a level of creative freedom that would be almost unthinkable today. He also reveals the fate of his long-lost original Sonic paintings.

Amiga Bill Links: Twitch.tv/AmigaBill
https://YouTube.com/@AmigaBill
https://AmigaBill.tv

Twitch.tv

Contents:

00:00 – The Week’s Retro News Stories
1:06:00 – Duncan Gutteridge Interview

Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:

Bitmap Books – https://www.bitmapbooks.com

Go to https://surfshark.com/retrohour or use code RETROHOUR at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!

Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs

PlayEXPO Blackpool: https://www.playexpoblackpool.com/

We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you’d like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:

https://theretrohour.com/support/

https://www.patreon.com/retrohour

Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8

Website: http://theretrohour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/
X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour

Show notes

New Doom-Style Shooter for 3DO:  https://lnk.ua/znInXLNwM
GTA Arrives on Amiga:  https://lnk.ua/ERRtnHKLk
Portrait Ridge Racer Port:  https://lnk.ua/m0xu68aPx
New 4:3 Retro Gaming Monitor:  https://lnk.ua/PZX3RS7zK
LEGO PlayStation 1 Set Revealed:  https://lnk.ua/fAPHMgWXi
Portal Demake Arrives on GBA:  https://lnk.ua/QqQkLQGr5